Hotel Bella Riva

We recently stayed for 3 nights. The hotel building is an old villa set on the edge of the lake at Gardone which has been modernised into the hotel. The staff are unfailingly polite and helpful, the public areas are very elegant with a luxurious feel. The gardens are lovely although there is an element of form over function, the sunbeds have no pads and are very uncomfortable. The restaurant is beautiful, essentially it is like a glass box with glass curtains and a retractable roof which we assume would all open in warmer weather. The breakfast selection was very good part self service and part served. The hotel has its own deck if you wish to have a private boat on the lake. Our main disappointment was our room (205) which quite frankly, was awful. The interior was like being in an Easyjet airplane, orange ceiling and flat grey walls. There was an awful wooden bench running the length of one wall. There was not an easy chair, cushion, wall picture or rug to soften the decor or make the room feel comfortable or luxurious. Even the Klimt headboard as mentioned in other reviews was simply a piece of fabric stretched over wood, no padding etc. The bed and bedding were excellent, however I think the room was designed by a man so it was not practical. There was no mirror in the bedroom near a socket so in order to dry my hair I had to sit in the bathroom on a chair with 3 pillows on in order to (just) see in the mirror, the handbasin does not have a plug, so unable to fill the sink for any reason, no coffee machine, no sockets next to the bed so unable to use the phone in bed whilst it was charging etc, The final disappointment was that the view of the lake was virtually completely blocked by a large tree. During our 3 week trip through Italy and Austria, and bearing in mind this is an expensive hotel, this was the bedroom experience I was most disappointed in.

I am filling Tripadvisor form for the first time just to support great hotel management and staff. We spent in Bellariva hotel 3 great nights with friends and colleagues - 42 people incl.kids. Planning of agenda and catering with management was smooth, very cooperative and nothing was a problem. "Yes, no problem" approach was amazing. After our arrival we met friendly and constantly smiling staff. They were ready all time for our wishes and requirements. Hotel staff and management also helped us with out-of-hotel activities with no commision for them or hotel. Cousine was grandiose, also the bar menu. During the billing/payment after the stay, the human approach of the management was also evident. Many of extra demands we requested were incorporated into the original calculation. Looking forward to visit Bellariva again!

From the moment we arrived we were greeted with an enormous amount of respect the girls at the front desk were very professional and helpful and friendly and of course Elisa went out of her way to help us with car rental issues she was on the phone for two days to help us get a different car we will never forget her kindness.