Hotel Palme & Suite

“The staff is the beauty of this hotel”

The hotel is perfectly located near Garda town, only a few minutes walk to the waterfront. Easy to find if you come by car. The hotel is worn due to aging, but it is still clean and cosy. Staff is very friendly and to me that made up for whatever "beauty defects" there were. Breakfast is satisfa... more

The hotel is perfectly located near Garda town, only a few minutes walk to the waterfront. Easy to find if you come by car. The hotel is worn due to aging, but it is still clean and cosy. Staff is very friendly and to me that made up for whatever "beauty defects" there were. Breakfast is satisfactory. Nice poolarea and good service from the pizzeria by the pool. Recommend for families with children.

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“Dated, but comfortable”

This was our 2nd stay here - the first one was pre-covid. The decor and facilities are all a little dated - they don’t appear to have been updated since our first visit. Our room this time was on the ground floor, and with a large terrace (with no view) that was in need of attention. The servic... more

This was our 2nd stay here - the first one was pre-covid. The decor and facilities are all a little dated - they don’t appear to have been updated since our first visit. Our room this time was on the ground floor, and with a large terrace (with no view) that was in need of attention. The service is what makes this hotel, though. All the staff are helpful and friendly. It’s in a good position, about a 5 minute walk to the bus station, and 10 minute walk to the lakeside.

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“A green oasis”

Surrounded by trees first impressions were good. The hotel is dated but value for money. Interior decoration is good. Our room was fine with a king size bed and a single bed. Nice view from the balcony (we were on the second floor). Bathroom was compact but adequate including bidet. Public area... more

Surrounded by trees first impressions were good. The hotel is dated but value for money. Interior decoration is good. Our room was fine with a king size bed and a single bed. Nice view from the balcony (we were on the second floor). Bathroom was compact but adequate including bidet. Public areas were pleasant and everywhere very clean. Two swimming pools, the main one is a uniform 1.6 metres (5' 2'')so only suitable for serious swimming. Small pool is sloping. Areas around pools badly in need of maintenance. Plenty of shade with trees and parasols. Loads of sun beds all new. Food and drink service good. Live entertainment twice a week, good. Restaurant. Allocated table for whole stay. Breakfast was very good. Evening meal, two sittings. We went once but not an experience we wished to repeat but to be fair everyone else seemed to be enjoying it. Lakefront ten minutes walk away and meals in town reasonably priced. British guests rare. Nearly all German. I like the Germans but sometimes nice to chat to fellow Brits. All the staff were fine.

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“Not that bad”

So, let's start with the positives. The price is relatively cheap. I paid about £150 for 3 adults half board in high season. The pools are a good size and they allow inflatables. The staff are very friendly and efficient especially in the restaurant. It's a good location, taking only 10 minutes... more

So, let's start with the positives. The price is relatively cheap. I paid about £150 for 3 adults half board in high season. The pools are a good size and they allow inflatables. The staff are very friendly and efficient especially in the restaurant. It's a good location, taking only 10 minutes to get to the lakeside or the bus station. They have entertainment on 2 nights a week. We were on the 2nd floor of the Palme in Room 202 which had a balcony overlooking trees and with a view of the mountains. The give you fresh towels, bedding and shower gel and soap every day. Now the negatives. There is free wifi which did extend to our room and the safe in the room is free. The hotel complex is in need of some upgrading and repair. I think originally this has been 3 adjacent hotels which have been brought together as one. The one on the right as you come down the drive is now just offices. In the pool near the Palme Hotel part which is the quieter one, the steps down into the pool are very wobbly as they are coming out of the ground. They need reconcreting in. On our floor there were sofa beds on the landing which I would put in the tip. The TV has no English channels. The breakfast is OK if you just want continental but there is no toaster and the bacon and sausages were anaemic. Our room had 3 usable sockets which like all Italuan hotels have 3 prongs not 2 like you get elsewhere in Europe so make sure your adapter specifically mentions Italy. The evening meal arrangement is strange. There are 2 sittings at 6.30pm and 8pm. You chose on the day which one to go for. Its not 6.30pm to 8pm. Its 2 defined sittings. At 6.30pm or 8pm you help yourself to salad and soup. Then once everyone has finished their starter in the whole restaurant they come around about 25 minutes later with a choice of 2 pasta dishes which they serve to you. Then once all pasta is eaten they come around with your main course which is either fish or meat with 1 vegetable. Don't trust the descriptions of the food. Fish in butter is actually battered fish for example. Then you get one small piece of cake for dessert and a choice of mousse in a glass dish. It's a very slow meal. The food tastes mostly OK. Be careful if paying by card for drinks and check on your banking app. One night we were charged twice for the same drinks within a couple of minutes of the 1st transaction. When we complained they did refund us though. They allow you to leave luggage on your last day but there is no secure storage. You have to leave it in main reception just around the lounge chairs. They do have underground parking but we didn't have a car. The paving between the various areas of the complex is uneven and needs repairing. You could easily trip as the blocks are raised up here and there and are loose. There is a lift but the restaurant is on the floor below reception. You can get down by lift but you can't call it to take you back up which is weird and not helpful if you are disabled. The hotel caters mainly for Germans. Lake Garda is a very German tourist resort. I don't have a problem at all with this and the Germans were very friendly and will chat to you in English. To be honest I would rather have Germans and French tourists than English ones as sadly English guests tend to drink heavily and get lairy from my experience of going abroad. The hotel is mainly full of older people aged over 60, which again I was fine with but I know some holidaymakers might orefer a younger crowd. All in all, its honestly not as bad as many reviews make out.

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