Sittings in a residential area of villas and small apartment blocks among the greenery of old olive groves, the Best Western Hotel Oliveto offers peace and quietness. It also offers long walks, as it is 500m northwest of Desenzano’s centre. Even the nearest bus stop is 200m away and the hotel doesn’t run a courtesy coach. To reach the lake, a walk of around 250m down the road is necessary because of buildings along the lakefront.
The hotel is a boxy, four-story terracotta coloured building with white trim and protruding balconies. A pretentious canopy shades the entrance from the hot Italian sunshine. Access is via a large marble-floored lobby dominated by stout marble pillars with red colouring shot through them. A long wooden desk with a marble counter and a garish painting on the wall of the Grotto of Catullus at Sirmione, forms the reception area in the right hand corner. Further, in a sprawling, comfortable lounge, a roomy bar takes up the far right corner. A roomy pastel-toned restaurant with large coloured-glass and mirrored canopy leads off the lobby on the left.
Both a modern metal staircase and a small lift offer entrance to the higher floors.
Our room at the end of a corridor on the second floor proved large and quiet. It had a private shower, a hairdryer, telephone, remote-controlled colour TV, piped-in music, and a safe-deposit box and balcony. Being a non-smoking room, it smelt clean and fresh. Drinks were available from a cool cabinet. The king-sized bed was hard and not very comfortable. Although air-conditioned, which was appreciated in the hot weather, it caused drips of condensation to fall from the bathroom ceiling. After we positioned a waste bin under the drip, the splash, splash sound became rhythmic.
Each room has a lake view - from our room it was a slender slice of water. However, we had a marvelous view of the hotel’s swimming pool and sun terrace. A drinks kiosk there would have been nice!
Breakfast was of the continental variety. We could help ourselves to fruit, cereals, rolls, ham, cheese, yoghurt, and tea or coffee until seated. Italian coffee I avoided because it gave me indigestion and they had little idea of how to make a proper cup of tea.
We were on half board so had most of our meals at the hotel. These were typical regional cuisine. We helped ourselves to the first course – various types of vegetables. The second was pasta dishes or soup. The next was meat or fish with a minute vegetable helping and no potatoes. A traditional sweet followed. I always found the meals to be cooked perfectly. Indeed in our 11-day stay in Italy, we didn’t have a badly cooked meal anywhere. Although I did hear some other holidaymakers complaining like mad – they should stay at home!
Service at the hotel was excellent and I can recommend it.