2506 Suggestions for hotels near Lake Garda (for Verona)

[QUOTE=Annie T]Can anyone suggest suitable accommodation for 2 couples in their 70's who have booked to see 2 operas at Verona in July? They would like to stay on Lake Garda at the Verona end but do not require 5 star luxury, just 2 comfortable double rooms with en-suite, and evening meals on site or nearby. Thank you.[/QUOTE]

nice place lake views at Bardolino.Hotel Kriss internazionale.good comfortable rooms,family run.reasonable prices plenty of places to eat
[url]www.kriss.it[/url] ,kriss@kriss.it it's closed for hols until end jan so if they don't reply thats why.it's as near as you can get to verona and still be at lake.
ciaò Annie.

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I stayed at the Europa Hotel in Desenzano a few years ago. 3 star, very clean, comfortable, friendly, reasonable and right on the Lake.
It's on the South-Western edge so a little further away but well serviced by trains to Verona and ferries to other towns on the Lake.
Also, nice town for exploring and wandering around.

[URL="http://www.gardalake.it/hotel-europa/"]http://www.gardalake.it/hotel-europa/[/URL]

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As I assume they will not be hiring a car, before they actually book anywhere I would suggest they check public transport timetables very carefully. When we did something similar a few years ago, we stayed in Malcesine - during the day public transport to and from Verona was excellent however it was impossible to use public transport to return to Malcesine after the opera, it all stopped long before the opera finished. This is a common problem for many of the lakeside towns. The only options available were to book a taxi, horrendously expensive, or to book opera tickets through an organised 'tour' that included a coach that took you and brought you back. We stayed in Hotel Malcesine, it is literally right on the lake in the centre of the town and so access to shops, restaurants and ferries was excellent and a very easy walk. The hotel itself was okay but the food was dreadful, we have subsequently heard that it is better and that it is now possible to stay there on a B&B basis, previoulsy it was HB or nothing.

Am obviously doing something wrong as I cannot get the 'Edit' button to work!

Anyway, I should have added to the previous post that the trains tend to run later than the buses but if I remember rightly only Desenzano-Sirmione and Peschiera di Garda have stations therefore if you are relying on trains the choice of where to stay becomes rather limited. For details of trains look at [url]www.trenitalia.com[/url] and for the Verona buses [url]www.apt.vr.it[/url]

Trains may well be a problem. The opera sometimes gets out as late as 2 in the morning. Traffic is a royal pain in the lake area on Sat and Sun, something else to consider. Also, it is a pretty good walk to the Arena from the station, and after midnight or so it can be populated with undesireable characters. Verona has its fair share of crime.

I used to have season tickets when I lived in Mantova and could always find a parking spot somewhere in town near the Arean, just have to be persistent and without scruples when you park.

I would get a car or like mentioned above, organized tour. There are lots of hotels in Desenzano and it is a nice place to stay. But, it might be hectic for an elderly couple as it gets prtty full on the weekends. I attached a good link for some hotels in lake area.

[url]http://www.gardalake.com/search.php?tipologia=hotel[/url]

Thank you to all of the above who have responded so promptly and with helpful advice and suggestions. Two of the four have been to the opera on a previous visit and so have some knowledge of the situation, and they will have a car. They are now surfing the web-sites given with enthusiasm!

I stayed at Hotel Marconi last year in Sirmione. It was inexpensive hotel but very comfortable and right on the lakeside. It was very much a family run hotel and the service was excellent. Other guests were visiting the Opera, some going to Verona by bus and returning by taxi. I don't think I would like to arrive in Sirmione by car for the first time. The streets are very narrow and crowded with people. The hotel arranged a taxi for ux from Verona/Brechia airport for about 45 euros. We found once there we didn't need a car as we travelled around the lake by boat, people who had cars spent a lot of time stuck in traffic.