24 Hours at the Villa Arcadio - Lake Garda

Nestled on the real bottom of Lake Garda, in the town of Salò, the Villa Arcadio is located in one of my favorite regions of Italy - Lombardy! Not only famous for its excellent scenery, lakes, cities, no - also because of its excellent food, especially Pasta and Risotto (That's something I learned in Milan.). Although we were driving towards Brescia, away from the lakeside, we never missed the Lago di Garda - you are looking towards the lake from everywhere in the villa. After driving up the driveway, we immediately arrived at the Villa Arcadio. This means the hotel is near the main street, which can cause some noise on the pool. We were greeted by the two very quiet and well-behaved house dogs and one nice front desk lady. 

Check-in went really smooth, without even asking to do the paperwork (she just collected our passports) and within 5 minutes we were standing in our Junior Suite, flashed by the amazing 90 degree views of the lake, the town and the hills surrounding Lago di Garda. The rooms are mostly on the cozy side - that's the reason why there is no real open living room nor a sofa inside our Junior Suite. There is also a higher category in the house, the Suite with separate living- and bedroom - honestly we haven't spent much time inside our room as the lake is one of the most wonderful in Europe and Lombardy has got a lot to see, eg. Lago di Iseo, Brescia and Bergamo or you change regions and head to Verona and the other side of the lake - being in Veneto. So, get out of bed and discover Bella Italia!

As already mentioned, our Junior Suite had lake view, but otherwise the room was designed in a minimalistic style, offering two lounge chairs, one writing desk with television (many TV channels in german and some english ones), a minibar with affordable prices and a comfy King bed. The bathroom was generous, although it only had a walk-in shower and no tub. Toiletries were not branded ones, although not bad ones - with olive oil of Tuscany. A personal wish of mine would have been a working air condition - I guess they turned it off due to low season (normally it is not that hot in April, but the room was under the roof and pretty hot during the sunshine all day).

The pool looks really nice on the pictures, so I did expect a slightly differently prepared garden: Unfortunately the lawn wasn't mowed, which is not a problem at all - it would have looked lovelier while enjoying the amazing lake views from the infinity pool. Another issue was that we couldn't find a towel at the pool - which was because the hotel was still in low season and not yet operating full. The pool is opened from April to October but is not heated, so you need to be really tough when you want to swim in April or early May! We weren't as tough as we were at the Arts Barcelona - maybe because it was already 5 pm, although it still had 23 degrees celsius. 

Dinner and breakfast are served in the wonderful dining rooms just next to the pool and the bar and the lake view terrace. We had a wonderful evening with excellent dishes, from a wonderful amuse bouche to classical italian "Battuta" (kind of steak tartare), scallops carpaccio and risotto of broccoli and parmesan cheese. Furthermore we had sole with spinach (I'm not into spinach) and excellent sorbet of grapefruit.For wine pairing we had an excellent wine from the nearby Valpolicella. Throughout the evening we had two servers who where very kind and attentive, always willing to offer everything we desired. Breakfast was taken on the terrace and we could choose from a selection on the buffet (typical italian with homemade bread) and a menu with egg meals. We took scrambled eggs and omelette, which was both very good. It's hard to beat an italian cappuccino!

Although the dinner was truly excellent, everyone is so welcoming and personal and the Villa represents completely my taste of Interior Style with CasaMilano furniture, the true highlight simply was the hotel's own "Riva Aquarama Special". Having had an appointment at 11 am, we left the hotel 10 minutes before to arrive on time in the center of Salò. As soon as our driver arrived, he began driving the very elegant wooden motor yacht. Our tour started with a view of the pedestrian area of Salo then we drove along the western side of Lake Garda until we arrived in Gardone Riviera. From there we could spot the Grand hotels of this famous tourist town. Soon after we were driving further up north to Gargnano where our skipper showed us the world famous Grand Hotel e Villa Feltrinelli - home to superstars and upscale celebrities such as George Clooney. From there we crossed the whole lake and after 20 minutes we reached the east side of the lake. There was a old villa and another ancient hotel with a wonderful café. Before our tour came to an end, we passed by a private owned island with an impressive and totally chic luxury villa. It was a really special experience and I would say THE top reason to choose Villa Arcadio for your next trip to Lago di Garda.

Personally, we would like to recommend the Villa Arcadio to everyone seeking for a perfect luxury hideaway with a truly personal touch and real costumer care. While it is just that perfect for couples and single travelers, we can imagine that children can be bored easily(According to one of our readers Villa Arcadio is truly child-friendly and perfect for families as well).

We were guests of the Villa Arcadio. All our reviews expresses as always our own opinion. We would like to thank the owner Mrs. Jaana Nakari for the generous invitation and the wonderful stay.

24 Hours at Le Mas Candille

This amazing little place of pure tranquility and romance is just on the hill above Cannes. When we left the train station of Cannes we were driven directly in a completely different world, through very narrow streets until we reached the municipal Mougins. A large gate opened and we were chaffeured to the main area of Le Mas Candille.

The arrival was smooth and pleasant although we felt a bit lost in the reception area as the staff is sitting and there are no seats for guests on the front desk. after check-in we got a short tour to the room, which was located in the newer building La Bastide. The room was very generous (I think it was a Deluxe room as it was overlooking the Grasse village) and we even had a huge terrace with an impressive view. Th bathroom is kind of the same style throughout the property, while each bedroom is designed in a different style - which makes the stay even more interesting.

A very nice gesture, and quite unusual to us, was the Cocktail reception on the main pool, where the General Manager, Mr. Silver (the owner) and the Sales Manager were welcoming the guests personally. Therefore we also had the pleasure to meet Mr. Silver personally, one of the most passionate and coolest hoteliers we have ever met. You really feel, when you are talking to him, that Le Mas Candille is a passion for him and that he is doing it with heart and soul. That's also what makes this hotel very different from the Grand Hotels on the Croisette.

Throughout the night we could hear simply nothing, which was also a great plus and the reason why we kept the window open all night. The beds were really heavenly, I feel that I have to mention that I will try to get the same blanket at home. The bathroom of our wonderful Room was very generous with separate shower and tub (what i really appreciate!!) and luxe Molton Brown toiletries AND an amazing view over Grasse as well.

To be honest, my absolute favourite place was the main pool in front of the summer restaurant, followed by the Hydrotherapy Pool at the Shiseido Spa. I think this is also a great opportunity to tell the hotel that we illegally used their Hydrotherapy pool at 10.00 pm, but we could not resist the beauty of the resort, the view and the fact of swimming under the stars.

Unfortunately we oversleept breakfast at their 1 Michelin starred restaurant, which is kind of sad, but another reason to come back to my "little peace of pure Heaven". I guess that this small hideaway is an excellent alternative to the Terre Blanche resort, which I will test in one week. The view really exceeds all expectations at Le Mas Candille.

We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Silver for the generous invitation to test the "Le Mas Candille". Our stay was completely sponsored by the owners. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.