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 the Principe di Savoia

This pure Italian Grand Hotel is discretely located on Piazza Repubblica and is one of Milan's biggest hotels. I was a bit scared when I heard that they have nearly 300 rooms but this feeling was gone when I arrived and a very kind bellman welcomed me towards the front desk! Check-in was very efficient and fast, and afterwards I was accompanied to my amazing Ambassador Junior Suite. Of course, I was immediately impressed of the whole interior style of the Principe di Savoia!

Upon entering my Suite I felt that this room is completely different than all other room and suite categories, because all walls were wooden and gave this room the charme of rather staying in a luxe castle then at a huge world class city hotel. Did I already mention that I was arraving at 1.20 pm and I did nit have to wait to get to my room? This was a real exception during my trip (where I also stayed at the Hermitage Monaco and the Majestic Barriere in Cannes and they did not have the room ready when I was arriving)!

Back to Milan, I immediately fell in love with my Junior Suite and continued discovering the gorgeous bedroom as well as the famous mosaic tiled bath heaven! I can imagine that the bath was way bigger then the bedroom but I am not sure!

They also have a shuttle which runs to the center, but unfortunately I did not catch the last limousine departing on 18:30 because I went to the rooftop pool and fell asleep! Some recent guests already mentioned on tripadvisor to extend the shuttle hours, I would also agree, because Milan and its Duomo gets even more impressive at night!

The Health Club on the rooftop is quite luxurious with a proper sized indoor pool at the perfect temperature and a hot jacuzzi ensuite! Normally I am not the work-out-type but this fitness center was so impressive that even I couldn't resist - who would not spot the amazing sunset over a orange sky in Milan?

When I came back from the Spa, which is quite amazing by the way, I found myself in the living room with the most impressive welcome amentites I've ever received! Thanks a lot to the whole team of the Principe di Savoia! Another remarkable thing at this hotel is that they offer Acqua di Parma toiletries in their guest bathrooms and shaving asseccoires by AdP at the Spa, too!

To be honest, the hotel was so stunning, that I just wanted to leave this place all day!
After a very heavenly night in one of the best beds, I was hungry again and had no better idea then to have breakfast at Alcanto Restaurant! The service was very friendly and efficient, the restaurant elegant and luxurious, and the breakfast not enormous but of highest quality!

Try to get a bed and breakfast rate as the breakfast is quite heavy at 45.00 Euros per person! Also the Wi-Fi is not included and charged for 24 Euros per night!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Hotel Principe di Savoia Milano for the generous invitation and I would like to express that all above written is my personal opinion and experience!

Castello di Brolio - Barone Ricasoli

The best start for a picture perfect day in the most wonderful area of the Chianti - was the “Castello Brolio - Barone Ricasoli”, the oldest winery of whole Italy. It is a beautiful castle between Florence and Siena and was in the past a very important place for Florence. They could spy out their enemy Siena because it was the last castle belonged to the city Florence.Barone Bettino Ricasoli, who lived around the 19^th century, was the founder of the well-known Chianti Classico (80% Sangiovese, 15% merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon). They are one of the biggest wine exports with 3 million bottles, of which 80% are going to the United States.

We would like to thank the Barone Ricasoli winery tor the invitation to join the interesting Classic Tour for free. 

Restaurant-Check Prague - Part 2

Duck breast with baked mashed potatoes

4.) U Modré Kachnicky (Blue Duckling)

If you pass by the glamerous Mandarin Oriental Hotel and then turn right, you will read the sign of the restaurant. Despite the really bad look from outside, do not pass by at this restaurant - be man enough to open the door! One of Prague's finest restaurants will await you behind the door. We had some great duck breast which was flambé in front of us, as a side dish we chose baked mashed potatoes, which were quite excellent. The dessert was expensive as hell - 8 Euros for a Blackforest Cake - to be honest -  fully worth each Penny. 

Starters from 8-19 euros, main courses from 16-30 Euros. 

http://www.umodrekachnicky.cz/en/original/welcome

Duck breast "flamé en salle"

5.) La Bottega di Finestra

Last but not least my top favourite place for a fast and convenient dinner or late lunch. This casual atmosphere is perfect in my opinion. You can not only have a great meal there - no, you can also buy the best italian products in the whole Czech Republic. The prices? Not bad, I would say. When I was there the last time I paid about 500 CZK for Beef tartar, Lasagne and a housemade lime lemonade - which I highly recommend to try - there is a choice between Lime, Orange, Melon, Grapefruit and some berries.

Starters from 5-8 euros, main courses from 10-22 Euros. 

http://www.labottega.cz/