Grand Hotel Fasano – Gardone Riviera, Italy

In the moment I stepped my foot on the Italian ground I felt the butterflies kick in. Imagining all the beautiful spectacular views of mountain scenery I’ll get to see with my own eyes made me feel excited. Grand Hotel Fasano, our temporary home is located in Lake Garda – a 3 hour drive away from Milan. If you’re an adventurous person just like me and love to explore hidden gems I highly recommend that you rent a car. It’s easier to drive around whenever you feel the urge of being spontaneous rather than being dependent on taxi drivers or shuttle buses which takes you to the usual tourist spots. Lake Garda is Italy’s largest lake blessed with a beautiful scenery and is very famous for its gardens and villas.

As my travel partner and I got into our car, started the engine and drove away from the airport and towards the North, I unintentionally killed my butterflies when I realized I messed up the GPS. Haha. It took us straight back to the airport. How embarrassing? I didn’t dare to touch the device in fear of messing it up again. But as soon as we got back on the road my butterflies was raised back from the dead and the magical journey continued.

We arrived safely in Gardone Riviera at 3 pm. We parked our silver Mercedes at the parking lot on the left side of the Villa. As we got out of the car a valet walked slowly towards us, reaching out his hand, ready to take over our car to park it on the right side of the property. Our room wasn’t ready upon our arrival so we were asked to wait at Bar La Terrazza – the terrace bar which offers a wide selection of teas and coffees, freshly squeezed juices, an impressive list of wines and cocktails. Snacks are also offered here, as well as salads and both hot and cold dishes.

The five star hotel offers 75 luxurious rooms and suites and was built as a hunting lodge for the Austrian imperial family in 1888. The enchanting lakeside location gives us guests a relaxing atmosphere. The villa combines the elegance of historic architecture with the latest in comfort and luxury. It also offers a modern and free wellness centre inspired by ancient Roman bath, a hot tub, Turkish Bath, a small gym and lastly a 12000-m² park with an outdoor and indoor swimming pool. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to take a dip during my stay there. I had to avoid contact with water so my beauty spot could heal faster

Grand Hotel Fasano has several bars and restaurants. Guests can enjoy a delightful buffet breakfast out on the terrace every morning with a picturesque view that looks like as if it’s taken right from a movie. As I have mentioned before I’m primary lactose intolerant, which means I can consume up to 2dl of milk daily without getting an allergic reaction. Although I eat dairy products such as yoghurt daily, I try my best to stick to lactose free products whenever I can. And this hotel has a wide selection of lactose and gluten free bread! There haven’t been one hotel I’ve been writing a review for who have had this much selection. You won me over, Grand Hotel Fasano! I am impressed. What also impressed me was a small detail that one of the staff noticed from the morning before when I ate breakfast. I was asked if I wanted my lactose free bread toasted. Now, that’s what I call service.