The staff are brilliant at this hotel, they made you feel very very welcome from the day you arrive to the day you leave. We stayed there for one week, there was four of us in total (2 Couples) we had what we would class as a Suite for a room, it was huge, the bathroom had what we would call a double shower, brilliant facilities and maid service every day, it was kept very clean our rooms (2 & 4) were overlooking the front of the hotel with massive balcony's and gorgeous views of the mountains on the side of the Lake. Breakfast was wonderful, a really good selection of cereals, and different breads and they had a different hot and sweet thing every morning. One day would be Boiled eggs and raisen bread the other would be scrambled egg with bacon and marble cake. They had a good selection of meats on offer too. Christian was brilliant at breakfast, by the third day he didn't have to ask us what we wanted for our hot drink he just automatically brought the coffee for us. Fantastic service. They have a sister hotel the Astoria, which is a fair walk. i would say about 10 minutes and yep not too bad going its downhill but coming back is a bit of a killer especially if it is hot. We tended to go to the lake for a swim too but even as hot as it was it was a bit cold in the water. In around May they started to trial a bus service, you get on the bus wherever you want, brilliant for us as the bus stopped just outside the hotel you pay your Euro and you get off where you want. We did not realise how far the centre of Malcesine was from the Orchidea, we tried to walk (i think the long way round) on our first day and gave up. so the bus is a brilliant addition for anyone staying at any hotel outside of the centre, check the times the buses run, they stop for about 3 hours in the afternoon but they do run until midnight. Next door to the Orchidea is a lovely restaurant/bar they are very friendly there, the dogs are expecially nice (Sophie & Miya) They have the TVs here too, which did make it very busy as we were there when the Euro semi finals were on. The one thing i would say on a very small downside is you have to check out at 10am (i believe the astoria is 9am) when it is baking hot outside and you are being picked up at 3pm the chance of not being able to have a shower and still enjoy your last day is a bit daunting. They do however have very large toilets which for freshing up were okay, we managed fine. So yep i would definately rate this hotel very highly, i thnk anyone who goes to this hotel or this area will fall in love with the place. It really is a pretty part of the world and yep you guessed it we will be going back.

The hotel - Situated just beyond (from Malcesine) the peak of the hill, the hotel is well place for vistas of the lake and the mountains. An open plan reception, bar and breakfast room lead to the lift and stairs to the bedrooms. The Rooms - The rooms are well equipped and very spacious, with desk sofa and double/triple wardrobes. The rooms are equipped with air-conditioning, this does keep the room cool but could be more effective (do not choose this hotel for its aircon, but guest at the Astoria have complained it is to hot without it, and to noisy to open the doors). All rooms have a balcony or terrace with seating for two. The bathrooms are large but do only have a shower. The rooms, including the bathroom, are equipped with an audio system used to listen to a selection of radio stations. The room has a TV but only one English channel (CNN). The Walking! - the sister hotel the Astoria is a 10-15 minute walk down a fairly steep hill, there is a small shortcut but this is trivial (at the sharp left bend continue straight on and the rear entrance to the hotel is on the left) this is where the swimming pool and lake front are situated and where evening meals are taken if the half board option is selected. The walk to Malcesine is approx 600 meters uphill and then 2.5km downhill there are pavements for only the last 500 meters or so. It takes 30 - 40 mins. You pass the cable car on the way about 200 meters from the town. The walking can be a little to much at times (and in 30 C heat), what we took to doing was walking into town (3km) and then catching the bus to the Astoria (use the ticket machine at the bus station to buy tickets as they are only 1€) we would then walk back to the hotel (15-20 mins) get changed and go back to the Astoria for dinner. Breakfast - continental breakfast is served in the open plan reception it consisted of a good selection of cereal, croissants, fresh fruit , toast and rolls with a wide selection of preserves, cheeses and meats. Dinner (At the Astoria) - this takes a little getting used to! Dinner is served at 7pm (they will save a plate of cold food if you ask them) the menu is ala carte chosen the night before. Every other day a salad bar is available. The three courses then follow. They have a slightly unusual tradition (apparently Austrian in origin) an envelope is provided for your linen napkin to be reused for a couple of days. We had two vegetarians in our party and the hotel were very accommodating, in many cases cooking a separate meal when an option was not available. The Staff - The Orchidea and the Astoria are family run hotels and the staff at both are very friendly and helpful. Unlike other hotel we have stayed in you get to know them well. Thomas Cook - we booked this holiday through Thomas Cook, the rep was excellent and very attentive. We booked three trips to Verona, Venice and Bolzano/Rennon. This is a very nice hotel and as long as you are happy with the walking/taxis (8€ for 4, 12 € for 6) then you will have a very enjoyable stay. The hotel is modern yet spacious and the surroundings are breathtaking. Having visited some of the other towns on the lake we all agreed Malcesine was our favourite.

Stayed for 1 week in July 2007 in this small family run hotel. Yes, it is 25 mins walk from the centre of Malcesine but we loved the location. It was quiet and peaceful unlike hotels right on the lake which had traffic noise. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the buffet breakfasts had a great selection. If you wanted to sit by a pool, you could use the pool at the sister hotel (the Astoria) which was 10 mins walk down the road. Although the hotel did not do evening meals we liked the opportunity to try the local restauants - La Dasa and Ca Vecia are recommended (both 10-15 mins walk although the roads did not have pavements). We had such a peaceful, restful stay we would really like to go back again. It is not for those seeking a party atmosphere but for us it was a very enjoyable experience.

Kurz gesagt: Hotel super, Personal freundlich, Essen gut! JEDOCH unsere PRIVATEN WEINGLÄSER wurden vom Hotelpersonal aus unserem Zimmer genommen und ZERSCHLAGEN- wir bekamen dafür einen Ersatz. Wir wurden VORHER NICHT darüber INFORMIERT, dass private Gläser in den Hotelzimmern nicht zerlaubt sind!

Stayed at this hotel for a week in May 2007, hotel was very clean and staff were very helpful and friendly.Breakfast was even provided early one morning to accommodate our early departure to a day out to Venice. This hotel is a bit out from the main town but the walk wasn't that bad after a few days.Would definitely go back again.