Olivi Hotel

We enjoyed a delightful 4 night stay during out trip to the Verona opera festival. First impressions were suprising, in that their was no reasonable food available on arrival ( 3 pm) and the bedroom although offerring magnificent lake views seemed to have a superfluous mezzanine floor.However each day brought new surprises, fabulous restaurant food, fine wines, an excellent swimming pool, and very helpful and friendly staff. The hotel was spotlessly clean and towels and linens in ample supply.Would certainly stay there again and request a larger room.

Stayed at the Olivi in early August and chose one of the named rooms - you get a small mezzanine floor with spiral stairs and a couch and TV as well as a larger dressing area/bathroom - and better balcony furniture! Superb views from the balcony - take breakfast there, no extra charge with excellent croissants and even a decent pot of coffee. Talking of coffee, there was a coffee maker in the room - no milk though and finally no coffee either....minor irritation. Staff confused by request for coffee, but very charming and helpful even so. Pool area excellent with plenty of chairs and space and beautiflly warm - good bar/food poolside. Didn't eat in the hotel restaurant (formalish and pricey but looked very good) but took the 5 minute walk into Sirmione - awonderful (if touristy and busy) ancient town where there was an abundant choice of (Italian) food and excellent ice creams. Great place for relaxing as well as seeing the lake (walk to the boats) and even good parking at no charge once you have negotiated the policeman guarding the entrance to Sirmione and got your pass. Would definitely go back, but could economise slightly on the room so long as on the front and on the second floor.

We came to this hotel after staying at 3 others in Italy (Capo D'Africa in Rome, Hotel Pierre in Florence and Londra Palace in Venice - all 4 star and all hotels I would highly recommend). Our last hotel was the Olivi and to be honest, it was a real anti climax. We had booked a standard room (same as our other hotels) but the level of facilities and furnishing in the room were at best, basic. We also had noisy and useless air conditioning, stains on the walls/seats along with squashed Mosquitoes on the walls so we asked for another room straight away (avoid room 112!). The alternative room was cleaner but still very basic and dated, and in no way a four star. Eventually we agreed to pay extra for one of their premier suites which was a duplex room and had a balcony - these rooms are lot better but they are not cheap, especially when compared to what we'd paid for the other 4 star city-centre hotels in Rome, Venice and Florence. The facilities of the hotel are ‘average’. Make sure you iron your clothes before you arrive because there are no irons/ironing boards for you to do this in your room and no laundry service - I had to iron a shirt in the staff laundry room. There is also no gym on site. The rooms also have no info in them about what the hotel offers or the basic stuff like, which number to call for room service or reception; when dinner/breakfast is served; fire escape routes etc…. but they did remember to put up a sign with charges for the replacement of damaged pool towels. The reception/restaurant areas are dated, with carpeted floors/ceilings/walls straight out of the 70's. If you are staying half or full board, the food is ok, but a little pretentious - though the service was very good and attentive. This is a family run hotel and unfortunately this is not a compliment. The hotel lacks professionalism, and makes me think of a big family-run B&B rather than a 4 star hotel. NB: All the other 4 star hotels in Sirmione looked quite dated from the outside, though certainly the Hotel Continental - 50m from the Olivi - had a much nicer reception and pool area (plus it has a jetty straight onto the lake) so it may be worth looking at this as an alternative.

We arrived to be given an upgraded room. We had reserved a room with balcony overlooking the lake but this room had an extra room up an internal spiral staircase. Beautifully decorated room with excellent bathroom facilities. Bath with shower plus separate shower cabinet with a power shower. Plenty of storage. Service excellent but they might have given us more information about the area. However the tourist information is only 10 minutes away. Hotel very well positioned and it took about 5/10 minutes to get to centre of town..on foot. Excellent breakfast...loads of fruit, several cereals, yoghurts, cheese and cold meats, boiled eggs...loads of pastries...croissants, pains au chocolat etc cake, toast...freshly made...and very good coffee/tea. Beautiful dining room which we intended to try...with lovely location overlooking the lake...as was the breakfast patio...but in fact we preferred going into town and choosing from the huge selection of restaurants available at a stone's throw away. On last day when we could not obtain a taxi to get us outside the city walls to catch coach, they simply organised a member of staff to take us in a hotel car...no charge. Generally speaking they could not have been kinder.

Well the room we were given looked nothing like the web site photographs. There was no floral wall paper and chintz upholstery. The room had a hodge-podge style of three or four wall and ceiling finishings indicating that the room was probably converted from an old closet or storage space. A dingy old curtain separated the sleeping area, from the closet, and bath room. The room was sandwhich between the elevator and a stairwell and positioned over the restaurant kitchen dishwashing area. We heard the sound of banging pots and pans and rattling dishes from 7:00 in the morning to 11:00 at night and also had all the smells of cooking coming through the room since we had to open the window to stay cool since the air conditioning wouldn't work. We had made reservations for two nights, but checked out early the next day. I kind of choke on the fact that we paid $180 U.S. for a night in this room. On the postive side, it was clean and there was plenty of room for parking which was a relief after trying to squeeze our rental car through the throngs of people in the alleys and piazzas we had to drive through to get to the hotel.

We stayed here 5 nights in start of May 2005 attending a confernce. The stay was excellent. The hotel is located in quiet surroundings in an old olive field. Very nice and clean rooms with great view balconies towards the lake. Nice staff and a big refreshing pool. Very good breakfast with exceptional fresh coffee and fresh blood orange juice. The restaurant had varied an typical well tasting food. Sirmione itself is a pearl.

Visited early March - most hotels still closed. The Olivi is in a lovely position near the tip of the peninsula with views of the lake. It is slightly away from the main drag but I'm sure it would be a good place to stay to get away from the crowds during the busy season (as in one of the other reviews). Having said that it is only 5 mins walk to the centre of "town"! We had beautiful rooms with lake views. Bright and clean. Seemed to be recently refurbished. Good bathrooms. Everyone of the staff was friendly, courteous and more than helpful. Great breakfast. We didn't have any other meals in the hotel so can't comment. I would stay here again - as long as I had a lake view! Also - there are some lovely walks - around the headland and up to the Roman ruins, from the castle along the eastern side of the town, and there is also a lovely path from the bus station back down to Colombare along the lake. Enjoy - Sirmione is a treat wherever you stay.

We stayed here for three nights in the summer. We thought it was fairly ordinary. Sirmione, however, is absolutely gorgeous.

Enjoyed our stay in June 2003. This hotel has a wonderful garden and pool area, lovely interior and a very fine restaurant. A tip: choose the half board alternative, the food is excellent as well as the dining outdoors on the terrace, with a view of the lake in the evening.

The Olivi is a wonderfully relaxing hotel 3 minutes' walk from the centre of Sirmione. It's very convenient for the shops, restaurants and ferries as well as for walks on the headland. After the bustle and crowded streets, one can relax in the garden by the pool or in the spacious, cool lounge. Staff very friendly and the meals are excellent. We have been twice and will revisit.