Grand Hotel Terme — Hotel in Sirmione

Prime Location, But Not Quite 5-Star Service

Our three-night stay in Sirmione this June was a mixed experience. I'll share the highlights first, then some challenges, and finally the more significant issues we encountered.

The Good -The location is truly unbeatable! Being right in the center of Sirmione with those gorgeous lake views is absolutely worth mentioning. The property offers onsite parking, bike rental, and the spa facilities are decent. The real standout was the restaurant team, the waitresses and waiters - every single staff member provided A+ service with genuine warmth and professionalism. They deserve special recognition for maintaining such high standards!

The Not-So-Good A few things fell short of our expectations, especially considering our $850+ nightly rate. The Aqua Termale's sulfur smell greets you upon entering, which isn't the most welcoming first impression. Perhaps some aromatic solutions in the lobby would help?

The bug situation was particularly disappointing. While I understand lakefront properties attract insects, the pool area needed much better maintenance. Finding dead bugs on chairs, umbrellas, windows and shaded areas day after day made relaxing outdoors less appealing. Daily cleaning of these areas seems like a reasonable expectation. Some sections of the pool had visible mold - something I wouldn't expect at this price point. Oh, and a friendly suggestion to the chef: the paccheri dish might need some reconsideration!

The Challenging Part We booked a lake view suite (though it was really just a room with a sofa) with modern furnishings and a balcony. Unfortunately, the bug situation prevented us from enjoying the balcony at all, despite paying extra for this feature. There was even a notice on the sliding door warning against opening it due to bugs.

On our final night, after returning from dinner, we discovered over 30 bugs on our ceiling despite never having opened the balcony door. When we went to reception (after unanswered calls), the front desk attendant immediately accused us of opening the door before we could even explain our situation. After a rather unpleasant conversation, we were moved to a significantly lower-quality room without lake views or updated furnishings - yet still at our original premium rate.

The next day, the manager was unavailable, and we received only a spa gift as compensation. No rate adjustment was offered for the downgrade and the bad experience.

Final Thoughts If you're considering this hotel, the location truly is spectacular and the restaurant team provides excellent service. Just adjust your expectations - while you'll pay 5-star prices, the overall experience doesn't quite match traditional 5-star standards. The restaurant staff deserve a raise as they're carrying much of the positive experience on...

Our family of 5 stayed here for a week in mid-August. We'd visited Sirmione for the day before when we'd been staying in a different part of Lake Garda and decided to come back. The first thing that struck us when we arrived at the hotel was the sulphurous smell (from the thermal water I guess) and some days this was worse than others - we got used to it but it's not hugely pleasant and I guess might be worse in the intense summer heat. ||The hotel is like an oasis of calm outside the Sirmione old town walls since that becomes clogged and overcrowded daily during August. We had lovely rooms one overlooking the lake (234) and one for the 3 girls overlooking the front (219). Both v comfortable. Bathrooms were reasonable size with decent shower though for the money and 5*s I'd have liked a bathtub too. Only thing I'd say about the rooms is that neither had a full length mirror or any mirror at all in the bedrooms which is odd and a bit annoying. ||Staff change the beds each day and you have to leave a card if you don't need the sheets changing - my suggestion would be to reverse this and ask guests to leave the card if they DO want the sheets changing as it seems an unnecessary extravagance to change sheets every single day. ||Breakfast buffet was fine (included in the room rate) and you can have eggs to order and the staff were friendly and polite. My husband said his daily omelette was perfect. ||We only had one evening meal at the hotel and although it's a beautiful setting we all found the food a little over fussy and not a great choice for vegetarians. The minestrone was one of the veggie options and good but little more than a few pieces of broccoli, carrot and broth for 24 euros which I thought was steep. ||Gym is small. One bike and one running machine so if you all want to exercise together you'd struggle. Has a few other bits of equipment. I got the impression this isn't the kind of hotel where people exercise regularly! ||My massage in the spa was nice - we all booked the 'relaxing' massage and when I asked for firm pressure I was told no as there was only one pressure and I had not booked deep tissue. That may have been lost in translation but I've never been anywhere where the masseuse can't or won't adjust the pressure and I wasn't asking for a deep tissue massage which in my book is something else altogether. ||Ideally we'd have liked a freshwater swimming pool as the hotel information doesn't make it clear that the only pool is the warm thermal pool - but of course there is the lake to swim in which was great and the sunbeds...

Smatterings of excellence fringed with touches of penny-pinching defined our 5 day stay here. The hotel is situated a few steps (literally) outside the castle gate of the ancient historic town of Sirmione. Sirmione, however is incredibly touristy so be prepared for that (see my review of the town).|If it’s stinking hot while you’re here then you need to be prepared to swim in the lake. Have no fear, however - it’s clear water is refreshing and still (mostly) and the hotel has an excellent jetty from which to swim. What about that fabulous pool in the pictures? you ask…. Well that pool is a thermal spa pool fed by the natural hot springs under the lake. Other reviews here mention the smell of sulphur - which is true; however the pool is superb. Hot, with loads of jacuzzi style options for bubble massages and relaxation. My personal favourite is a swim in the lake followed by a time in the hot pool. It leaves you feeling refreshed and soothed - don’t ask it just does. Since Roman times people have come here to take the thermal waters and bathe in them - whatever it is, works.|The hotel is a little old - can’t remember, for example, the last time I was in a hotel room with an actual key (as opposed to a pass card) but for all that it’s clean and in good repair. There’s quite a lot of black mould around the spa pool but not enough to spoil the experience and we visited towards the end of the season. You’re going to get mould forming in that hot water. I expect they drain and pressure spray / clean over the winter and start fresh and clean each spring.|The penny-pinching touches: four pods of coffee for the Lavazza machine in our room - not renewed each day as most hotels do - additional pods cost €2 each - a massive mark-up on the retail cost of a tiny item. If I came again I’d bring a supply of Lavazza pods with me. It took 30 minutes of waiting for a hotel - summoned taxi to not show up before, under pressure, the receptionist directed us to the €2 per person shuttle bus in to Columbare which left from a stop just a stone’s throw away. The receptionist had already offered us a €35 private car for the less-than-ten-minute journey.|I wouldn’t say these elements spoiled our stay but if you’re aiming for real customer satisfaction / excellence the hotel will need to eliminate the little things that just P you off.|Breakfast and dining crew 5|Housekeeping - 5|Reception - variable but I’m going to say 4* only - some individuals...