Where you sleep on Lake Garda shapes the whole trip. The western shore has the grand old villas, the steepest views and the fewest buses; the east is easier, sunnier in the evening and better connected by ferry and the ATV bus from Verona; the north is for people who want to be on the water, not just look at it; and the south is where you stay if Sirmione, Verona and the motorway all matter.
These are the hotels we would book again with our own money. Every one has been stayed in, not just toured, and the order reflects how much we enjoyed the stay for what we paid rather than star ratings. The top of the list is expensive; the bottom half is where the value is.
Some booking links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through one we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or the order of the list. How we choose
1Our top pick
Best overall
#1 Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli
98/100
Gargnano · Via Rimembranza, Gargnano, western shore
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A 19th-century villa on the water just north of Gargnano, restored with extraordinary care and run more like a private house than a hotel. There are only a couple of dozen rooms, and the service is personal to the point of being uncanny: staff remember how you take your coffee by the second morning.
Rates start well above €1,000 a night in summer, and for once we think it is honest pricing for what you get.
Gargnano · Via Angelo Feltrinelli, Gargnano hills, 10 minutes' drive above the lake
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High in the olive groves above Gargnano, Lefay trades lakeside for a view over the whole lake. The spa is the draw: indoor and outdoor pools, a warm saltwater lake, saunas at different temperatures, and treatments that actually leave you rested rather than merely oiled. Every suite faces the water.
Half board is worth adding; the drive down to the village restaurants is steep and slow after a glass of wine.
Gardone Riviera · Corso Zanardelli, Gardone Riviera, on the lakefront
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A former imperial hunting lodge in Gardone Riviera, with a park full of old trees running down to a private lido. Old-world in the best sense, with a starred restaurant (Il Fagiano) worth staying in for and a spa that is small but well done.
The Vittoriale and the Heller Garden are a 15-minute walk along the lake road.
Riva del Garda · Viale Carducci, Riva del Garda, on the lakefront promenade
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A Belle Époque palace on the waterfront of Riva del Garda, with a crisp modern wing, a spa and a park of old cedars. It is the base we would choose for sailing, cycling and hiking at the northern tip, with the old town and the ferry pier a five-minute walk along the promenade.
Bardolino · Via Europa Unita, Bardolino, 10 minutes' walk from the lake
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A short walk from the lakefront in Bardolino, Aqualux is a modern resort built around its thermal pools and spa. Rooms are big, the pools keep children happy for days, and you can walk to dinner in town in ten minutes rather than parking twice.
Bike hire at the door puts the flat lakeside path to Garda and Lazise within easy reach.
Malcesine · Via Gardesana, Malcesine, on the hillside south of the harbour
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Set in olive groves on the hill just south of Malcesine, the Bellevue San Lorenzo is a small, adults-only hotel with a heated pool that looks straight down the lake to the castle. It is calm in a way that the town centre, a 15-minute walk below, never is in summer. Rooms are simple and comfortable rather than showy, and the terrace at breakfast is the point.
Riva del Garda · Viale Rovereto, Riva del Garda, by the Sabbioni beach
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A big, well-run resort in a park of old trees on the eastern edge of Riva del Garda, with several pools, a spa, tennis courts and direct access to the pebble beach. It suits families and active couples who want somewhere to come back to after a day on the bikes or the boards, and the town centre is a flat 15-minute walk along the lake.
The sailing club and windsurf schools of Torbole sul Garda are ten minutes by bike along the shore path.
Torri del Benaco · Piazza Calderini, Torri del Benaco, on the harbour
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A 15th-century building right on the little harbour of Torri del Benaco, with the Scaliger castle on one side and the ferry pier on the other. Churchill and Laurence Olivier stayed here, and the balconied lake-view rooms have not changed their outlook since. It is a three-star with old-fashioned service and a restaurant terrace over the fishing boats.
Around €150–250 a night for a lake view in summer, which is fair for this location.
Salò · Viale Landi, Salò, 5 minutes' walk from the promenade
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An Art Nouveau villa from 1905 with frescoed ceilings, a garden and a pool, five minutes’ walk from the lakefront in Salò. It has real history (it was a ministry building during the Salò republic) and the sort of high-ceilinged rooms modern hotels cannot fake. Not every room has a lake view, so ask.
Salò’s promenade, the longest on the lake, and its dozens of restaurants are all walkable.
Sirmione · Viale Marconi, Sirmione, at the entrance to the old town
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Part of the Terme di Sirmione group, this is the hotel to pick if the thermal water is the reason for the trip. It sits in a park at the entrance to the old town of Sirmione, with a thermal pool fed directly by the Boiola spring, a private beach and the Scaliger castle a two-minute walk away.
Guests can drive past the barrier into the pedestrian zone, which solves Sirmione’s biggest headache.
West for grand villas and dramatic scenery, east for easy towns, wine and evening sun, north for sport, south for Sirmione and quick access to Verona and Venice. If it is your first visit and you will not have a car, we would pick the east shore between Bardolino and Malcesine: the ferries and the ATV bus link every town, and the afternoon sun stays on your terrace longest.
When should I book a Lake Garda hotel?
For July, August and Easter, book three to six months ahead; the best lake-view rooms at the hotels on this list go first. May, June and September are the sweet spot for weather and prices, and you can often still find a room a few weeks out. Many hotels close from late October to March, so check the opening dates before you plan an off-season trip.
Do I need a car to stay on Lake Garda?
Not if you stay in a lakefront town. Ferries and buses connect most of them, and towns like Riva, Salò and Torri del Benaco are pleasant on foot. For hill hotels like Lefay or Bellevue San Lorenzo, a car makes life much easier. Parking is the real issue in summer: hotels with their own car park in Sirmione or Limone sul Garda are worth paying more for.
Which town is best for a first visit?
For a mix of everything, we would say Malcesine: a castle, the Monte Baldo cable car, ferries to Limone, good beaches north of town and enough restaurants to last a week. Bardolino is easier for families and wine, Salò is the most elegant, and Sirmione is the most famous but also the most crowded between 11am and 5pm.
What are the best family-friendly hotels on Lake Garda?
Aqualux in Bardolino and the Du Lac et Du Parc in Riva are our two picks, for pools, space and being able to walk to town. On the south shore, the resort hotels around Peschiera del Garda put you ten minutes from Gardaland. If a hotel feels too formal with small children, the lakeside campsites with mobile homes in our guide to the best Lake Garda camping are the answer.
Where can we stay on a budget?
Three-star family hotels a street or two back from the water in Bardolino, Garda, Torbole and Toscolano Maderno are typically €100–160 a night in June with breakfast. Mobile homes on the big campsites cost less again and often have better pools. For a group, a rented apartment or house works out cheaper per person; see our guide to the best Lake Garda villas.
Is a lake-view room worth the extra money?
Usually yes, and more so on the east shore where the sunsets are in front of you. The supplement is typically €30–80 a night. What we would not pay extra for is a partial or side lake view, which often means leaning over a balcony rail. If the budget is tight, book the cheaper room in a hotel whose terrace or pool has the view instead.
How many nights should we stay?
Four nights in one base is enough to see a shore properly; a week lets you add a day in Verona and a full day on the ferry. If you have ten days or more, split the stay between the south or east shore and the north, so you get both the Mediterranean feel of Sirmione and Bardolino and the mountains of Riva del Garda.
Should we book a five-star or is four-star enough?
Four-star hotels on Lake Garda are generally excellent and a five-star adds service, space and the private-beach feel rather than anything essential. If you want the very top end, we have a separate list of the best Lake Garda luxury hotels, including a few not on this page. For most trips, a good four-star with a pool and a lake terrace is the sweet spot.
Are Lake Garda hotels open in winter?
Roughly half close between November and March, including many on the west and north shores. Sirmione, Desenzano, Bardolino and Riva keep a fair selection open all year, and prices drop by 30–50 percent. Winter is quiet, often clear and cold, and the Christmas markets in Riva, Bardolino and Garda make December weekends busier than you might expect, so book those in advance.
Our top pick
