Just returned from two weeks at the San Pietro in beautiful Limone. The hotel is very comfortable in the most panoramic setting high above Lake Garda - just like the photos. The staff are all very attentive despite the long hours they seem to work. Food is very good plenty of choice variety and quantity served buffet style for both breakfast and dinner (men are required to wear long trousers in the dining room at night i.e. no shorts but don't think from that that it's particularly "formal"). The 4.00pm hot beverages and slice of Italian panetone cake and short bread biscuits are a nice touch taken outside on the poolside terraces. There's a good sized children's pool and a quieter adult pool on a higher level terrace called the "relax zone". The pools are a bit cool but if you keep moving and in the heat if the day its very welcoming! There are plenty of sunbeds on the various terraces. The vegetation is lush and well tended.

Rooms are spacious and comfortable - shut the balcony door and the window to get the Air Conditioning going which is very effective and not too intrusive. Loads of storage space - you'd be pushed to fill it even with full baggage allowance and three sharing the room! Plenty of linen changes. There are fluffy towelling gowns and slippers provided as well as towels for use at the two pools. there's a mini bar in the room same prices as at the bar and the fridge can be used to keep your water supplies cool. There's a nice bottle of fizzy dry white wine and a box of chocolate coated nuts on arrival.

You can expect variable weather even in August though the rain tends to be only occasional and at night in the form of dramatic thunder storms which clear the air - hopefully you don't get caught out on the walk back from Limone when it starts! It would be good if the hotel had a minibus service later into the evening for trips down and back up again from the town.

You get the most out of the area if you hire a car for at least part of your stay as there is so much dramatic scenery, beautiful historic towns and other lakes to see. There are many cultural things to do in the area and we would have to recommend to everyone a visit to the Opera at the Roman amphitheatre in Verona. It was the highlight of our holiday and even our typical fifteen year old daughter was spell bound by the setting and the spectacle. The trip to Verona takes about 1.5 to 2 hours by car using the autostrada - don't use the lakeside roads. We would definitely recommend using the ferries to visit Sirmione in the south. Don't try circumnavigating the lake on the main road you end up taking hours in frustrating congestion at some of the lakeside towns on the way. I'm sure the ferry would have been far more pleasurable and a chance to soak up some sunshine. Do take the trip up Monte Baldo from Malcescine on the cable car. Get there early as there are some queues to contend with but think of it as a Disney World ride! Even for those who don't like heights its really not bad and there are alpine style cafes on the top and cows and calves with bells round their necks to meet and stroke as well as views to enjoy.

All in all we would have to rate this as one of our best holiday destinations and would love to go back as there's plenty more we'd love to see.
The Powell family

San Pietro is a lovely hotel, rooms were clean and spacious and the staff were very friendly and helpful. We thought the food was very good, buffet style restaurant with plenty of choice. The views from the hotel were beautiful, all the rooms have a lake view, even though we had a big palm tree covering most of our balcony it was shady and very private. There are two outdoor pools - the quiet one is very cold - and a lovely indoor pool too.

We did find that when it rains, quite often does in the Lakes, that it was a bit inconvenient to move around the hotel as you have to go outside to get to different levels.

It is set up on the hill above Limone itself and this makes it very quiet and relaxing but it is very, very steep and a good 20 minute walk from the centre. The mini bus is good but only runs until 6pm which is a bit of a disadvantage.

Stayed 26th July to 2nd August 2008 following other reviews given people on this site using Inghams Lakes and Mountains.
First impresion was very good the recption staff where friendly and helpfull.
The room ( Number 844 ) was spotless and roomy. the beds wherec made up every day and the room kept clean.
The view was fantastic but please bear in mind that a few rooms have a restricted view due to palm trees etc planted outside.
The romm next to us (843) is a good example.
Food wa first class buffet style , just keep going back for more if you want , fair selection of wine/ beers available to but to go with tour meal.
There are three pools to use but some days there could be a shortage of sun loungers ( NO RESERVING WITH TOWELS ALLOWED )
Shutle bus is 80 cents each way but finished at 6.30 pm.
Threre are taxis avalilable but they can be in short supply, as for the walk back yes it is uphill all the way but we found it ok .
Some people will struggle making it depends what you are used to.
Entertainment was low key (Piano/Jaz quartet) and finished about 11.00 pm this time the noise levels are none existent, very relaxingas is the town of Limone ( NO NIGHT LIFE )
So in short if you want a good hotel where you can relax use this one( Not suitable for childen)
Have agood time

My review of the San Pietro may appear somewhat negative compared to some of the more recent reviews, but this is my honest opinion, based on comparing the San Pietro to other 4 star hotels / resorts we have stayed at over the last few years (although none in Italy). Apologies if it’s a bit long, but I wanted to try and cover the good and not so good points.

Flights (with First Choice) were fine, on time – enough legroom for someone over 6’ tall. Crew were pleasant & efficient.

Transfer to the hotel was smooth, coach trip took just over an hour and 20 mins, straight to Limone. The First Choice rep (Mark) gave us a commentary on route of things worth seeing. The coach journey is very picturesque, with a breathtaking first view of Lake Garda.

Check in was efficient. The rooms are large enough, with everything you need. Overall impression was generally good, but lost points for a couple of things such as broken floor tiles. Beds are comfortable, even for bad back sufferers like me.

Bathroom had everything you need – but the over bath shower was fitted in the centre of the tub, and the shower curtain didn’t reach either end of the bath, meaning the floor got rather wet.

The view from the balcony, while good, was a bit of a disappointment – there was a section of garden area immediately outside the room, and view of the Lake was obscured as a result. The rooms above ours (840, which was on the lowest level), would no doubt have been much better.

On our 1st day we went for some lunch, at the hotel. It was a while before anyone came to take our order, but it was quite busy with staff serving food etc. When a waiter did come over, he told us food service had finished at 2pm. It was only 5 past, and we had been waiting for over 5 minutes. Add to that the waiter knew we were new arrivals, and the fact that food was still coming from the kitchen the whole time it took us to finish our drinks we ordered – didn’t leave us with the best first impression of the service! In fairness the staff were very good overall throughout the remainder of our stay.

Weather during the week was glorious, with a couple of spectacular evening thunderstorms. The hotel appears to have some drainage issues – when it rained beach towels were placed across the walkway to our rooms, and most of the rooms along our section had beach towels across the doorways to keep rainwater out.

Compared to other 4* resorts we’ve stayed at I’d describe the food as adequate. There was very little other than salad or pasta with tomato sauce for vegetarians.

The First Choice excursion to Verona was fully booked, so we booked one with Limon tours (there are leaflets in reception, or you can go to their shop in Limone). They were excellent, can recommend them if you want to go on an organised trip.

For the rest of our stay we made our own way around via the ferries to Malcesine, Riva, Torbole etc. The cable car trip up Monte Baldo from Malcesine is well worth doing. The views from the San Pietro are good, try them from about 1700 metres up. Simply unbelievable! Get to the cable cars early if you can, (by about 09:30) they get very busy later on.

The walk from Limone to the hotel has been well documented in other reviews, and if you’re super fit and go to the gym on a regular basis you’ll find it a good work out! Other than that let’s say it’s a challenge….. :-)

Overall we had a great time. Lake Garda is a fabulous place, as is Limone. If you have booked the San Pietro please don’t let my review put you off, generally it is good – but we just felt with a few tweaks here and there it could have been so much better, which is why I’ve rated it as 3 stars.