20 yrs ago we stayed at the Olivedo in Varenna at suggestion of our Rick Steves Tourbook. We notice that the 2019 tour book uses the Olivedo as a landmark but is not one of Rick's suggestions. Wondering if it has deteriorated or we should take a risk and book it anyway. Joan
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
There was a thread on this same topic back in September that might answer your question.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/hotel-olivedo-in-varenna
Posted by
Portland
3648 posts
Some years ago, when we were researching places to stay in the lakes area, we checked out Olivedo. There were a fair number of negative reviews on various sites, which tended to mention a quite unprofessional attitude on the part of the proprietor. The theme was that she took any criticism personally and proceeded to treat guests badly for transgressions like not taking dinner at the hotel or complaining that the room was not as described. She demonstrates her attitude in her responses to negative reviews by accusing people of lying or calling them bad people.
You could look on Tripadvisor to get a feel for why we decided against Olivedo.
Posted by
Southwest Florida
905 posts
We stayed in Olivedo in 2017. We found the accommodations and the hosts delightful. I suspect folks can have a bad day, but that was not our experience. Great location, great price and the restaurant is very good as well. I think this echoes my input on TripAdvisor as well.
Have a great trip.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you all. I checked trip adviser and the September entry. Seems worth the risk .....every trip needs a bit of it.
Will hold on to Olivedo and cancel the other reservation. Hope to remember to report back in May. Joan
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32402 posts
lj,
I'll be interested to hear your opinion of Hotel Olivedo after your stay. It's been a few years since I've stayed there, and I'm wondering if anything is changed. FWIW, I got along fine with Laura. She was very helpful.
Posted by
Austin TX after living in Boulder CO for 25 years
1175 posts
Our room was beautiful and the Lake views were stunning.
We just had a hard time sleeping because of the restaurant noise. And 100 wine bottles were dropped into a dumpster at 2 am.....blergh....
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
We stayed at Hotel Olivedo three nights in June, 2011. We found Laura to be very congenial and helpful. Perhaps that was influenced by the email we shared while making reservations prior to our trip.
We had good food there, including the sandwiches the bar made for us because we arrived between lunch and dinner.
Our 2nd (EU) floor corner room was large and lovely with a balcony on the lake side, big window on the other side and even a window into the bathroom. We experienced the magnificent view with no annoying noise.
I looked at the Booking.com listing pictures and saw no bath similar to ours at the time. It had one of those long, deep and narrow tubs with a shower apparatus in the middle and a round shower curtain. We called it the Cirque du Soleil shower. It may have been replaced by one of the corner showers featured in the pictures.
We had a car which we parked in a fenced and gated area behind the hotel while we were there. When I checked out, the cost of parking was not listed. I pointed that out to Laura and she was very pleased that I did.
BTW, it has an overall property rating of 9 by Booking.com reviewers, a total of 545 so far.