Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
immaculately kept, with a picture or two framed on the whitewashed walls to
relieve some of the spartan-ness. The four rooms without private bathrooms have
at least a sink, and cost just
32. The two units on the top floor are the best for
their general brightness and high ceilings.
€
The management at
Hotel Portici
(Piazza III Novembre, 19;
%
0464-
555400; www.hotelportici.it; closed Nov-Mar)
pays much more attention to their
ground-floor restaurant/bar under a portico of the main square than they do to
the hotel, but perhaps that's because their rooms are mainly booked by tour
groups—keeping this central and surprisingly reasonable choice off the radar of
more independent travelers. Sadly, its location in the upper leg of the piazza's
L-shape deprives almost all rooms of a lake view—and the functional units are
boringly modern to boot, done up in a monotonous blue tone. Still, for these low
prices—doubles from
€€
100, depending on the season—you can easily
cross the piazza to a cafe to get a view.
€
64 to
€
€€
-
€€€€
For a bit more scratch you can move across the piazza to
Hotel
(Piazza III Novembre, 35;
%
0464-552686; www.hotelsole.net; closed
Nov to mid-Mar except at Christmastime and during frequent trade fairs),
one of
the finest hotels in town with a wonderful location right on the lake. The man-
agement charges a fair price yet still lavishes attention on the hotel's rooms and
guests, with amenities from a casual cafe with lakeside terrace, to a rooftop solar-
ium with sauna, to free bikes for guest use. This place screams class: a lobby filled
with rare Persian carpets and abstract art, a sweeping circular staircase, and warm
and luxurious rooms fitted with tasteful furnishings and marble-trimmed bath-
rooms. The best rooms are outfitted in antique style with balconies and lake views
costing
55
Sole
180 for a double. Penny pinchers can get a modern-functional
room overlooking the square and town for
€
96 to
€
160. Half-board in the for-
mal restaurant is a steal at only
€
112 to
€
€
8 extra per person; full-board costs
€
15, but
then you couldn't dine out.
€€
-
€€€
If the restaurants attached to the hotels above don't satisfy, indulge
in the Teutonic side of this Trentino town at the noisy indoor beer garden of
Birreria Spaten
(Via Maffei, 7;
%
0464-553670, closed Wed and Nov-Feb),
occupying the ground floor of an old
palazzo.
Many of the German and Austrian
visitors who favor Riva opt for the schnitzel-and-sauerbraten side of the menu,
but you can also enjoy a pasta like
strangolapreti
(spinach-and-ricotta dumplings
in a butter sauce;
5
9), or a simply grilled lake trout
(
€
15). If you can't decide, the
€
14 Piatto Spaten is an ample sampler of Tirolean
specialties:
cotechino
(spicy sausage),
wurstel, canederli
(a giant bread dumpling), a
ham steak, and sauerkraut.
€
8), one of 30 pizzas (
€
5-
€
EXPLORING RIVA DEL GARDA
Riva's old town is pleasant enough, though
the only historical attractions of note are the 13th-century
Torre d'Apponale
and, nearby, the moated lakeside castle,
La Rocca.
Part of the castle interior now
houses an unassuming
museum of local art and crafts
(Piazza C. Battisti, 3;
%
0464-573869; www.comune.rivadelgarda.tn.it/museo;
€
3; 10am-6pm, Mar
19-June 12 and Oct closed Mon).
