Aqualux Hotel and Spa

Looking back over some of the negative reviews of the Aqualux I am quite surprised. This hotel was everything we wanted and more - and we are quite discerning travellers! The guest mix was quite varied with everyone from younger to older couples and families with children. There was a good mix of nationalities, mainly Italian, German and Engish. It certainly did not come across as overly "Brits abroad", which is one of my pet hates (as a Brit!). The hotel is modern in style and built in a square around a courtyard which is beautifully laid out with gardens and waterfalls and contains numerous swimming pools (8 in total, I believe, indoor and outdoor). Much has been said about the pool rules but we didn't see any problem with this. Children are allowed in the indoor pools until 18:30 and in the outdoor ones until 20:00. Personally this was more than adequate since we went for evening meal at 7pm. The only thing I would say is that inflatables are not allowed in the pool. Swimming aids for non swimmers were fine, but if you're looking for somewhere to bring your massive inflatable crocodile or lilo, look elsewhere! Thankfully this did not bother my kids in the slightest. They spent most of their day in the pools and the lazy river, which was lots of fun. Our stay was half board and you could not fault the selection available at breakfast, including everything from bacon and eggs through to continental options, a waffle maker, juice station and even prosecco! Evening meals were of a very high standard, 4 courses including antipasto and deserts from the buffet, pasta and meat or fish course served at the table - and also a kids menu. Once a week there was a special buffet night where chefs had al fresco stations in the gardens whipping up pasta, BBQ seafood etc. A special mention goest to all the waiting staff who were all, without exception friendly and helpful. If you like wine, Fernando is your man. He gave us several excellent recommendations. Our room was spacious and well equipped - granted we had a sofa bed for the children, but this was sufficiently large and comfortable for them. There is a minibar fridge and the balcony was a nice place to sit while the kids were getting to sleep at night (the only slightly odd thing was no light on the balcony). The bathroom was well kitted out with plenty of shelf space, lots of towels and hairdryer. It was a nice touch that the hotel provided robes for adults and children plus a large beach bag which could be used to take all your bits and bobs down to the pool. The hotel have clearly been listening carefully to some of the feedback as there was live music several days a week and there were also aquarobic classes some mornings and evenings. It seems they have really thought about how to give the guests a great time. We found the reception staff to be very helpful and responsive and on our final day, when we had to leave really early for the airport, they kindly arranged a packed breakfast for us to take with us. The hotel is not lakeside, however it's a gentle 10 minute stroll (and that's 10 minutes with young dawdling children) into town. The location worked perfectly for us. In the town there are numerous restaurants and shops and we were really spoilt for choice. Market day is every Thursday and it's easy to get around the lake by ferry, buying tickets at the harbour in Bardolino. There was so much to see and do around the lake and having done a trip around the whole lake I was pleased that we chose Bardolino as our base. Although it was busy being peak season, Bardolino feels relatively less crowded than some of the other towns on the lake. We are now plotting our return to Lake Garda and the Aqualux!

Just back from holiday to lake garda.mynwife and I stayed in Aqualux in Bardolina. The hotel was top class. The room food service excellent. A great place to enjoy lake.Thoroughly recommend this hotel

Just returned from our trip to the Aqualux hotel which was booked through TUI for the special occasion of my wife???s 40th and my eldest sons who is due to turn 21 in September. We arrived on the early flight from Manchester to the hotel about 11 am. We were greeted with great warmth by Valentina and had a nice glass of Prosecco before heading into town for a look around and some lunch. The hotel took my mobile number should the room become available before the 3 pm check in time which was a nice touch. We returned at 14:45 and luckily the room was made available for us, however on entering the room I thought there must have been a mistake as it was quite small. As our two boys 20 and 13 were with us I had thought we had a family room which was a separate bedroom with a living area but this was not the case. We had paid a lot of money and didn???t think the room justified the price paid. I must admit I was rather deflating to see my wife and kids so disappointed which meant I needed to act on it. I went back down to reception and explained to one of the staff my situation. I asked if there was any alternative solutions to the room we had as I had put it on my requests through TUI for a pool facing room and explained about the special occasion birthdays we were celebrating. This information clearly had not reached the hotel. I have to say that Valentina in reception was fantastic about it. She said to me that she will help me sort something out. She did say that I should speak with TUI also to explain the situation which I did. Speaking with TUI did not get me anywhere they said that I had booked that room and that was that. I had booked it online though I honestly thought I???d booked a family room so the mistake was partly mine but they just didn???t want to help out in any way. They said they would speak to the hotel but I didn???t hold much hope in all honestly. I returned to reception and Valentina had finished her shift but had passed all of the information over to Alessia who said she would do her best to try and find the best solution for my family. I asked what types of room she had available to suit the money we had paid. She explained that unfortunately they had no family rooms available though there was a garden suite available. She explained that there would be a surcharge for the upgrade but would do her best to make it reasonable. She said how much and I asked to see the room to make sure I was happy before committing to it. My wife was in the other room at this point wondering what the hell was going on !! . The guy in reception ( forgot his name) showed me the room and it was amazing . I had made my mind up I was going to pay the extra to secure the room . On returning to the reception Alessia was ready waiting though as I was speaking I believe it was the manager ( I think Sara ?) pulled her to the back office for a chat. At this point I thought the room I had just booked had been double booked or something so was fearing the worse. When she returned she actually informed me that there would be a further reduction to the already reduced supplement. Having been up Since 3 am and feeling tired and emotionally drained I told Alessia that she had just made our Holiday. I could not thank all of the reception staff enough, they all were so understanding of how I wanted it to be special for my family and they showed they really cared. I was truly touched. Anyhow the hotel is superb, pools fantastic , grounds are amazing . We were half board and were amazed at the standard of food we had . For Breakfast we had so much choice and the evening meals were so delicious with a great choice . My youngest son who doesn???t usually try new things was now eating sword fish and squid and really enjoying it. Puddings are to die for also . The location of the hotel is perfect for strolling into the town and we made sure we went every evening to try and burn off some calories after dinner. I do feel I have to give a special mention to waiter Silvio and our waitress Madelena who looked after us the whole time.They made time for us all and we had some laughs together usually at the youngest sons expense. 😀. I must say that all staff at the hotel are pleasant professional and very hard working. The standards set are very high and you can see that. I???ve stayed in lots of so called 4 or 5 star hotels over the years but I have to say that this beats anything I have ever stayed in before. When I checked out I told Alessia that we had the best family holiday we???ve ever had and explained it was all down to your wonderful staff. Words cannot express how happy and special you made us feel throughout the week. We will never forget what you have done for us and hopefully we will return one day to stay at your beautiful hotel. Thanks again Vinny & family North Wales