HOTEL ROYAL, GARDA
This was our day of leisure which we all needed as the early mornings and constant travel exhausted us. There are some things I would change if I could and that would be to have a leisure day when you get here so you could re-charge your batteries and then enjoy the next few days out. When we were in Venice we did lose a couple of people who got lost on their way back to the coach and got extremely upset so maybe the drivers should give out a card with their phone numbers on it before the first trip.
We had a much-needed lay-in and did not bother with breakfast, taking our time to get ready and then going for a very short walk down to the lake. There are many places to sit and drink or eat, so a coffee was much needed by this time. It was also nice to have a de-caff coffee as the hotel did not do any de-caff. The sockets in the room were very loose and nearly came out of the wall when taking your phone charger out so I hope they improve the electrics soon.
We then found the lanes full of shops again just like the lanes in Brighton, UK. There were so many different, varied things you could buy and the real leather products were amazing and a lot cheaper than in England. We spent a couple of hours walking around and buying a few bits, I even got some Christmas presents as they were such bargains.
We stopped in front of the lake where people had moored their motor boats, a musician was serenading the customers, which all looked lovely. A drink and snack while enjoying the view was lovely. I was surprised at the assortment of shops as when you walk away from the lake you have garages and supermarkets.
The time goes so quickly when you are shopping so coming back to the hotel we stopped for a drink and went through our purchases then got ready for the evening meal. The entertainment was the same every night with a very old guy playing the guitar and a woman on the organ and singing, after one night it was enough and a gin and tonic on the balcony of our room was calling.
This was the happy server!
This was the rude server. Getting annoyed and telling us he had 200 dinners to get out, we only asked if the dish had any nuts in it! Also spilling the spaghetti into Corinne’s Lap!
It is a bit like a carousel when you go into the dining room as they have sittings for all the different coach parties so they constantly hurry you up and lean over you to get the empty plates while you are still eating, I found this very rude.
It was a shame this hotel let the whole trip down so hopefully Just Go Holidays will find a better hotel for next year.
