Sirmione holiday apartment

Thank you Elena, we had a lovely holiday. You were very helpful and didn't mind us calling you for advice/guidance during our stay.
Garden Ville Residence consists of 4 blocks of apts sharing the gardens and pool, we had a 2 bedroom apt on ground floor & our group consisted of Gran, Mum, Dad & 2 girls (10&5). The apt is very well located with both local and regional bus stops a few minutes walk. We regularly took the local bus in the evening to Sirmione Centre for a stroll and ice-cream! We also used the regional bus to Peschiera, Desenzano and Verona. We had lovely trips across the lake to other lakeside towns - note that there can be huge queues for ferries, esp. from Sirmione, as they are like buses picking up and dropping off at various ports and if the ferry is full you can't get on! There are great markets in the area: Lugana market is a very short walk from the apt and Desenzano market is huge. There are several restaurants (incl Pizza takeaway) and 3 supermarkets within easy walking distance which supplied us with everything that we needed including delicious local cheeses and wines.
Swimming pool is large, very clean and generally quiet as most inhabitants of the Residence appear to live there and don't use it very much. However, during our second week, a group of Italians arrived and for 1 hour in the morning and afternoon took over the shallow third of the pool for Aqua-Aerobics and so we were forced to the deep end with our children or tended to go shopping then! The gardens are well maintained.
The apt itself is very clean and well-kept with newly-fitted kitchen area, sturdy table and chairs for family meals and a good sized fridge. Crockery was mix and match, but as Elena says things get broken and can't replace the set each time - adequate for us, but if there had been more adults, another couple of bigger cups would have been good. We made good use of the Coffee Pot. Bedlinen is very different to that used in the UK (actually quite 70s), but perfectly clean and serves its purpose well. Bathroom is newly refurbished - took a while to balance the hot/cold water in the shower, but we got there! The apt has a walled terrace where there is a table, chairs, umbrella, sunloungers and clothes-drying rack. We spent a lot of time here eating, drinking, playing, watching the children in the pool or just admiring the pool when it was lit up at night while enjoying a nightcap.
Overall, each one of us had a great holiday in a fantastic location.

We gave the owner a list upon departure of suggestions for next year. We had a good holiday but it could have been better :
No pegs, iron or ironing board
Blankets had holes in, paid extra for ancient bedding, un-ironed
Wall covered in squashed dead mosquito corpses
Mixture of plates, some chipped, cups chipped, no wine glasses
Chipped shower tray, cracked washbasin and bidet
Disgusting shower curtain
Property described as 'budget' but desperately needs an injection of capital or complaints will flood in.Don't regard the price we paid for a studio off season to be particularly 'budget'!
We loved the area but in all honesty despite its convenient location, could not recommend the property as it is. We would not rent it again.
We pointed out to the owner the issues above,plus a few more.

Family holiday for 2 adults and 3 children (14, 13, 11 years of age). Have already been to Lake Garda (just outside Peschiara) and wanted to try a different area.

Property was a little dated but clean and well equipped.
Double bed in one room and bunk beds plus single bed in other room. Plenty room for all. Sofa bed/futon was old and uncomfortable so we didn't use, too soft for even sitting on but dining room chairs and garden furniture were all we needed. Bathroom and kitchen looked like they had recently been updated.

2 fans provided and once we got the hang of what times to open/close the shutters for the breeze/sun we could keep the place fairly cool. Air conditioning woud have been good though, especially at night.

Lovely swimming pool with time restricitions for siesta but open until 10pm, rules for bathing caps and no inflatables but worked well for us. Grounds beautifuly kept and nice to sit in under the trees or in the sun. We were one of only 3 non Italian families here and it was nice not to be surrounded by other tourists.

Local area with shops for groceries and restaurants dotted about nearby once we found our way around. Lake shore easily accessible. We are used to being able to walk to more of a town centre in the evening so drove to nearby areas like Sirmione and Peschiara a couple of nights to stroll around.

We had a good relaxing break here, ideally suited for visiting other areas of the Lake by car. Have ticked the box to recommend for people with disablities as it was all on ground level with no steps from the road or into the building or in the property.

We moved to another property (79064) for the second week and in an ideal world would have preferred the other property in this location!

Thank you Elena for a lovely holiday in your apartment.