Palazzo di Varignana Resort and Spa

I would have given 4 stars should we not get apauling negroni last evening on otherwise nice terrace. I’ve had negronis on prestigious locations and in low level places where nehroni costs 6 eur or even less. This here was just coloured ice. An unforgivable mistake! When we left, after paying a “decemt” sum for our room, there was no goodby, or thank you, or hope we see you again… Completely alienated! An unforgivable mistake. Now to the main point. Palazzo is present as an old renovated pallazo. In fact it is a huge hotel! The pallace is there, but serves only as one of many restaurants. Hotel itself is nicely positioned with a good architecture, but sorry, nothig in common with the term pallazo. Compeltely misleading positioning. Unfogivable mistake. We did not use their spa, which is supposed to be superb. So, take in in mind this detail. Plus: we did not eat at their restaurants, since there are so many excellent local trattoria around Bologna, that we did not even think to eat at the hotel.

Spa diamond only . The food at the restaurant was not so good . The breakfast was ok with big variety . The surrounding area is for relax and walk . In my case the TV was not working .They fix it The bathroom sink was blocked . They fix it . If you need something to eat there is no chance but only in the bar and 4 sandwiches Friendly staff

The pros: There are lots of things that are great about this hotel. The views are really special. Lots of local products to try at the restaurant. Wine tasting at the local vineyard is really, really special and in a stunning location. Rooms are very nice, quiet and clean. Enjoyed exploring the grounds, museum, and trying the different pools. Service is really great. Overall a special hotel and would recommend. The cons: Limited food options at the pool bar. It would be good to have more informal lunch options (e.g. poolside pizzas), or a more relaxed lunch time restaurant. The main restaurants were quite expensive (we tried Aurevo & Le Marzoline) and some dishes were also too small. Our food at Marzoline was quite cold and again small. One pool overlooking the driving range was very cold (most pools were lovely though).

This was a tough rating as I’ve actually stayed 3 times now and I’m sad to say this last one was the closest to a 4 star experience so it was touch and go. The staff are fantastic, the grounds stunning and we’ve had good rooms each time. Some of the spa and hotel need a little work but it’s clear money has been spent. The wine tasting and tour is excellent and the pools are great. All in all I would recommend on the whole just food choices have become a little more limited for vegetarians and the value a little less good than before. Still a lovely place to visit and would recommend

Palazzo di Varignana is a vast property (over 600 acres) with private villas to rent along with individual rooms. It is in a remote area, with no access to a town where your could walk for incidentals or to shop or eat out. I was battling a terrible cough when we arrived. The property does not have a concierge to help with all our questions as the staff is not knowledgeable. There is no small store to purchase needed supplies like cough drops/headache medicine/water/sodas/snacks. Having a car is a MUST. Unfortunately we did not but hired a driver to take us each day for wine tasting, balsamic tasting, etc. The spa area is very nice, having been October we did not use any outdoor pools. Indoor spa/pool was very nicely done. I would rank my Swedish massage I would rate as a 5 but the sauna area, cold shower area was top notch. Now to our room....At check-in (as most have said in these reviews) the staff was extremely vague about how to maneuver around this vast property. they advised us to download their App and we would see better detail....well this App was absolutely useless...just showing the trails to walk. The television in our room had highlights of the spa/restaurants/trails but again no detail on how to get to each place. We asked for a map and they gave us an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of paper with the entire property shown in a font size that needed a magnifying glass to read. We laughed and said we needed a bigger map but were told that was all they had!!! About all you could make out on this map was the immense walking trails...any details of the rooms/spa/restaurants were impossible to read. When the staff tried to show us, on this microscopic map, how to get to our room we gave up and said we would need help....Wow was that a good choice. These corridors of 8 rooms each are tiered down a hillside. From the front desk we ventured outside, headed across the street to an elevator that was not attached to any building. We got inside, pressed #5 and down we headed to what seemed like a bunker when the doors opened, with a long sterile hallway made from concrete, (soundproof inside) with steel and marble staircases that went up to more floors with NO people on them (we never passed a human in 3 days down there). It became our joke that no one would find us down here for days, until a housekeeper arrived. Spooky! Now our room was amazing, a bit cold feeling but huge, modern, with a expansive deck looking out to the beautiful scenery. Nice large bathroom. This resort really emphasizes wellness and the environment however my first shock was in the shower. There were no environmental friendly soap dispensers on the wall....all the hotels we visited throughout Italy all had the re-fillable containers with body wash/shampoo/conditioner...but this "environmentally conscience" property is still using 1 ounce, plastic bottles of these three products! I was very upset to see such a huge property behind the times. All I could think on our 4 days here was all the plastic wasted on hundreds of rooms. Restaurants, II Grifone (located inside Vila at top of property) was a 5 star dinner. Our Maître d' was fabulous as was his young assistant. He shared his history of working in some of the finest restaurants around the world. Excellent service, excellent food. Treno Reale is a train car from the 1800's. Beautifully decorated with velvet curtains, painted ceilings.... a step back in time to the Orient Express. Our dinner began at 8:30pm and ended at midnight! Much, much too late to be eating at that hour. Many guests felt the same way. Each dish was a work of art, but not a menu I enjoyed. Too many fish dishes with no other options since it is a fixed price. Would not recommend. The staff has to prepare the food in another building away from the train car and drinks are made in a bar far from the train...we were told it would take 10-15 minutes to receive an alcohol drink other then wine. It took 15-18 minuets. Le Marzoline...this restaurant is more on the casual side, but located far away from the main part of the property. We decided to walk (we could have had the lobby bring us in a golf cart). Our dinner was very good but our waitress made the evening. She was from Hungary and had a wonderful, funny and playful personality. The signage on the roads would name a restaurant but didn't show you which direction to go. Finding the the 1800's train car was impossible! We finally had the front desk shuttle us to it. Also Le Marzoline restaurant is a good 20-30 minute walk and you might think twice about walking back in the dark if you have been drinking. Again, do not stay here without your own transportation unless you do not plan on leaving.