Trying an undiscovered place, and proving you had the “right” instincts, brings many glorious rewards! That is what we found when we visited Lake Iseo in Northern Italy in early September. Iseo is the undiscovered neighbor of huge and famous, Lake Garda. Lake Iseo is one on the smallest of the Italian Lakes region and remains unknown to most of the world, except for savvy research travelers! Framed by mountains on all sides, the blue-green waters of the Lake Iseo welcome all visitors with compelling views.
We made the two-hour drive in our Fiat Panda from Milan International Airport at Malpensa and arrived in the small village of Sulzano to check into our hotel, the Hotel Rivalago. What I had hoped would be our favorite hotel of the Italian lakes trip turned out to be true!
The Hotel Rivalago is nestled behind some fairly old buildings, down a cobblestone alley from the main street. The alley and surrounding buildings must have been built several hundred years ago, as the alley was wide enough for one car. The hotel is perched 100 yards from Lake Iseo with a glassed-in patio restaurant overlooking a garden lined with trees, flowers and tables and chairs for two.
We had reserved a panoramic junior suite room, which was one of five located on the top-level of Hotel Rivalago. The very large room – by European standards – was on the corner of the roof level. The room had a king size bed with a small canopy with twin night stands, minibar, a desk and chair, a settee, and another lounging chair. The bathroom was large with a great shower/tub combination and sink with lots of room to hold your toiletries, again unheard of in most European hotels. I just wish Europe would get rid of the useless bidets! That space that could be used for shelves or other things.
The best part of the room was the large private roof terrace. Since we were on the corner, we had double views of the mountains, the lake and Monte Isola, the island located in the middle of Lake Iseo. We had two lounge chairs, along with a table and chairs, on our very large roof terrace. The room and view alone would make me consider returning to Lake Iseo and Hotel Rivalago.
After checking in, we returned to the patio restaurant, after flying from the east coast of the US, had a wonderful charcuterie board, and my long-awaited, first Aperol spritz in Italy. I am sure it was the view coupled with the happiness of being in Italy (and having landed), but it was my favorite spritz of the trip! Since the restaurant for dinner is closed on Mondays (the day of arrival), we had dinner at neighboring, Villa Rosa. The restaurant was unremarkable but easy walking distance from the hotel. Once we squeezed our Fiat into the tiny hotel garage, we did not want to move it for the night.
the Hotel Rivalago had our favorite breakfasts of our trip. The buffet breakfast had an enormous assortment of offerings, such as pastries, fruit, cold cuts and cheeses, Prosecco, juices, American style eggs and bacon, yogurt and other healthier options. We enjoyed our cappuccinos and breakfast on the patio again, overlooking the sun soaked Lake Iseo. We consider the breakfast at Hotel Rivalago as the best we have ever had in all of our European travels.
We had made arrangements for a tour and tasting of one of local wineries in the famous wine region of Franciacorta, so we ventured off in the Fiat after breakfast. Google maps sorted our way through vineyards to the Bellevista Winery in nearby, Erbusco. The tour was in English and another couple joined us, though it seemed to be just us two! The Franciacorta method is famous for its second fermentation of the wine to produce a unique and time-honored sparkling wine. Its not Prosecco but closer and more rifined, like champagne. We were shown the wine making process which was fascinating. For thirty years, the Bellevista Winery has been harvesting grapes from over 100 family farms in the region. These farms can be as small as an acre or two, and some date back to the Romans. Each farm’s harvest is place in individual steal vats The winemaker selects wines from these vats in different formulas to create a new vintage. We toured the caves lined with many long rows of fermenting bottles. After the tour, we were treated to a tasting of two of their vintages. Our favorite was the Alma, Bellevista’s most famous sparkling wine. The winery itself, set high in the hills overlooking Lake Iseo was stunning with artwork, sculptures and Italian architectural style. The experience gave us a true appreciation for what a winery really is.
Later that day, we took the five minute ferry to the lake island of Monte Isola. The island of Monte Isola is the tallest lake island in Italy. We had lunch in a lakeside Osteria and enjoyed the view back across the lake, as well as an Aperol spritz. We returned to dinner at Hotel Rivalago and sat lakeside to enjoy a nice meal which was outshone by the ambiance and setting sun over Lake Iseo.
The following day, we set course for our next lake visit, Bellagio on Lake Como. We left Lake Iseo wishing we could stay longer on this lovely quaint Italian lake in one of the most beautiful hotels in Italy. “Boutique” is precisely what Hotel Rivalago is, a petite, stylish hotel with local flavor and service, and thoroughly Italian.
