Inside Borgo Tre, Lake Garda's new farmhouse hotel with understated appeal
Not many castles have their own lemon grove, but as I walk into the conservatory of fruit-laden trees – known as the limonàra – at the Castello Scaligero museum in Torri del Benaco, a quiet waterfront village on the eastern side of Lake Garda, the wonderful fragrance of citrus blossom fills the air. Although lemons represent, to me, the scent of the lake (a nostalgic memory from a holiday in Limone as a teenager), this area is better known for the olive trees that cover the hillsides. More than 1,500 of them make up the old olive farm that surrounds Borgo Tre, a just-opened hideaway in an 18th-century stone farmhouse above Torri (as the locals call it). Having had a summer house here for a decade, the Hinteregger family – who own the Dolomites hotel Sonnwies – have renovated the rustico to create six apartment suites (including two in the garden).
The minimalist interiors could not be more different from classic Italian design. The materials are simple and natural – travertine floors, oak beams, white linens, wool rugs – so as not to detract from the spectacular mountain views. Breakfast, made with South Tyrolean produce, is delivered, although suites have a kitchenette for those who might want to cook. Sage shutters and linen curtains open onto individual terraces, most with an outdoor marble tub, while underfloor heating and a fireplace in the sitting area help to ward off any end-of-season chill. To one side of the building is a small communal pool with loungers and an outdoor kitchen where staff whip up snacks and drinks during the day; to the other, a rosemary-fringed path leads to a wellness area among the olive trees, with a hot tub, cold plunge bath, Finnish sauna and yoga platform. It is all deliberately low key and unfussy, in keeping with the style of Lake Garda, which remains less glitzy than the A-lister’s favourite Lake Como, known for its opulent mansion hotels and grand villas.
One exception is Isola del Garda, a gorgeous Venetian neo-Gothic villa on a private island, which is home to members of the Borghese Cavazza family and is open to the public for tours. Tickets include a boat taxi and the short journey from the town of Garda allows for an alternative perspective on the shoreline. (Hortus garden café, by the entrance to the park of Villa degli Albertini, is great for a cappuccino beforehand.) Being on the water gives a sense of its sheer scale: at 34 miles long and up to 11 miles wide, this is the largest of the Italian lakes. Ethereal wisps of morning cloud hang low as a shifting band of light etches the jagged mountain peaks in sharp relief to the blue sky behind. On the island itself, the two gardens are a highlight. One is English, with orange trees and geraniums in the glasshouse; the other is Italianate, on the terrace above, with persimmon and palm trees, and rambling apricot roses that soften clipped box hedges.
Back in Torri for a bowl of burrata, shrimp and truffle risotto at upscale restaurant La Regata dal Pesci and the afternoon is in full swing (a few doors down are the green-checked tablecloths of Pizzeria alla Grotta, which is also excellent). A painting class has set up easels by the horse-shoe-shaped port, where a five-piece band is entertaining the Aperol spritz-sipping audience. At the other end of the promenade, a handful of sunbathers are stretched out on a strip of pebbly beach. A 30-minute drive north, picture-postcard Malcesine, with its boutique-lined cobbled streets and cable car up Monte Baldo, is one of the big draws. But the real beauty of Lake Garda is that there are plenty of less-discovered places and quieter moments to be found.
The Pellegrino trail is a series of tranquil hiking and biking paths connecting villages such as Albisano and Pai di Sopra, once used by pilgrims making their way to Verona. It goes right past Borgo Tre and so, the next day, I set off for Crero. Church bells ring in the distance. Wild purple orchids and poppies provide flashes of colour among the olive groves. And I barely pass a soul. Crero is a blink-and-miss-it hillside hamlet. There are a dozen or so houses, the 18th-century San Siro church, and a single trattoria, Panoramico, which serves up plates of home-made spaghetti with sardines and pumpkin ravioli to refuelling cyclists soaking up the mountain vistas.
A benefit of choosing this side of the lake over the west is the sunset and one idyllic aperitivo hangout is the San Vigilio peninsula, close to Torri. Wooden tables are arranged under a grapevine-covered pergola on the jetty and steps leading down into the water invite a swim. Equally atmospheric is the nearby waterside village of Castelletto, where, on my last evening, I sit down for a fish supper at Ristorante da Umberto. Inside, yachting memorabilia covers one wall (friendly owner Luca Modena is a former professional sailor), while, outside, colourful fishing boats bob in the harbour marked by blue-and-white mooring poles reminiscent of Venice. Everything is homemade, from the pasta to the olive oil and lemon ice cream – an apt final dessert. As the sun sinks lower, the restaurant fills up, but like elsewhere on this sometimes underrated lake, it feels like a truly precious find.
Emma Love visited Lake Garda as a guest of Borgo Tre, where suite apartments cost from €600 a night, B&B, based on two sharing: borgotre.com
Lucy Laucht1/9Set among old olive groves above the lakeside village of Torri del Benaco, Borgo Tre is an 18th-century stone farmhouse that has been renovated to create six apartment suites with views of the lake.
Lucy Laucht2/9The two-bedroom Borgo Loft has a bright and spacious living area with a freestanding bath.
Lucy Laucht3/9Looking across the Punta San Vigilio to Lake Garda.
Lucy Laucht4/9The lake at sunset.
Lucy Laucht5/9A display of fresh produce for sale in Torri del Benaco.
Lucy Laucht6/9The harbour in Torri del Benaco.
Lucy Laucht7/9Andrea Mischi, owner of Le Rubinare delicatessen in Torri del Benaco, which sells everything from locally made cheeses and olive oils to orecchiette pasta and sardines from the lake.
Lucy Laucht8/9The 18th-century San Siro church, in the hamlet of Crero.
Lucy Laucht9/9A supper of lake fish at waterside Ristorante da Umberto, in the village of Castelletto.
