Grand Hote Fasano 135° anniversary

1888 – 2023: 135 years of history and tradition

The Grand Hotel Fasano & Villa Principe in Gardone Riviera, a historic 5* luxury hotel built in 1888 on the western shore of Lake Garda, blows out 135 candles!

Declared National Heritage by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage in 1989, the Grand Hotel Fasano has always been a symbol of the pioneering tourist attention of the Garda Riviera, so much so that already at the end of the 19th century it was configured as a winter reference destination for numerous families of the Austrian and German nobility, who here they wintered due to the mild climate and the unrivaled natural panoramas. The first plans for the Grand Hotel Fasano appear on an Austrian map from 1852, preserved in the historic land register of Brescia, where a sketch from 1888 traces the first outline of the hotel” declared the Mayr family, current owner of the structure. “135 years have passed since that day and the hotel is still under the management of our family. It is a satisfaction that goes beyond all expectations."

Since 1888, attention to detail has made the difference. The high standards imposed from the first day are always confirmed in the years to come, which is why the Grand Hotel Fasano immediately established itself as a fixed stop for the elite clientele, who here can take advantage of luxuries such as floor services and heating and hot water in the rooms. The natural context, an age-old park which also houses rare botanical and tree species, and the services available - an à la carte restaurant, an elegant café, a billiard room, a tennis court, a bathing establishment and terraces with a splendid view of the park overlooking the lake – are a plus that few can boast at the time.

In 1903, an expansion justified by the growing demand for accommodation allowed the Grand Hotel Fasano and the entire Riviera del Garda, thanks also to other important investments, to make the leap among European winter tourist destinations for inhabitants from across the Alps, Nordic aristocracy, distinguished artists and writers.

Some of the historic customers who have stayed on the Riviera have been found in the Fremdenliste, a monthly gazette published in Salò. Among these, there are also illustrious names: the passionate visitor to the garden, restaurant and bar Gabriele D'Annunzio, who leaves a long dedication of three pages in the "gold book" of the large hotel, the German writer Nobel prize for literature in 1910 Paul Heyse, a loyal customer of the hotel. Gustav Klimt, who painted here “Italienische Gartenlandschaft” and “Malcesine am Gardasee”, the Duchess Katherine of Leeds and the Marquis of Carmarthen, and finally the Princess and Prince Albrecht zu Schaumburg-Lippe.

The First and Second World Wars caused irreparable damage to the hotel. If in the first case the combat border was only a few kilometers from the hotel, which was seized as war booty and subsequently managed by the Opera Nazionale Combattenti, in the second case the Grand Hotel Fasano was requisitioned three times: once by the military hospital Italian and then seized by the German command who transformed it into a war hospital, a second by the American Fifth Army and a third by the British.

Despite the enormous structural damage, thanks to an extensive restoration work, the Grand Hotel Fasano managed to reopen in 1948. The enrichment of the less well-off population broadened the target of the structure, which now also caters to the middle class. The expansion of the hotel in 1962 was the last important structural action, which was followed by fundamental renovations: on the one hand to keep the hotel always in step with the times, on the other to not affect its ancient charm, which still today it can be appreciated by going through its wonderful rooms. Which smell like a 135-year-long story.