The Hotel Christina caters in the main for German tourists; understandable as Germany is a mere 3 hours plus drive from Limone. Brits were certainly well outnumbered.
The hotel would benefit from a lick of paint here and there and some general TLC but it does provide comfortable accommodation with very friendly and helpful staff.
If on B&B as we were and you don't fancy a trek down into Limone for dinner you would be well advised to try the buffet restaurant for dinner. You can get a voucher from reception and you don’t have to make a reservation. Although the restaurant is big and doesn’t make for an intimate dining experience it is a good alternative to dining out. There was a huge choice with two soups, pasta and fish dishes and a roast. It is great value for money at only 12 Euros, including drinkable red or white wine on tap; it is far cheaper than many of the restaurants in town. Another alternative is the Tovo restaurant a few minutes stroll from the hotel. Again mainly German clientele but it has a great atmosphere and the food and service is very very good.
The afternoon tea and cake session at the hotel which takes place at 4 p.m. is a bit of a scrum. Get in the queue early or all the cakes will have been grabbed by tiny snatch squads i.e. small children.
Breakfasts are good but again the choice of food is steered towards the German guests. That said you wouldn’t go hungry as there are boiled or scrambled eggs, toast, rolls, cereals and fresh fruit.
The price of drinks in the hotel bar is pretty much the same as in the UK but the supermarket at the bottom of the hill on the main road sells wines and spirits at prices that are far cheaper than at home. Stock up on beer and wine and use the room’s mini-bar fridge.
We’d hesitate to suggest it is a good hotel for older people as it is built on a hill which involves negotiating quite a few steps. OK if you are fit enough but could be a problem if you are not. The lower pool and its surrounding area get a bit crowded but the upper one by the San Pietro restaurant and bar is much quieter. The upper terrace by this pool is especially good for a bit of peace and quiet.
If you fancy an hour or two by the beach you can use the beach area at the hotel’s sister hotel the Leonardo da Vinci. There is a help yourself bar there but it seems to be for all inclusive gusts at the da Vinci although we did spot one or two folk from the Christina helping themselves. The hotel’s mini bus runs down there if you haven’t got your own transport.
Our verdict on the Christina is that it provides good holiday accommodation but don’t expect luxury.

I booked a seven day holiday a few weeks before going. fancied Italy and never tried Lake Garda previously so went full of excitement.

The hotel is up high in the hills before the mountains and its pretty difficult for coaches to get there. as such we had a mini-bus take us up. No problem as its swings and roundabouts so to speak. To get the best views it takes a little effort.

First impressions. Well we had to take cases to a lift then across a garden, then down a flight of steps, then up another then down then up one and through a corridor. Not the sort of walk you need after travelling all day. Room was average size but with a beautiful view of the Lake at no additional cost. Saying that the hotel has been planned well as I think all rooms face out to the lake. Being such a beautiful location this is great planning.

Bedrooms consisted of double bed , wardrobe, dresser, chair and shower room. Tea and coffee making facilities were provided.

Breakfast was from 7:30 and dinner from 6:15. The restaurant dining area is large but even at the end of the season there were occasions when it filled and you had to wait. No real problem but you could wait a while as the majority of people dined for over an hour or so. However, the food, which did have a german bias but with some excellent Italian dishes also was very good. Free drinks including wine, but I missed the lack of coffee and tea in the evening.

Breakfast was adequate, but I would have liked a variation on the scrambled eggs and frankfurter. I missed the hams and bacons, though there were cereals and cold meats and cheese with hard rolls , if you didn't manage to get the fresh bread which was snapped up fast.

The hotel is a 20 minute walk to town and depending on your agility a 30-40 minute walk back. Though there is a min-buss several times a day at a small cost.

On the downside if you book a trip (through the travel rep and not the hotel I should add) the coach will only pick you up from the main road at the bottom of the hill. Ten minute walk for me but an unfortunate German lady took 45 minutes to walk back due to the windy road. No mini-bus after 6:30!! Depending on trips you needed to be at the bus stop by 7:00 am for Venice and 8:00 for Verona.

We did have a misunderstanding with teh hotel who could not provide us with a breakfast for our trip to Venice, but offer a cold plate on return at 8:00 pm. Our bus was early and we told the chef we didn't need the cold plate and his staff were rude and not impressed. I later received a ticking off from reception for not telling them I did not need the cold plate even though we told the chef as soon as possible. Took the shine off the hotel I am afraid.

I would not recommend the grill at lunchtimes which is nowhere as good at providing good food unlike the restaurant. Three ham and cheese toasties cost about 4 Euros each and were pre-packed and tasted awful. No fresh food was available and we didn't venture there again.

One other small gripe. TVs have about 20 stations. Hoever only two are english speaking being Sky News and BBC Worldwide. Would have been nice to have a few British or english speaking channels to occupy us in the one evening of heavy rain.

Would I go again - no. Not because the hotel isn't nice, but rather due to its difficult location.
Would I recommend the hotel. Yes if you are fit. It had about 90% German tourists to 10% British/Dutch/Belgium so you need to understand that is why the food reflects the Germanic taste buds.

I have just come back from a week at the Hotel Cristina. I wrote a review in 2006 when I gave it an excellent review. It is still a good value for money hotel but I was rather disappointed this time around. We had a comfortable room with a balcony overlooking the spectacular view of the lake. It was clean but the bathroom fitments were rather jaded.
Afternoon tea with cake and biscuits is still a nice touch. Pork seemed to feature rather highly on the evening meal, there was a large salad display and also two different pasta dishes along with fresh ftuit and other desserts, wine, pop and water on tap was a real bonus. A lovely display of different things for breakfast which starts at 7.30am. Unfortunately most of the trips out meant you have to have early breakfast - which was supposed to be continental style but actually consisted of cereal and sliced bread which we were able to toast once we had located the plug to the toaster by following the lead.
In September 2006 when we last came the evening entertainment was extremely good and there was a vibrant busy feel to the bar and surrounds, this time the advertised evening entertainment did not seem to materialise most evenings and hardly any people bothered to go there. Given that the hotel is a good 20 minutes steep walk from the promenade where most of the bars and restaurants are tis was a real shame.
There is a shuttle bus down to the promenade area.
On the last day as we were being collected at 1.30pm we decided to have a snack at the grill bar which offered paninis, bruchetta and suchlike on the board behind the bar. The only snack they were able to offer us was a toasted cheese sandwich (sliced bread) or crisps.
All in all I still feel that the hotel is still good value for money but it is a far cry from the excellent hotel it was.