If you thought vegan hotels couldn’t do luxury, think again. I just stayed at Il Mansio, a stunning, fully vegan boutique hotel on the shores of Lake Garda, and it completely blew me away.
I’ve stayed in a fair few vegan hotels over the years, and I always love being able to relax into a stay fully, but Il Mansio really goes a few steps further.
The whole experience is high-end, and up there as one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in, vegan or not.
In this Il Mansio review, I’ll cover everything from the location, rooms and service to the amenities, restaurant and price.
TL;DR
If you’re looking for a luxurious vegan getaway in a beautiful destination, with delicious food, stunning rooms and high-end amenities like a private spa, you’ll love Il Mansio. It’s a fully vegan boutique hotel run by a wonderful and attentive team on the shores of Lake Garda, and one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in. Whether you’re planning a romantic trip or just want somewhere special to unwind, I can’t recommend it enough.
Pros
- Beautifully and luxuriously designed spaces
- Fully vegan breakfast included
- Excellent and attentive service
- Perfect location, just a few minutes from the water
- Daily access to the private spa with sauna
- On-site parking available
Cons
- It is hard to say goodbye to Larry the dog!
- It isn’t cheap (but it is fairly priced)
What is Il Mansio?
Il Mansio is a vegan design hotel located in Rivoltella del Garda, a small village on the southern shores of Lake Garda. The building itself is a former carpentry workshop that sat empty for over 30 years before being carefully restored into this beautiful hotel.
And when I say fully vegan, I mean fully vegan – everything from the bed linens and the bath amenities, to the food and drinks.
It’s an adults-only property with just a handful of rooms, so it feels intimate and peaceful. There is also a private spa, a small gym, an à la carte restaurant, a cocktail bar and a beautiful inner courtyard garden. It’s also pet-friendly.
My experience at Il Mansio
I stayed at Il Mansio for a few days in April 2026, and it was a truly magical experience. I am sad that it is now over, so I know that I’ll have to return in the near future for a longer stay!
During my stay, I tried their breakfast, had an à la carte dinner, spent time in the private spa, sampled the cocktail bar and explored the local area. Here’s how it all went.
The location
Il Mansio is located in Rivoltella, a small town right on the water’s edge of Lake Garda. The town itself is quiet and peaceful. Plus, the lake is just a few minutes’ walk away from the hotel, with a spot for sunbathing and swimming. It’s beautiful, and incredibly relaxing. I loved sitting along the water’s edge and watching all the swans, geese, and ducks floating around.
There are a few bars and restaurants nearby to the hotel, some with vegan-friendly options like penne arrabbiata and marinara pizza. And if you walk about 30 minutes along the water’s edge, you’ll reach Desenzano, which is a bigger town with a lot more food options. I’d recommend the gelato from Juri (they have a few vegan flavours).
The location is perfect for exploring other areas around Lake Garda, as well as venturing over to Verona or Milan for the day. I actually stayed in Verona for a few days beforehand, check out my favourite vegan food spots there!
But equally, the hotel is lovely enough that you could just stay put and do absolutely nothing. Either way, it’s very relaxing and a perfect getaway.
Il Mansio is about 40 minutes from Verona by car, though closer to an hour and a half if you take the bus. Milan is also a reasonable option if you can’t get direct flights to Verona. Both cities have train connections to the nearby town of Desenzano, which makes getting to the hotel without a car pretty straightforward.
The rooms
There are just a handful of rooms and suites at Il Mansio, keeping things personal and intimate, and they are beautifully designed and well-proportioned. They feel airy and light, with beautiful mood lighting for the evenings. You can enjoy views of the local town and the nearby lake, depending on which room you’re in.
The beds are huge, and the bedding is luxuriously soft and comfortable. The bathrooms are spacious and stocked with everything you might need, including shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, different towels and bathrobes.
We had a large rainfall shower, which was perfect after a long day of exploring. They also provide hair towels and a headband for washing your face, which is such a thoughtful touch.
The rooms also come with a minibar (containing a mixture of healthy snacks and soft drinks), tea and coffee making facilities, a TV and a desk for working. Some rooms and suites have spa tubs and balconies, too.
The service
The service at Il Mansio is excellent, and on par with a high-end five-star hotel. The manager and owner, Valentina, is always on hand to help. She is super approachable, friendly and professional.
And then there’s Larry, the dog, who is always by her side. He is the cutest and loveliest dog, who believes himself to be the real manager of the hotel. I particularly love how he would lead us into the breakfast room each morning. He really adds to the overall charm of this place.
All of the staff were professional and happy to help, whether it was with food, drinks or booking and transfers to the airport. Everyone made us feel so welcome, and the service always seemed so effortless. No one ever got in the way, but they were always there when needed.
The amenities
Il Mansio goes above and beyond when it comes to amenities. On site, there’s a gym (small but perfectly useful for a quick holiday workout), a private spa with daily access included in your stay (you get an hour and a half each day), a massage room for paid treatments, a restaurant and bar, a lounge area and a lovely outdoor space for relaxing in.
In the room, you have a TV, should you want to relax and watch a film from bed. They also have WiFi throughout the hotel, which was more than sufficient for working from. I particularly enjoyed working from the outdoor terrace area, but you can equally prop yourself up on the desk in the room.
They also offer partner bookings for e-bikes, boat tours and airport transfers, which makes organising day trips really easy.
The restaurant
Il Mansio has an on-site restaurant where you will eat your daily breakfast (included in the price), but it is also open for lunch and dinner, offering vegan Italian cuisine.
They have a set menu of either seven or nine courses, which is perfect for trying a variety of their dishes. But they also have à la carte options, where you can choose from their starters, pasta dishes, main courses, and desserts.
I particularly enjoyed trying out their pasta dishes, like Nido (stuffed homemade tagliatelle with tempeh ragu, pea cream, and vegetable jus) and Pacchero (ancient grain pacchero pasta, wild garlic, hazelnut cream, and raspberry powder).
I also highly recommend their stuffed courgette (zucchini) flowers, and the protein-packed mains made using homemade tofu, tempeh, and seitan. But the real star of the show was their vegan butter, a whipped olive oil that I could have eaten vats of. I’d have loved to make my way through the whole menu – even more reason to go back!
As for breakfast, it was varied, with plenty of healthy and full of homemade options. You order the night before using the sheet of paper in your room, but you can always ask for more on the day. There was a good mix of sweet and savoury, with plenty of protein too. There was also something really charming about the way they wheel your breakfast up to you on a trolley.
The price
When you consider the location, the design of the hotel, the breakfast, and the daily spa access, the pricing seems wholly fair to me. It isn’t at all cheap, but this is a luxury high-end stay, catered to adults only, in one of the most beautiful locations.
You can be spending between €400-600 per night (between 2 people) in high season, and around €270 in low season. This is very similar to the price per night of Agrivilla i Pini, another vegan hotel in Italy.
For that price, you get a beautiful breakfast spread each morning, 1.5 hours of daily use in their relaxing private spa (which includes a sauna, Turkish bath, and hydromassage tub), brilliant service, an intimate and relaxing space, and an insane location.
Il Mansio review verdict
I honestly couldn’t recommend Il Mansio enough. Veganism aside, it is an excellent hotel with beautifully designed spaces, delicious food, and an excellent location just a few minutes away from the water’s edge of Lake Garda.
It is a high-end experience that is hard to find when you add veganism to the mix. I’ve been fortunate to stay in other similar vegan hotels, like Hôtel HOY in Paris and Agrivilla i Pini in Tuscany, but neither is quite as polished as Il Mansio.
Whether you are a solo traveller or a couple, I’m certain you’ll love your time at Il Mansio. And even if you aren’t vegan, this hotel is a fantastic spot no matter what.
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