Italy Hotels: Hotel Villa del Quar, Verona. An elegant villa set among the Valpolicella vineyards

Nestling in Valpolicella’s rolling hills and vineyards, a short distance from Verona, stands the Villa del Quar. Time in this elegant Venetian patrician residence seems to have stood still at the height of the Napoleonic Era, somewhere between 1790 and 1810. The hotel’s furniture, decor, and palette of colours all evoke the dominant Neoclassical style of those times. Comfort, elegance and sophistication are combined with the graceful, simple lines of antiquity, reflecting the renewed archaeological interest in the great civilizations of the past. Indeed the discovery of Pompeii and Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt date from this time. The interior of Villa del Quar relies heavily on wood and terracotta, the furniture is antique and the colours used are typical of those found in Venetian art, combining golds and blues with reds and greens.

The villa is located in extensive estate planted with vines. The surrounding gardens are spacious and most pleasant to walk in. Dotted throughout with palms, pines and assorted fruit trees, the gardens also feature a large swimming pool in the shape of a clover leaf. The Montresor family have been the estate’s owners for many generations and architect Leopoldo and his wife Maria Evelina Acampora still live in one of the villa’s wings. The estate vineyards produce its own label of red wine, Valpolicella Satyrus Riserva.

The Hotel Villa del Quar opened in 1992 and has twenty-two rooms and suites. In 2003 five new suites and junior suites were added to a wing of the main Villa erected in the sixteenth century. The hotel’s restaurant, which was awarded a prestigious Michelin star in 2001, is famous for its excellent cuisine. There is also a breakfast room, a bar, a tearoom and lounge, an outdoor swimming pool, a gym, a meeting room and a wine cellar where frequent wine-tasting events are held.

There are many reasons why guests come to the Villa del Quar. They come here to relax, to enjoy the delightful Veneto countryside, to visit the splendid city of Verona and the attractive nearby towns, and to sample the culinary delights of the hotel’s Arquade Restaurant, the realm of chef Bruno Barbieri. It should come as no surprise that such illustrious guests as American film directors Sidney Pollack and the Cohen brothers, and the Italian baritone Renato Bruson and anchorman Bruno Vespa should have chosen to stay here.
From October to December the hotel also offers a varied programme of evening entertainment.