Bike Friendly Hotels

There aren’t that many bike friendly hotels in the United States, but the numbers are growing. For example, the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta  has a brand new flat bar Trek fleet of bikes, a public use tool stand, and a partnership with a local tour company so guests can tour the city by bike.

You’ll see others including the famous Hotel Domestique, but there are a lot more bike friendly hotels in Europe, especially Italy where the owners of Bike Tour Finder are going on holiday in 2016.

While we love cycling vacations, we don’t always like packing and moving each day, especially with dirty and sweaty cycling apparel. That’s why hotels with programs that cater to cyclists are so attractive. We talk to a lot of tour companies and hotels and can usually get a feeling for what sounds good and found Garda Bike Hotel, a member of Bici Amore Mio, a group of bike friendly hotels spread throughout Italy that appeals to cyclists with various regional and cycling interests.

A group of us are going to Garda Bike Hotel near Verona and halfway between Venice and Milan in Northern Italy. It is an intimate 43 room family run hotel with a bike shop where you can rent bikes including the Pinarello Dogma F8! The hotel is just off Lake Garda in the town of Peschiera del Garda, close to the train station (for trips to Venice or Milan), has a swimming pool, and offers packages that include meals and even daily cleaning of your cycling apparel!

We also like the idea of their different level of daily rides that appeal to all interests and skill levels. For example, I can ride hard one day, then take it easy with a tour into Verona the next day. Three versions of daily tours are offered by the owners; easy called Gruppo Relax, medium from 50 – 65 miles, and Gruppo Forte which includes some beautiful and challenging climbs in the Dolomites. The Lake Garda region is also an ideal location because it offers a variety of riding with rides to wineries and olive groves, rides along the beautiful Lake Garda, and rides into the mountains.

Finally, Garda Bike Hotel has been included in the Top 25 hotels in Italy for the last 2 years from www.tripadvisor.com including #1 in Peschiera del Garda, no doubt in part because of the high level of attention provided by the owners. We’re excited to go, and after you check out the images on their site, maybe you’ll also consider it. If you do, be sure to tell the hotel you learned about them from us (we make nothing from it).

Not interested in this part of the country, then just check out the other Bici Amore Mio hotels. You can even split your time between their hotels. For example, for 2017, we’re interested in Hotel Lungomare along the Adriatic Sea in Cesenatico which is south of Venice. One of our friends on this trip is interested in riding the Stelvio Pass and the Bici Amore Mio hotel member near is it Hotel Funivia. It is easy to coordinate vacations among all Bici Amore Mio partner hotels so you can have the best of both worlds without the higher tour company prices.

This is just an introduction to bike friendly hotels. if this interests you and you want to learn more about these types of vacations, just send me an email using the Contact Us form on the home page.