Post by kickingfrog on Jun 10, 2012 10:46:04 GMT
Italy - Diano Marina
From Audrey
Gf board
Places to stay:
Grand Hotel Diana Majestic, Via degli Oleandri 15, 18013 Diano Marina
www.dianamajestic.com/eng/hotel-diano-marina-riviera-dei-fiori.asp
I have just returned from a week in Diano Marina, staying at the wonderful Hotel Diana Majestic. Like “Sian North Wales”, I can thoroughly recommend this hotel – it has good facilities, the rooms and beds are very comfortable, the housekeeping impeccable and the restaurant service first class.
The hotel takes great care to keep its coeliac guests safe – they have a separate kitchen for gluten free meals. The breakfast is good and the five course dinner is something to look forward to every day. Dinner starts with a salad buffet, then three savoury courses and a dessert. During my six-day stay I had a great variety of foods. Almost everything on the menu was available in a GF version including plenty of pasta – penne and wonderful ravioli with good sauces, and lovely fresh-baked rolls at breakfast and dinner. Nothing was too much trouble.
The only slight criticism of the hotel is that the desserts can be a bit lack-lustre. Everyday they offered me a choice of fruit salad, strawberries, pineapple or crème caramel. I had ice cream one day, but it wasn’t the lovely stuff my husband and family were eating, it was just a branded variety (something like Wall’s) that was guaranteed gluten free. I was also given pancakes with strawberry sauce, but on a day when I had eaten a heavy meal so I couldn’t do them justice. In desperation for something more fancy, I bought a packet of savoiardi biscuits and asked if the pastry chef could make me a tiramisu, which he did on the last day. The result was spectacular and I wish I had thought of requesting it earlier.
The Diana Majestic is not cheap - we were able to go out of season which made it a bit more affordable - but we felt it gave great value for money.
Hotel Olympic, Piazza Mazzini 7 18013 - Diano Marina
www.hotelolympic.it/en/index.asp
Reviews for both the above hotels are available on tripadvisor www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotels-g194752-Diano_Marina_Province_of_Imperia_Liguria-Hotels.html
Hotel de la Ville - more of a bed and breakfast type establishment – see Pizzeria Fradiavolo, below.
Places to eat:
Pizzeria Fradiavolo, Corso Garibaldi 1, 18013 Diano Marina
www.fradiavolo.it/
Fra Diavolo is a restaurant and award-winning pizzeria that offers tasty gluten free pizzas and is recommended by the Associazione Italiana Celiaci (the Italian Coeliac Association - AIC). Estrella Daura gluten free beer is available as well as a selection of gluten free desserts. My husband (non-coeliac) also ordered the gluten free pizza and beer and he said they were very good. The service was efficient and the bill for two pizzas and two beers came to €35.00, including cover at €2.00 per person.
Fra Diavolo is pleasantly situated round a corner on the main seafront road of Diano Marina opposite the marina. Upstairs there is a guesthouse – Hotel de la Ville – 7 rooms all with sea view, where vegetarian as well as gluten free food is available.
Passione Gelato, Corso Garibaldi 13, 18013 Diano Marina
www.liguriashop.it/ricerca/passionegelato-diano-marina/_t=418&_m=&_c=46&_ct=11
Ice creams with gluten-free cones are available just a few doors from Fradiavolo, along the coast road going towards the centre of town, at Passione Gelato. Open every day from 11.00 a.m. to 1.30 a.m. in summer; 12 noon to 10.30 p.m. (closed Tuesdays) in winter.
Ristorante da Paola, Viale Giacomo Matteotti 24, 18013 Diano Marina
www.dapaola-dianomarina.it/
Also recommended by AIC. (In winter - closed Sunday night and all day Monday.)
Where to buy gluten free products:
Farmacia al Mare, Corso Garibaldi 16, Diano Marina. Tel: 0183-408334
www.farmaciaalmare.com/
I didn’t manage to check what products Farmacia al Mare had on offer, but this is a translation of part of their website:
“At the pharmacy you will find all the range of Schär products, from flour to cook with safely to the products ready to be enjoyed: a wide range of flours, breads, pasta, snacks, cakes and organic produce.”
Diano Marina is well placed for holiday exploration. There is a train service up and down the coast to other Italian towns and resorts such as Imperia and Alassio, as well as for trips to Monte Carlo, Nice and the French Riviera (change trains at Ventimiglia). Fares are cheap by British standards. A frequent bus service runs along the coast in both directions from Andora to San Remo. Tickets costing €1.50 for 90 minutes travel can be bought from Bar Sito, at Corso Garibaldi 26, a 1950s style café/bar with good coffee. (Tickets cost €2.50 if bought on the bus.) The helpful tourist office is situated in a little park also on Corso Garibaldi, next to the church (I think the side street is Via Francesco Genala). Don’t miss a visit to the historic hill village of Cervo (pronounced “chairvo”) two or three kilometres down the road at the eastern end of the bay.
From Audrey
Gf board
Places to stay:
Grand Hotel Diana Majestic, Via degli Oleandri 15, 18013 Diano Marina
www.dianamajestic.com/eng/hotel-diano-marina-riviera-dei-fiori.asp
I have just returned from a week in Diano Marina, staying at the wonderful Hotel Diana Majestic. Like “Sian North Wales”, I can thoroughly recommend this hotel – it has good facilities, the rooms and beds are very comfortable, the housekeeping impeccable and the restaurant service first class.
The hotel takes great care to keep its coeliac guests safe – they have a separate kitchen for gluten free meals. The breakfast is good and the five course dinner is something to look forward to every day. Dinner starts with a salad buffet, then three savoury courses and a dessert. During my six-day stay I had a great variety of foods. Almost everything on the menu was available in a GF version including plenty of pasta – penne and wonderful ravioli with good sauces, and lovely fresh-baked rolls at breakfast and dinner. Nothing was too much trouble.
The only slight criticism of the hotel is that the desserts can be a bit lack-lustre. Everyday they offered me a choice of fruit salad, strawberries, pineapple or crème caramel. I had ice cream one day, but it wasn’t the lovely stuff my husband and family were eating, it was just a branded variety (something like Wall’s) that was guaranteed gluten free. I was also given pancakes with strawberry sauce, but on a day when I had eaten a heavy meal so I couldn’t do them justice. In desperation for something more fancy, I bought a packet of savoiardi biscuits and asked if the pastry chef could make me a tiramisu, which he did on the last day. The result was spectacular and I wish I had thought of requesting it earlier.
The Diana Majestic is not cheap - we were able to go out of season which made it a bit more affordable - but we felt it gave great value for money.
Hotel Olympic, Piazza Mazzini 7 18013 - Diano Marina
www.hotelolympic.it/en/index.asp
Reviews for both the above hotels are available on tripadvisor www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotels-g194752-Diano_Marina_Province_of_Imperia_Liguria-Hotels.html
Hotel de la Ville - more of a bed and breakfast type establishment – see Pizzeria Fradiavolo, below.
Places to eat:
Pizzeria Fradiavolo, Corso Garibaldi 1, 18013 Diano Marina
www.fradiavolo.it/
Fra Diavolo is a restaurant and award-winning pizzeria that offers tasty gluten free pizzas and is recommended by the Associazione Italiana Celiaci (the Italian Coeliac Association - AIC). Estrella Daura gluten free beer is available as well as a selection of gluten free desserts. My husband (non-coeliac) also ordered the gluten free pizza and beer and he said they were very good. The service was efficient and the bill for two pizzas and two beers came to €35.00, including cover at €2.00 per person.
Fra Diavolo is pleasantly situated round a corner on the main seafront road of Diano Marina opposite the marina. Upstairs there is a guesthouse – Hotel de la Ville – 7 rooms all with sea view, where vegetarian as well as gluten free food is available.
Passione Gelato, Corso Garibaldi 13, 18013 Diano Marina
www.liguriashop.it/ricerca/passionegelato-diano-marina/_t=418&_m=&_c=46&_ct=11
Ice creams with gluten-free cones are available just a few doors from Fradiavolo, along the coast road going towards the centre of town, at Passione Gelato. Open every day from 11.00 a.m. to 1.30 a.m. in summer; 12 noon to 10.30 p.m. (closed Tuesdays) in winter.
Ristorante da Paola, Viale Giacomo Matteotti 24, 18013 Diano Marina
www.dapaola-dianomarina.it/
Also recommended by AIC. (In winter - closed Sunday night and all day Monday.)
Where to buy gluten free products:
Farmacia al Mare, Corso Garibaldi 16, Diano Marina. Tel: 0183-408334
www.farmaciaalmare.com/
I didn’t manage to check what products Farmacia al Mare had on offer, but this is a translation of part of their website:
“At the pharmacy you will find all the range of Schär products, from flour to cook with safely to the products ready to be enjoyed: a wide range of flours, breads, pasta, snacks, cakes and organic produce.”
Diano Marina is well placed for holiday exploration. There is a train service up and down the coast to other Italian towns and resorts such as Imperia and Alassio, as well as for trips to Monte Carlo, Nice and the French Riviera (change trains at Ventimiglia). Fares are cheap by British standards. A frequent bus service runs along the coast in both directions from Andora to San Remo. Tickets costing €1.50 for 90 minutes travel can be bought from Bar Sito, at Corso Garibaldi 26, a 1950s style café/bar with good coffee. (Tickets cost €2.50 if bought on the bus.) The helpful tourist office is situated in a little park also on Corso Garibaldi, next to the church (I think the side street is Via Francesco Genala). Don’t miss a visit to the historic hill village of Cervo (pronounced “chairvo”) two or three kilometres down the road at the eastern end of the bay.