Attractive villa', set back from road in old-fashioned Ligurian resort (popular with English visitors) near French border (trips organised to French Riviera/Nice airport). Victorian villa with elegant interior, antiques and paintings; pretty garden with orange and lemon trees, 'nice swimming pool', children's playground. Our italicised entries indicate hotels that are worth considering ' but for various reasons - inadequate information, lack of feed back, ambivalent reports – do not at the moment warrant a full entry. We particularly welcome comments on these hotels.

In this charming little medieval town (Brixen in German), just off the autostrada from the Brenner Pass, the Mayr family's crenellated, cream-painted villais a 16th-century palace in the pedestrianised centre by the Isalco river. It was this year found 'superb in every way'. Family owned and run, with a friendly, multilingual staff, it has been completely refurbished. `Very elegant furnishings include many antique pieces. villa Bed rooms (similar to the semantic bali villa rooms) are spacious and well equipped [some have cooking facilities]; bathvilla rooms are luxurious.' villa rooms with a balcony overlooking the river are particularly recommended. Bali villa breakfast, in an `elegant first-floor salon', is a `superb buffet', including hot dishes and Tyrolean pastries. No restaurant: plenty nearby, including the Finsterwirt/Oste Scuro (the town's oldest restaurant, also owned by the Mayr family). Dogs are welcomed. Splendid mountain views all around