Hotel Le Palme

Hotel Le Palme has no golf course and offers no golf packages or agreements: to play, book directly with the club. Golfers do have a landmark in the same town, Adriatic Golf Club Cervia, at viale Jelenia Gora 6 in Milano Marittima.

The club was founded in 1984 at the initiative of the Municipality of Cervia and many local tourism entrepreneurs. It now has 27 holes across almost 100 hectares beside the historic pinewood. The red nine runs among the trees and was designed by Marco Croze; the blue, completed by Croze, brought the club to 18 holes with lakes recalling the great American courses; the yellow, opened in 2004 by Baldovino Dassù and Alvise Rossi Fioravanti, is inspired by Scottish links.

The club lists a double-ended driving range, two putting greens, a pitching green and three executive holes. The clubhouse has a bar and restaurant with a terrace over the fairways, a pro shop, golf cart and trolley rental, bag storage and guest locker rooms.

The hotel stands at via VII Traversa Mare 12, directly on the beach: according to its website, the centre of Milano Marittima is a few minutes away on foot or by bicycle. The Municipality of Cervia classifies it as 4-star superior and lists 102 rooms, including singles, doubles and junior suites, with air conditioning and minibar.

Room types are Classic, Superior and Executive Sea View. Superiors are the largest and suit families; Superior and Executive rooms have a large furnished balcony, and the sea-view Executives were recently renovated. There is also a Junior Suite for guests who want more space.

Le Palme belongs to the Premier Resort together with Hotel Premier & Suites (5-star) and the Waldorf (5-star luxury). Wi-fi is free throughout the resort, and services listed include airport transfers, chauffeur-driven cars, car hire, a shuttle service and a private garage.

The semi-Olympic pool measures 25 by 12 metres and has a children's area, a whirlpool zone, a raised sundeck and a Healthy bar at the poolside. Mornings bring water gym for adults and children; in the evening the pool hosts parties and live-music shows.

The Body & Soul Club spreads over several floors. On the third floor the wet area has a Roman bath, tepidarium, Hawaii shower, emotional showers, a Finnish sauna and a Kneipp path. Upstairs, with large windows, are the pool, whirlpool and the tropical tunnel with small waterfalls. Outside, a panoramic terrace facing the sea has two open-air whirlpool tubs. Massages, including holistic, Ayurvedic, hot stone and shiatsu, can be booked in the treatment rooms or in the Private SPA suites, suited to couples' massages.

Three venues look after the hotel's meals. Peninsula, on the first floor, serves the breakfast buffet with a terrace over the beach, with organic and gluten-free products and several kinds of milk for intolerances. Aquamarine offers the dinner buffet, with handmade pasta and fish or meat mains cooked to order, in an informal service that looks after families. Palm Garden is the à la carte restaurant, open for lunch and dinner.

Other addresses: the Mar Y Sol pool bar for snacks and fresh juices, and the Dolce Vita Cocktail Bar, with grand-piano evenings and wine tastings. From the Premier Resort you can also reach Dolcemare on the beach, open for lunch in summer.

From the hotel, Cervia-Milano Marittima station is 3 km away (local Ravenna-Rimini line). The airports, according to the hotel, are Rimini (RMI) 39 km, Bologna (BLQ) 99 km and Venice (VCE) 168 km. By car from the A14 Bologna-Ancona motorway, exit at Cesena (21 km) or Ravenna (25 km).

• A pool without techno. In the 25x12 metre pool the hotel says there are no entertainers who make guests dance to loud techno.
• A spa for parties. The pool and whirlpool area on the Body & Soul's upper floor can be booked exclusively for "Sparty" events: private parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties.
• Three hotels, ten venues. The Premier Resort counts 10 restaurants and bars, including Stars Bridge, the terrace suspended over the five-star hotels' pool.
• A grand piano at the bar. The Dolce Vita hosts evenings with a grand piano and wine tastings.