---
title: How We Test
description: "Our testing methodology for boats, hotels, tours, restaurants, and tickets at Lake Garda — including scoring criteria, disqualifications, and disclosure of complimentary access."
url: "https://visitgardalake.it.com/how-we-test/"
locale: en
updated: "2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z"
author: loic
---

Recommendations on Ora del Garda are not opinions pulled from a search engine. This page explains exactly how we test, score, and disqualify the operators, hotels, restaurants, and tickets we cover.

## What we test

- **Boat rentals** — bareboat and skippered, from small no-licence boats up to sailing yachts. We test fleet condition, briefing quality, fuel and damage policies, and check-in/check-out experience.
- **Day tours and tickets** — Sirmione boat tours, Gardaland and theme-park tickets, wine and olive-oil tastings, lake cruises, cable cars, guided hikes, e-bike rentals.
- **Hotels and apartments** — three to five star, plus selected B&Bs, agriturismi, and apartments. We sleep at least one night before publishing.
- **Restaurants** — only where we have eaten the menu we are recommending, paid in full at least once, and returned at least twice across different seasons.

## Criteria we score against

Every operator is judged on the same rubric. The same rubric is applied whether we receive a commission for sending a booking or not.

1. **Price transparency.** Published price covers what you actually pay. Fuel, cleaning, fees, surcharges, and deposits are disclosed upfront. Hidden surcharges at check-in are an automatic deduction.
2. **Safety and insurance.** For on-water and adventure activities: certified equipment, current safety briefings, valid third-party liability insurance, clear emergency procedures. We verify documentation on request and ask to see it.
3. **Independent review baseline.** Minimum 4.0 average across Tripadvisor and Google with a meaningful volume of recent reviews (at least 50 in the last 24 months). We read the negative reviews, not just the headline score.
4. **English or German support for our audience.** Where the service is sold to international visitors, staff must be able to handle a check-in, a complaint, and an emergency in English. For Germany-targeted listings, German is required.
5. **Accessibility information.** Clear, accurate disclosure of stairs, wheelchair access, child seats, dietary handling, and any accommodations for visitors with reduced mobility or sensory needs.
6. **Cancellation policy clarity.** Refund terms, deadlines, and force-majeure handling are spelled out in plain language before booking — not buried in fine print after.

## Methodology

**We book and pay ourselves where feasible.** A boat we recommend is a boat we rented at the public rate. A hotel we recommend is a hotel where we paid the full bill. Receipts are kept in our internal records.

**Complimentary access is disclosed on the page.** Where an operator offers a media rate, a comped room, or a press tour, we accept only when (a) we can disclose it openly on the page, (b) editorial maintains the right to publish a negative review, and (c) we can return at full price for a second visit if anything feels off.

**At least two visits before a positive recommendation** for any operator we score 8+/10. The second visit happens unannounced, ideally in a different season, paid for at the public rate.

## Scoring rubric

We score on a 10-point scale, broken down as:

- **Value (2 points)** — does the price match what you get?
- **Experience quality (3 points)** — was the actual service well-run?
- **Trust and transparency (2 points)** — are terms, cancellations, and risks clear?
- **Accessibility and support (1 point)** — language coverage, accessibility info, communications.
- **Repeatability (2 points)** — would we send a friend or family member back?

A score of 8+ means we recommend it without reservation. 6–7 means we cover it with caveats clearly stated. Below 6 we either do not publish, or we publish a warning page when readers are likely to encounter the operator regardless.

## Disqualifications

These are automatic. An operator hitting any of the following does not get a positive recommendation on this site, regardless of commercial relationship:

- **Opaque or punitive cancellation terms** — same-day cancellation fees disguised in the booking flow, non-refundable deposits not flagged at checkout, refusal to confirm refund terms in writing.
- **No English or German support** for a service actively marketed to English-speaking or German-speaking visitors.
- **Average review score below 4.0** across the major independent platforms, or a clear downward trend in the last 12 months.
- **Evidence of fake or solicited reviews** — patterns of suspicious five-star reviews, paid-review services, or operators who pressure guests for reviews at checkout in exchange for discounts.
- **Refusal to disclose business details** — registered company name, insurance, or licensing information when reasonably requested.
- **Documented safety incidents** without a credible remediation response.
- **Discrimination or harassment** of staff or customers based on nationality, language, race, religion, sex, sexuality, or disability.

If you have direct experience with an operator we recommend that conflicts with our rating, please email **lomonventures@gmail.com**. We re-score promptly when credible new evidence comes in.