Les Terrasses D'erbalunga

We stayed for a couple of days to unwind, and it was perfect. Erbalunga is charming, and so are the hotel courtyard restaurant, pool areas, reception staff, rooms, buildings, and gardens. It all has a lovely character.

The garden is wonderful, and there's jazz as well as free yoga classes on Thursdays. It's a lovely hotel in a small village. The beaches you can walk to are okay.

Breakfast was superb, with plenty of fresh fruit, juice, and other choices. The restaurant was mostly terrific too, with quality ingredients and good bread, and the Hotel has an excellent GaultMilau rating. In good weather, you can dine in the lovely courtyard. We stayed one night this time, in the cheapest room, and it was extremely pleasant. We'd stayed here 21 years ago, when it was a much smaller establishment. The service personnel were all endearingly pleasant. The room's only minor issues were the lack of grab bars by the bath and the difficulty of controlling the shower water temperature.

The hotel works better as a base for one or two nights than as a place to settle in and relax. The common areas are limited in size and not comfortably furnished, and the room felt dated and dark, though it was clean. We were disappointed overall. It seems they've fitted too many rooms onto the property for the shared spaces available. Even when we went to use the small gym later in the morning, hotel staff were using it too, which I'd never experienced before. The restaurant serves good food and breakfast is good, but the evening menu is short and fixed, with only the daily special adding variety. That also makes it feel unsuited to a longer stay. We were fortunate to get out and about, because I wouldn't have been happy choosing this as a place to kick back and relax.