Le Balamina

Waking up to the mountain view was wonderful, and the room was spotless. Everyone was really friendly. I had a problem with the fish I ordered at the restaurant, as it didn’t taste quite right. The server was very helpful, and the staff dealt with it quickly and brought me a complimentary dish as an apology. I had a perfect stay at Le Balamina and highly recommend it.

We paid quite a lot and booked well ahead, asking specifically for an upper floor room with a nice view. Instead, we arrived to find ourselves on the ground floor, looking at a concrete wall beside a busy, noisy road. The garden outside was untidy and full of insects. It’s easy to reach from the parking lot, so we didn’t feel safe leaving anything out there, especially with the hotel seeming to be in an industrial area. We asked several times to move rooms, but were told the hotel was full. That seemed odd, since there were very few guests and the parking lot was nearly empty. A really disappointing stay, and unfortunately I can’t recommend the hotel.

Porto-Vecchio’s centre is about a 30 minute walk away, so the location is the main drawback. There’s a hypermarket and some other shops closer by, and with a car this is a great option. The hotel itself is modern, with really large rooms, a comfortable soft king bed and good quality bedding. The big rainfall shower had great pressure, the WiFi worked well, and the Nespresso machine was a nice touch. We had a comfortable night here, though next time I’d probably stay in the centre where there’s more going on.

We came by car because the location isn’t ideal if you want to go out for food, but parking in town and at the port can be difficult when it’s busy. We only found out on our last day about the free district bus, A Citadina, which runs on about three circular routes until midnight. Two stops are near the hotel, so it would have been useful to know sooner. The Pysae app is helpful for it. The mountain views are a real bonus, and you can see both the mountains and sea from the rooftop restaurant and bar. The pool looks like a place to have a drink in the hotel photos, but the bar is closed during the day. It opens at 6PM, leaving just two hours when you can have a drink by the pool. My usual bugbear, pillows and towels, was an issue here too, especially the small, flimsy bath towels. The hotel is lovely and clean, with spacious rooms, and most staff were friendly and helpful. Breakfast costs 14 Euros and is good quality, with plenty of food and drinks. All in all, a good stay with some downsides.