JR Resort Elba International

The building's front needs a facelift. It's worn and faded, and that first impression is a shame given how good the rest of the stay was. Our room was very spacious and clean, and the staff were attentive and ready to help. The sea view was breathtaking, and breakfast was varied and good quality. It does finish at 10 a.m., a bit early, but that wasn't a real problem. The location is excellent. I still highly recommend the hotel.

Hotiday hotel gave us a double room, but the balcony was smaller than the photo suggested and had no patio furniture. The view was just the parking lot, so those rooms through Hotiday aren't the best. The bed was rock hard, but the AC was the BEST I've ever had in Italy. The hotel itself is in a beautiful spot with amazing views and a private beach with sun beds, umbrellas, bathrooms, showers, and a beach bar. You'll need to drive elsewhere if you don't want dinner at the hotel, since there's nothing nearby. Google Maps also had a hard time guiding us back, and we found a faster way ourselves. There's a very cute town nearby called Capoliveri, worth a visit, with plenty of restaurants.

The broken bathroom door trapped me inside every time I used it, and the included breakfast was pathetic: disgusting eggs, watered-down fizzy fake “juice,” machine coffee, and old fruit. There are so many fruit farm stands around, so that was hard to understand. The plates were dirty, chipped, and mismatched. You also get charged extra to take coffee to your room and enjoy the view. Towels were threadbare, and the beach latini were old, so bring your own thin towel. The hair dryer is the hated wall-hose kind. The hotel sits on a cliff overlooking Portoazzuro, with a stunning view, though that means driving. Our room was spacious and had a nice balcony. There's a private beach with a sea wall, and the desk staff are wonderfully nice. Both beach bars were closed during prime swimming time. They only serve beer, soft drinks, and ice cream, despite having a mixed-drink menu. The minibar barely has anything to make up for it, despite the in-room menu mentioning snacks. The wifi setup makes you create an account. You'd think you could lounge around and enjoy the view, but the outdated, uncomfortable choices make you not want to stay. A real pity, because it could be amazing. We don't know how this is listed as a 4 star hotel when amenities listed aren't there, especially at over 300€ a night.

We had a wonderful view of Porto Azzurro, and the location was great. The hotel was clean and the food was very good. The weak spot was the beach access, which wasn't well maintained, and the elevator was out of service all week.