Hotel Holiday Bambù

This felt like a run-down room rental, not a hotel at all. The person renting the rooms was only around for about two hours, from 8 to 10, and opened a room with a coffee machine and a very meager breakfast. The bathroom was extremely dirty, the sheets stained, and there was no ironing. The towels were rough and gray, nowhere near white anymore. I won't share photos, but it was a terrible stay. Don't go.

For what we paid, things were fine. We had a sea-view room with air conditioning, a small fridge and a clean bathroom, plus there was parking. I would have liked a savory breakfast instead of only sweet food. The hotel is near the sea, though we rode our motorbike to other beaches. The one small drawback was a faint smell from the restaurant downstairs.

San Andrea beach is one of the prettiest on Elba, and it's right nearby. You can reach the sea, bars, shops and evening beach scene in about a minute on foot. There are also lots of lovely restaurants in the area serving delicious traditional food. Our room was clean and convenient, and the woman who welcomed us was incredibly kind. We also liked having the restaurant downstairs for nights when we didn't feel like going out. Such a lovely holiday!

The location is a real plus, and the bathroom looked like it had been renovated fairly recently. The rest of the room, though, felt neglected. The lower walls had been roughly painted over to hide damp, the furniture was old and very basic, and the doors were dated and had to be forced shut, so they made noise. On our first night the sheets were patched and full of holes, and the fan creaked. The service was reasonably efficient, but calling this a hotel feels like a stretch. These are rental rooms in former holiday homes. The Booking.com photos also make the accommodation look much nicer than it is.