Best spot on the island of Elba. Water in Biodola beach is sooo beautiful!!! Love the view:…read moresunrise, sunsets.... Best summer days! Service is as good as it can be. All stuff are smiling all the time, they serve the best of the best. They work so hard to make everybody happy. Food is fresh and professional presentation. There is nothing negative I could say about this place. They have everything you dream for your best vacation, for kids too. They have a great kids club with lots of activities and kids dinners with fun games so parents can enjoy their dinners:) So lucky to be coming here for past 5 years. Excellent!!!!! OK!!! It's 2017 and I am back like every year for past 7 years?! Yes, I am blessed. This year I have to say that kids club schedule is shorter and because of hat more kids present at dinner to mess up the self service salad bar and deserts. I literally saw kids sticking their hands bowls of dressings, fruit and salads... licking the serving spoon from the cakes and put them back on tray... disgusting! One of the servers should keep on eye on them, guarding the food and serve the kids. Really nobody wants to eat after kids touch and lick everything!!! If they don't fix this one star comes off. The rest is still so heavenly beautiful!!! After so many years I feel like home coming here.

In a beautiful location, on top of a hill and with an amazing view on the sea, the Relais delle…read morePicchiaie is a complete resort ideal for a good stay on the Elba Island. Hotel rooms are either in the main building or on separate structure, they are pretty essential but clean. All areas of the resort have Wi-Fi connection, and there is a public computer for free use in the lobby. Staff is nice and polite, always available to help and care of their customers. The restaurant offers a different menu every day, and food is really good and at an affordable price. Breakfast buffet is very abundant, and the bar offers a little finger-food buffet for the evening's happy hour. Outside there's a swimming pool and sundecks for those who don't want to reach the beach for a tan, a spa and wellness center, tennis courts, and a large parking lot. The way to the beach and to the closest town is pretty long and steep, so you'll need a car to explore the island, but the management has a cute little convertible Smart car for rent at a honest daily rate, or can provide other cars for rent with pick up and delivery directly at the lobby. In general the resort's position is great to reach every corner of the island with ease, and my stay has been very good. I'd definitely return here next time I am on the Elba.

From the owner: L'hotel si trova all'Isola d'Elba in posizione panoramica, discosto dalle starde trafficate,…read moreall'interno di un bel parco con giardini ed alberi da sughero. Al proprio interno gli Ospiti possono godere di un ottimo ristorante, di un piccolo ma grazioso e completo centro benessere (sauna, bagno turco, doccia emozionale, minipiscina idromassaggio e palestra) e del wi fi gratuito (non ottimale la ricezione cellulare). Altri servizi a disposizione degli Ospiti: snack bar e grill a bordo piscina per squisiti pranzi o cene a tema, piscina con acqua dolce e piscina idromassaggio nel giardino, campi da tennis, mountain bike, biliardo e pingo pong. Navetta per le spiagge ed il porto e possibilità di autonoleggio in loco. Le camere, diverse tra loro, possono rispondere a molteplici esigenze e desideri. Gli animali sono i benvenuti ed hanno aree a loro dedicate.

We stayed in the Hotel Crystal in mid-July, unfortunately during a heat wave (34 - 35 C for typical…read moredaily highs). The place did not advertise as having air conditioning, something that we overlooked during booking. But nevertheless I believe the hotel did have a marginally functional air conditioning system that began to cool the place comfortably after a couple of days. To be more precise, there were AC controls in the room that didn't seem to do anything at first, but after setting them to cool, the place somehow cooled off eventually even while it stayed just as hot outside. I never could actually hear or feel much air moving though. The first couple of nights were a bit sweltering and we simply opened the balcony door, but I did find it astonishing that there were no fans in the room. From what I can tell, though, fans are not common in Italy. They should have more fans. The decor of the hotel was charming, with naval motifs abounding -- antique maps on the walls, old corroded ship anchors strategically placed, a couple of spent 75mm shell casings in the main entry way, and a tasteful combination of hardwood and brass finishings. The complimentary breakfasts were simple but quite good, although the Cafe Americanos that my wife ordered were consistently burned. But they served wonderful cappuccino and espresso. Hotel Crystal is just across the street from a park, and on the other side of the park is a beach that is just right -- not overly crowded, but not sleepy or secluded. The beach is within easy walking distance of the hotel, and so is a fantastic restaurant called La Bussola. If you go a kilometer the other way, you find Fortezza Medici, which was visible from our balcony. We ended up paying about €140 per night, but we did book at the last minute. It's possible that better deals may be available for those who do a better job of planning.

I wish I had better things to say about this hotel :-(. En we booked online it looked awesome. Upon…read morearrival, reception was nice. Our room was very dated and smelled like mothballs and was very plain. The breakfast was awful and dinner looked worse. If you are vegan or vegetarian there're no options and they are not willing to accommodate you either. We ended up having to eat at the tennis club not far from the property. Food was ok and service was awful. We won't be back.

This was the best meal of our holiday. The wine is stunning and the food is out of this world. Cosy…read moreatmosphere and welcoming staff. This was highlight dinner of our honeymoon!