Hotel Hermitage

When we first visited this hotel, many years ago, we met a guest who said it was his 10th visit. Being youngish and with no children, we wondered why return somewhere multiple times, rather than going to new places? Well, this year was probably our tenth visit and certainly not our last and our son loves it. It is a fabulous hotel. There is something about the Italian/Tuscan charm that captures you. The staff are all lovely, and we see the same faces again and again both among staff and guests. Dinner is superb, with seemless and charming service - and kids food arrives quickly which is so important when they are tired. The wine list caters for all price ranges, with lovely reasonable local wines as well as anything a connoisseur might want. We were here during two days of very heavy evening storms. Dining was in the inside restaurant on two nights and we were very impressed at how they had set up and moved the whole operation during the day - lots of hard work behind the scenes. The storm caused some temporary power cuts and on the first night my son and I were larking around slumped in a pretend Agatha Christie type murder at the table when the lights went back up, but sadly no one quite got the joke. On the second night they had anticipated power cuts and put candles on all the tables - showing how much attention goes into getting it right. We had a bath plug leak issue and my wife asked me to let reception know. I was heading towards the phone when I saw at the door two maintenance men knocking, one holding a spanner and smiling. “That astonishing service” I thought, given I had not actually called yet and wondering if the room was bugged. Turned out they had come to the wrong room, but in any event stayed and quickly replaced the plug with a new one. A mention also for the maid who meticulously cleaned the room twice a day but sadly I realised when we left I did not know her name.

Only our 17th visit so possibly we have gone native but it remains the week of pure joy in the year. Fabulous food, charming staff, stunning location and the Saturday BBQ always a highlight, even if we missed Ferragosto this year. Not a huge fan of fried egg innovation at breakfast - these are simply better cooked to order. And the dinner dessert buffet is poorer without a large bowl of home made tiramisu. But if is a glorious week in a bubble of indulgent family happiness.

Hotel Hermitage is rated as a 5 star resort. When we were looking to book something it stood out against all the other hotels on the Isola d’Elba and we went ahead and booked for a 7 night half board holiday for the two of us. Let’s start with the positives. The location is beautiful and the facilities are very nice including the spa, gym and several nice swimming pools. You have guaranteed sunbeds on the beach with excellent beach service. However we booked this resort not expecting lots of young children and dogs around. This was certainly amplified in the evenings at dinner with screaming kids and barking dogs. If you are a family with young kids then this would be a good choice. However any couple wanting a romantic, luxury break then think twice at this time of year. We were not expecting it to be so large and in hindsight would have picked a more boutique type hotel. I cannot fault the staff here though. They are exemplary and make the difference. A special shout out to Alessio. Always looking after us at dinner and breakfast. Hope you find this useful when making your decision.

We have had another unforgettable stay here at the Hermitage. It was really wonderful to see all the fantastic staff again. Leonardo, Paulo, Gigi, Mikele thank you so much your service in the restaurant! Liam, Fabio, Alessia, Andreas thank you for your fantastic cocktails! Maya our 4 year old daughter had the most fantastic time at the Mini Club she loved taking part in the mini show and learning to swim like a mermaid. Fabio, Georgia, Alexa, Ade thank you for looking after Maya! Sabria on reception thank you for your help with our reservation and for organising the beautiful birthday surprise for my partner it was really special for him. We were lucky enough to celebrate the big party on Saturday night and it as brilliant so much fun with a fantastic band! We have thoroughly enjoyed the extensive menu and wine list the food was excellent and caters for everyone! The stunning view from the restaurant is captivating and you can just sit for hours watching the sunset. It really is a magical place with magical people. Elba is absolutely beautiful. We love it so much we will be returning next year. See you in 2026!

Hotel Hermitage is built on the nicest part of a beautiful sandy beach. The water is clear and blue and the bay is protected from rougher currents. There are a few jellyfish and a bit of seaweed but nothing compared to other parts of the island. The hotel rooms and buildings climb a small hill and are surrounded by woods and well-tended plant life. Unfortunately, this is the extent of the positive things I have to say about this establishment. We stayed for about a week, during which time the hotel lost electricity over night. It was the only hotel on the beach to lose power and it did not come back on until the evening. Despite being a five star hotel, the staff responded to repeated questions about the power with exasperated shrugs, saying, "The technicians say one more hour." This was repeated so many times it became an inside joke among the guests during our stay. There was also no acknowledgment of the incident or apology from the management or staff. The hotel did not offer any solutions besides offering a single room in a nearby hotel so that people could shower before dinner. During our stay the hotel hosted well over a hundred people, many of them families with young children. Imagine lining up for that shared shower! In addition to losing power, our room was one of the many affected by the air conditioning breakdown a few days later. I played phone tag with the front desk for an hour while trying to figure out what was being done to fix the issue before being told that no one was coming to inspect our unit and that technicians were already at work on the main line. These two experiences highlight a broader fact about the hotel: namely, the buildings are old, shoddy, and falling apart. The air conditioning units, even when working, are ancient and hardly work. Lots of the detailing in rooms is chipping or worn, which contributes to the general sense of dilapidation. Ants are frequent visitors, as they are encouraged by the room service trays left outside rooms all night (despite repeated calls for someone to pick them up). Wine bottles and glass water bottles are frequently left (by staff?) outside of rooms for days on end and you will often spot them as you traipse from one end of the hotel grounds to the other, trying to find your way through the maze of stairs and stone pathways that sling up and down the hillside. The prices are sky-high. 18 euros will get you a cocktail on the beach or at the pool bar. 40 euros will buy you two orders of french fries. A half-liter bottle of water (which is all they offer) will run you 4 euros 50. A full liter will cost you 6. It's important to note that there is very little in the way of other options in terms of food or drink. Room service is generally limited to what is offered by the hotel's main restaurant. There's nowhere to get a newspaper. The half-pension option (i.e. breakfast and dinner included) is by no means worth it except, perhaps, for families. The breakfast spread is good but the dinners are somewhat hectic affairs. Servers often forget or omit orders and the food is edible but uninspiring. Another service issue is the state of the poolside bathrooms, which are regularly filthy. If you ask the hotel to call you a taxi, they will summon a private driver with whom they have an understanding. These drivers don't have meters and will try to charge 50 euros or more for very short trips. Finally, the bed bugs at Hotel Hermitage are vicious -- and this is the part of our trip that is truly inexcusable. Three of our group suffered repeated bites from bed bugs which we only diagnosed after returning from the hotel (otherwise we would have departed early). We stayed in different rooms and all three suffered the same bites (in all three cases, these were small raised bites in clusters and lines on parts of the body that were not accessible to mosquitoes). Bed bugs are a grave problem for hotels and cannot be discounted easily. Anyone considering a stay at Hotel Hermitage deserves to know about this and I hope the proprietors see this and respond to the issue with the seriousness it deserves. This hotel does not deserve to carry five stars. The location is certainly worthy but the customer service, dilapidated buildings, and bed bugs (!!!) point to a hotel in dire need of better management.