Spiaggia di Naregno, Capoliveri, Italy
Clean, if dated, rooms with AC and laminate wood floors, some with outdoor spaces
Directly abutting a narrow strip of private sandy beach, furnished with parasols and folding chairs
Outdoor pool, hot tub, and kiddy pool
Convenience store on-site
Free Wi-Fi
Restaurant with full- and half-board options available
Entertainment team dedicated to young guests
No elevator; those with mobility challenges may have difficulty
Dated decor and furniture in rooms and throughout property
Ants and general mustiness are occasional problems
Somewhat isolated, and a car is recommended
Wi-Fi spotty
Complaints of lots of mosquitos
Evening entertainment can be noisy
This simple beachfront property abutting a narrow strip of clean sand on the bay of Porto Azzurro offers homey rooms and short-term apartments. The motel-like property, situated a seven-minute drive outside of the small town of Capoliveri, is particularly family-friendly, offering a kids entertainment team, the option of full-board rates, and the inclusion of an on-site convenience store. Additional amenities include an outdoor pool with adjacent hot tub and kids pool, and nearby water sports. Noisy evening entertainment, plenty of mosquitos, and a general air of shabbiness are notable downsides. The beach is better than the small man-made one at the Grand Hotel Elba International, however.
Scene
Homey, family-friendly budget property with an aesthetic that's part summer camp, part apartment complex
The linoleum tiled lobby of the property's main building, furnished with a casual, eclectic mix of wicker furniture and stuffed cotton-covered couches, feels vaguely like a cross between a cheery senior center and a sprawling summer camp compound meeting area. Interior architecture fixtures and the outdoor patio are egregiously '60s, while the exterior of the main building looks more like a European apartment building, with a stucco exterior and terra-cotta tile roof. The restaurant is a short walk away (some guests find this a bit of a hassle) and a handful of additional structures house the apartment-style accommodations. The apartment buildings closest to the water are separated by a row of hedges and a small sidewalk.
The hotel draws lots of tour groups and particularly caters to the German market (there are signs, menus, and TV channels in German). Older guests may not be happy here due to the lack of elevator and the noisy evening entertainment, such as the kids' disco.
Location
Adjacent to the water and within quick walking distance of a small handful of hotels
The small beach hamlet of Naregno, in which the property is ensconced, houses a few hotels and little else. Room buildings are set slightly back from the adjacent sandy strip that constitutes the beach. Capoliveri is about a 10-minute drive away, with the first restaurant at the midway point, and Porto Azzurro is about 15 minutes by car. It is possible to take a water taxi to Porto Azzurro from a nearby dock.
Rooms
Plain rooms with wood laminate floors; some have an outdoor space
White walls and floral bedspreads combine with dark-wood laminate bed frames and cabinetry for plain, no-frills decor with a faint whiff of country. Most floors are covered in wood laminate, a cozier alternative to the ceramic tiling typical of hotels in the area. The majority of the rooms offer some type of outdoor space, which can vary in terms of protection from the sun and furnishings provided. The Baby Room has a double burner and a sink area for food preparation. There are also apartments with more extensive living quarters, in some cases duplexes with a living room and kitchenette; these quarters have a more extensive outdoor space, some with a picnic table. All rooms have an electric kettle, an empty mini-fridge, a small, wall-mounted flat-panel TV with satellite channels (in Italian and German), a hairdryer, and an AC unit.
Features
Adjacent private beach, convenience store, kids' entertainment, pool with hot tub, and childrens’ pool
The narrow strip of sand, which drops into the sea after the length of a half dozen beach chairs, is clean, and the water so placid it could be mistaken for a lake: a truly family-friendly bathing area. It's one of the nicer hotel beaches on the island; the one at Grand Hotel Elba International is small and man-made, while the one at Hotel Capo Sud is pebbly.
A fairly sizable outdoor pool, suitable for modest laps, sits adjacent to a kids' pool, a small hot tub, and a large grassy area. The supervised kids' activities are a major draw for parents, though guests without kids may occasionally find them disruptive. The hotel has a restaurant for guests choosing half- or full-board options (popular given the fairly isolated location), with some outdoor seating options in the summer as an alternative to the cafeteria-like interior dining area.