Elba Premium Suites

Just back from this hotel. I would say it’s 3* needs to do a bit of work to justify a 4* having been to other hotels in the area that in our opinion are much more in line with what you’d expect. The good points: we liked how the rooms are set out. Very private and good to have your own external space. The food was good in the mirador restaurant at breakfast and tea, plenty of choice particularly of fresh healthy options, which we prefer. For this reason we also choose to eat in the buffet at lunch, the salads were brilliant. Never had issue getting drinks in any of the bars day or night, drinks were fine. We went to the main pool as much more space around the beds and plenty of shade. Lots of beds, no issues getting one. There is a gated entrance at the back of the hotel that is very close to the las margaritas bus stops, for the circular route that can take you anywhere in playa blanca for €1.40 every half hour so very useful. You can walk to the main promenade and beaches but if you had mobility issues you might struggle as it’s a 20 minute walk away. We found generally all the staff helpful. The grounds are really lovely and well maintained. The bad points: our room was not cleaned for the majority of the week, the beds made and towels refreshed only. Things that should be provided e.g daily water, weren’t on 2 occasions. The way the bed was made was lazy and utterly ridiculous as the beds pulled out and everything just tucked in at the back, no attempt to turn anything back meaning we had to constantly pull the beds out to do this. The only time it was properly cleaned was the last day, either a change of cleaner or someone after a tip… we’d already been to reception to highlight this and ask for our room to be cleaned early in the day. The receptionist was totally disinterested and unhelpful. As this is supposed to be something you can request she reluctantly said she’d arrange it. But it didn’t happen, normally coming after 4pm which was totally inconvenient. The balcony in the mirador was filthy, not leaves from nearby trees but hair, glass, fluff dust. The water glasses in the buffet Resturant and the dishes were often dirty. The animation team appeared to do a great job in the day but we felt relying on them for evening entertainment meant it was not great. Some acts brought in were also of a poor standard. We used the adults pool on the first day but didn’t bother again. Crammed in like sardines, same people reserving beds all day. People being very loud. Poor shade and a selection of beige food in the snack bar, including the salads! It didn’t feel like a premium experience. Will we go back, probably not as like I’ve said, plenty of other places that offer a better experience.

Stayed in the Elba Premium Suites My room, a junior suite was lovely and I found it to be really quiet. The terrace was great. It got the late afternoon sunshine. Only thing wrong with it was that it was always covered in leaves as partly covered by a tree. They have done a lovely job with seperating each terrace with bushes and shrubs, but I really needed to have a broom in my room. Storage was poor. Just the wardrobe. No drawers whatsoever I initially tried the Premium pool as people rave about it, but found it too noisy, there was one particular group of people who talked loudly without ever stopping for breath, everyone around that pool must know their entire life history. Also another woman chose to swim her 200 lengths without any consideration for anyone else wanting to take a dip. Because of this I moved to the main pool in the Elba Royal Village section and found this was perfect for both reading and people watching in peace. There were sunbeds available, even at lunch time. Note: it was not quite school hols so there were children but not hundreds of them. The pool, furthest from the bar also had an intetesting shape with islands and a bridge etc so it was a much more pleasant dip. Yes, the water was chilly at first but nowhere near as cold as I had expected. I only ate in the Premium restaurant. Breakfast was repetetive as is standard for ai but for dinner there was always something different and nice to be had and lots of choice including grilled tk order fish or meat. I did accidentally have nuts on one desert as the labels just said 'various or selection of'. Thankfully i'm not allergic, I just hate them Some shared areas were dirty. Sunbeds at both pool areas were dirty. The sofas in the bottom lobby - dirty. Decking at Premium Mirador restaurant - dirty, with crumbs everywhere. Bench seating in Mirador was very tired. Toilets in both the Premium Mirador and main downstairs lobby were in poor condition with silicon sealer visible everywhere, broken push buttons and wobbly taps. Not what you expect in a 4* hotel Going to bar in the daytime was ok and as expected, but the 4* I went to last year had table service in the evening making you feel just a little bit special. Sadly no table service here. The queue at reception was often too long. They need to have a dedicated queue/staff member to help current guests whilst others manage the check in and check out process so that current guests with just a quick question don't have to queue behind a coach party who are checking in or out or even both at the same time. The walk down to the Port by going out the front and turning tight and right again was easy enough and pedestrianised. It is up hill on return but a slow steady climb with lots of benches so you can rest if you need to. I also walked the 15mins to Flamingo beach via the exit gate behind Pepeland (make sure you look for the path on the right by The Flamingo Hotel, the beach is just down that path). For the Rubicon Marina market I caught the courtesy bus to Dorada beach and walked on to the marina from there and then walked all the way back to the Elba as the first bus back was not until 3.30 which too late for me and the tempetature was perfect for walking. Personally I was not a fan of the Playa Blanca area. It is just Irish bars, sports bars, Indian restaurants and pizza places, plus loads of shops all selling the same things. Having spoken to quite a few people who said they have been going to same hotel for years and keep going back, I was completely baffled as to why. There was nothing at the hotel or Playa Blanca to make me want to go back again.

Hotel is nice, would say 3-3.5 stars not a 4. We only used the premium areas ie:- pool which is very busy and beds are reserved early on a morning, restaurants and upstairs bar, which lacks any aircon. Other bar and pool areas are mainly occupied by families with small children. Rooms are quite nice, plenty of storage, fridge replenished water. Passageway into apartments are very dirty, don’t think the floors have ever been cleaned. Good location albeit quite a hike back up the hill from the main area. First time in Playa Blanca and would thoroughly recommend.

Just returned from an outstanding holiday at Elba. Don't let the bad reviews put you off. As a single female traveller I felt totally safe. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming. Adult only areas were fabulous. Food was of a decent all inclusive standard, especially breakfast. No problems finding a sunlounger. Room was lovely and clean, shower had a decent pressure and towels were lovely and fluffy. Very quiet at nights as rooms are well designed so you dont even showers or toilets flushing in neighbouring rooms. A la carte restaurants, La Nonna and the Brasserie made a nice change. Booked a trip of a sunset cruise with Viatours.... excellent service and great experience. Will definitely be returning to this hotel.

Location is a 20 minute walk to the town centre. The hotel itself is quite large with a small pool area with bar and lunch facilities just for adults and a much larger pool area for families although adults could use both. We used the adult only pool where the staff were excellent. The only complaint was that a horrible sewage smell would drift over by the bar area, we discovered this probably came from outside as we noticed the smell going into town. The rooms were large and very clean with excellent a/c. The shower was ok, not high pressure but sufficient. Beds comfy but pillow too soft for me. The adult restaurant was upstairs, always quiet and both breakfast and evening meals were lovely. Evening entertainment was good and as per everywhere the staff were excellent. I will definitely be coming back. An idea for the hotel would be to have 24 hour coffee machines dotted about the place and try and source the smell Thankyou to all the staff for a great time.