Hotel Del Golfo

The Hotel Del Golfo is a huge beach resort comprising a central main building and five villas that collectively contain its rooms. It's surrounded by green gardens with palms and Mediterranean plants, that lead out onto the Gulf of Procchio. The flat, sandy beach is spacious and never too crowded, and every room is assigned its own pair of lounge chairs with an umbrella. Inside, the lobby is decorated with yellow floral tiled floors, canary-yellow sofas, and potted plants. The hotel is popular with vacationing families and couples in the summer high season.

The hotel is located in Procchio, a seaside holiday village in the northern part of Elba Island, a 15-minute drive from Portoferraio and its port. In the summertime, Procchio is at its liveliest, with plenty of shopping, restaurants, and live music. The quality of the seawater is consistently high, as Legambiente -- the Italian Environmental League -- periodically verifies. Capoliveri and other touristy holiday villages on the island take about half-an-hour to reach by car. 

Rooms are divided into several categories. Standard Rooms face the back of the hotel and the parking lot. Seaside Rooms are on the ground floor, although they are too low to the ground to actually have views of the sea. Sea View Rooms are on the second floor of the buildings, but note that not all buildings have elevators. Suites include separate sleeping areas and large bathrooms with whirlpool tubs. Overall, room decor is simple and a little dated, with classic furniture and colorful upholstery and linens. Some tile floors are made up of vibrant, patterned Vietri ceramic. Minibars, flat-screen TVs, and free Wi-Fi are standard. Spacious bathrooms include rainhead showers, bathtubs, and toiletries made by Acqua dell’Elba. Housekeepers pass through twice a day for regular and turndown services.

The hotel has two restaurants and a breakfast lounge with a terrace that faces the sea; half-board meal plans are available. La Capannina is the beach bar and restaurant open throughout the day. The more formal Fontana restaurant is open at dinner -- ask for a table next to a window for beautiful gulf views. The food gets generally positive reviews and includes fish, meat dishes, and pasta. On Fridays during the July-August peak season, a gala dinner is served on the terrace. Outside, there's a huge swimming pool and adjacent figure-eight shaped hot tub. The sandy beach has ample sun loungers and umbrellas. Although there's no spa or gym, there are a couple of tennis courts and a kids' club that operates in the summer months. Past guests have complained of numerous extra fees for things that are normally included in hotel rates, such as beach towel use and newspapers.