We wanted to go away for a week. I found a cracking deal stopping at Sandridge Hotel on the West Coast of Barbados and was told it was too far to travel for one week. So we went back in time to Calvi.

It has to be said, Corsica is a stunning place. Miles and miles of unspoilt beaches where families can play, the sand and water are clean. Travel inland and there are mountains with stunning views down to the coastline, again unspoilt by over development.

The Grand Hotel has the feel of a old art nouveau hotel - in fact it is! Unfortunately it has not been modernised, which some will hate. For me it just added to the charm. Despite its age, it was always spotlessly clean, with rooms being cleaned daily. Despite its location on the high street in Calvi it is amazingly quiet, even on the front of the hotel where our room was (and this comes from person famed for their insomnia).

The hotel staff are as charming as the building itself and obviously enjoy their work, even down to the nightwatchman.

You must go for breakfast at least once. Although the food is quite plain, they do serve the freshest food I have eaten in a long while. However, best of all is the view. The restaurant is located on the top floor with a huge balcony. The hotel itself is part way up the side of a hill. The views of the bay are spectacular. I wish I had my SLR, the compact camera just didn't do it justice. Take a trip to the harbour. I have been to many, but again this was special. Rich/ famous folk visit here to get away from it all - it isn't expensive, just take a Rough Guide with you. We ate like royalty for a pittance.

I recently visited Sardinia (the Italian sister island) and whilst it was pretty, Corsica wins hands down - it is just breath-taking in its natural beauty. Oh - one word of warning, it is worth having a car to tour the island properly, but be careful the drivers are really scary (they make Italian drivers appear extermely tame)!

This is generally a good hotel in a good location. The resataurant where you have your breakfast offers stunning panoramic views. It was clean but it may be getting towards time for a refurbishment.

We stayed at this hotel for four nights as part of a six week tour of Europe. The staff gave us a free upgrade as they winked at us because we were honeymooners. We thought this was lovely and we really appreciated their kindness.

Though the rooms were not modern, they had a certain charm that we hadn't seen anywhere else. I even managed to take a few photos of the original bathroom to remember it by. It might sound crazy but I thought the towel rails were so unusual they deserved a photo :)

I remember wandering around down stairs in what must have been a very grand bar and lounge in its day. The staff were always in a good mood and happy to put up with our terrible French! The view from the breakfast room (after ascending a large sprial staircase) is fantastic, it's on the top floor and there are great views over Calvi.

Calvi is gorgeous and we had such a great time, I only hope I get to visit again. We went out to dinner and I remember enjoying live music and yummy food. It was also great to look at all the amazing yachts that were arriving from Nice and to visit the citadel, the view from up there is gorgeous. There are great views of the dramatic mountains from the beach too.

If you are looking for some old charm and friendly staff, you will find it here, but if you are looking for the latest up to date modern hotel, you may need to consider this might be a bit of old world charm.

Thanks to the staff if you read this - you made our honeymoon extra special!!

The Grand Hotel in Calvi Corsica has graced upper Calvi for many years. It is located close to the historical citadel and about two or three street levels above the yacht harbor which is very interesting and which has plenty of shops, sidewalk cafes and restaurants.

Our air conditioned room was charmingly quaint, sunny, very large and quiet. A little updating to the general facilities would make this venerable hotel a bit more appreciated in today's world, but we found everything to be in good condition, clean and comfortable. The hotel staff spoke English and were quite helpful. A top floor restaurant offers panoramic views. We did not dine or have breakfast there so we cannot comment. All floors are served by elevators or lifts. Non hotel arranged car parking can usually be found nearby.

If you want to be in Calvi's scenic historical citadel and harbor area rather than being in an outlying resort area, the Grand Hotel is a good choice, great value and a bit of a experience of hotel grandeur from another age.

We enjoyed it.