Castel Brando is a pretty hotel situated in the heart of Erbalunga - a popular and unspoilt Corsican fishing village. The hotel itself was very welcoming and well appointed. The small surrounding gardens are well kept and there is a lovely pool with really good sun loungers. However, we were pretty stunned when we saw our room which was almost monastic in its furnishings. From what I gather from other travelers reviews and by the photos on the website, there must be better rooms than the one we were given. Our was away from the main house overlooking the pool. My husband immediately requested an upgrade but was told the hotel was full so we were stuck for the two nights. The room itself was painted white with tile floor - no rug or carpet whatsoever. Very small and dingy. One small picture on the wall. Hard bed with two small side tables. Bedding was thin and of poor quality. A small writing desk (no chair) and a chest of drawers that did not open (no handles and no keys). There was a tiny closet which also contained a tiny fridge which for some reason was on a timer and seemed to be off most of the time. The bathroom shower was located so low that you would have to be a midget to fit under it (I'm 5'6"). It was also dangling from the wall and pretty unusable anyway. They also must have some ventilation or drainage problem as the bathroom smelt quite badly in the morning. We had none of the noise problems mentioned by others although the church bell was definitely very active from early the morning to late at night. I would suggest skipping the breakfast which was expensive and go across the road for a lovely coffee and tartine for less than half the price and you get a great view of the sea.

Hotel Castel Brando is immaculate. Set in the centre of pretty Erbalunga, it is in its own tranquil gardens, with two pools. The gardens offer peace, shade and sun! The pool areas are really pleasant although you will need your own towels. The blocks of rooms are set so tastefully in the gardens and are well maintained, traditionally furnished and clean. Sleep is deep - until 7am when the local church clock strikes! Breakfast is buffet style on a pretty and shaded terrasse - it's a simple Corsican breakfast. No restaurant at the hotel so meals need to be taken elsewhere - there are half a dozen decent restaurants in the village, our preference was U Piazzetta for dinner, and the A Strega bar for lunch. Erbalunga is lovely, but not enough to keep you occupied for more than a few days, you will need to get out and about. Servce was exceptional - simple and friendly.

Castel Brando is a very good small hotel with friendly and helpful staff. We were booked for a 3rd floor room ( no lift or help with baggage) but due to the fact we are senior citizens we were offered a large room on the ground floor. The room was excellent, very big but the bathroom comparitively tiny. The beautiful old villa understandably has
problems with the modern age!
Erbalunga is as previously stated, very small but also very beautiful. Main problem is lack of restaurants. There is one good one, one excellent (apparently) but extremely expensive - 60/90 euros per menu and another two untested but average prices. The menus are mainly italian but I am afraid to say not as good or comprehensive as our English ones.

We chose this hotel for a 3 night stay towards the end of May, and found it exactly what we had expected from the majority of reviews: an excellent, old, charming hotel in a beautiful setting on the main route to Cap Corse.
We took two standard rooms "Charme" with terrace and pool view, at a price of 115€ per per room, per night. The rooms were clean and tastefully decorated "à l'ancien" (unfortunately a little too ancient as regards our chest-of-drawers/commode which had no handles left!) The bathroom was clean and compact - it was rather difficult to shower without making a mess all over the floor but I got better at preventing this by the third day.... We did not take breakfast in the hotel, but went to a nearby café instead.
As other reviewers have stated, there are lots of restaurants just over the road, by the tiny port, and we ate at a different one each night. Having spent 4 nights in Calvi on the west side of Corsica, we chose this hotel as a base to tour Cap Corse, returning gladly to the heated pool in the late afternoons. We really enjoyed the pool, which is in a lovely setting of trees and shrubs.
The Reception staff were friendly and helpful. I was able to use their computer to print out boarding passes for our return fllight. I certainly recommend this hotel to anyone touring this part of Corsica, seeking something a little different from a standard modern hotel, but would suggest a maximum of 3 nights. I am especially glad we took the rooms by the pool.