Don't get misled by the four-star rating. I reserved two superior rooms at this hotel. Both rooms were very modestly furnished. The furniture was that of a low-cost beach hotel, not that of a luxury hotel. My parents’ room was a decent size but had a horrific smell of mildew. When we reported the smell to the reception, we were told that it was a “normal inconvenience with staying on an island” (to quote the receptionist)! The bathrooms were very small, old and desperately needed updates. The ceramic tile of the patio was badly damaged and broken. There is nothing luxurious about this hotel.

The quality and unwelcoming attitude of the reception staff and management was highly deplorable for a SHL hotel. The lack of coordination between the reservation desk, reception and spa office was also deplorable. My stay package was a wellness package which included six spa treatments for 90 minutes for two people. When I came to the spa office to make appointments for the treatments, I was told everything was booked and that I could only have treatments for 60 minutes! I had to insist to be able to book the 90-minute treatments that I paid for. Although my parents’ stay included four golf green fees, the reception desk argued that they were only allowed to two green fees. I had to show a copy of the reservation details to clear the “misunderstanding.” I still question whether the spa and the green fees issues resulted from poor hotel management or from pure dishonesty.

The restaurant was also a disappointment and is definitely not a four-star hotel restaurant. The daily menu had limited choices. The half-board dinner was so awful that we had to order a la carte most nights. What a waste of money, considering that we paid for the half-board but could not take advantage of it and did not receive any reduction of our a la carte orders even if we did not order the half-board dinners.

If it is not too late, cancel your booking at this hotel. If you wish to go to Corse, stay at a hotel on the main island. Don't waste your time or money at this hotel.

We loved our stay at the Hotel des Pecheurs. Be prepared it is expensive, but you are paying to stay on a very exclusive island so you must make allowances for that. If you can get a good deal with half board it's not too bad value compared to other hotels in it's class. Go with a sense of adventure, it's not the Maldives but it's unique, intriguing and ultimately relaxing. After a day or two it will cast a spell on you and you will be sad to leave, but give it time to grow on you.

Getting there:
15mins from Bonifacio or up to 30mins from Figari airport, gets you to the jetty at Piantarella. Plenty of places to leave a car during your stay, we saw no evidence of parking specifically for the hotel, but we didn't look too hard as we were arriving by taxi. The hotel will help with your transfer to the island if you call them in advance - a mobile is especially useful as Piantarella is a bit isolated. Public boat leaves at specific times (find out from the hotel). It's much cheaper than the hotel boat which operates whenever you need it. The public boat is fine, and well used to people with luggage. Hardly anyone on it in September at least, so not the scramble we were expecting. Arrange taxi pickup from Piantarella on leaving the hotel with reception, but a mobile is vital if anything goes wrong with the taxi arrangement. Taxis seem a bit scarce in September in that area, so don't leave booking until the last minute!

The hotel:
Very smart and peaceful. Benefits from a delightful area around a rocky inlet that they light up at night. This is where the restaurant, bar, and some of the more expensive rooms are situated. Very Italian - it feels like you have left Corsica in food and language. Very quiet - when we arrived we wondered where everyone was, but at meal times suddenly everyone emerged and the atmosphere picked up substantially.

The room:
We chose their standard room as this was the only way we could afford to stay here. It was a good size with a large bathroom, well stocked with toilettries. We had a little terrace which felt like a little garden, with a pleasant view of Cavallo port. Everything kept very clean by the hard working cleaning staff. They even folded our clothing that we left on beds and chairs, and put footwear in neat lines out of the way! Never been treated so well by cleaning staff, who were also very polite and cheerful.

The food:
Daily changing menu of four courses and two choices per course if you are half board. If you're not, the prices are quite high. Menus not in English, but that's what holidays abroad are supposed to be. It's fun trying to work out what things are, although the waiter was keen to explain the menu to us in English. Food was very good for half board. Waiters were well trained and very pleasant. Breakfast was a standard continental buffet. Lunch is obviously not included in half board, but it was very expensive when you only want a light bite. The beach bar had salad according to the receptionist, but we didn't try it. So lunch choices are limited.

Amenities:
Free tennis racquet and ball hire to use at the two tennis courts at the other end of the island. No watersports. Would have liked some free kayaks to paddle about in. Pretty hotel beach with sun loungers and an uninviting beach bar. It was always staffed during the day, but it really needed spucing up to make it more fun and encourage people to use it. Note this beach is different to the tiny beach near the resturant area, it is tucked away around the corner turning right out of the hotel. The electric golf carts that you can take around the island look great fun, but you can only hire for a whole day and they cost too much money for us to make them worthwhile. If only you could hire from say 3pm in the afternoon and get one for half the cost, but no, you pay for the whole day.

The island:
Quite wild and desolate, so not that pretty to look at. However, the various bays, inlets, and the views to Corsica and Sardinia are beautiful. We found three stunning and deserted beaches with turquoise sea lapping at the shore. So you definitely go here to get away from it all. Development on the island has stopped, and with only one hotel, you wander around the island virtually on your own. There's a few other properties dotted around - no sign of any people! Also some buildings that didn't get finished - curious, but don't let that put you off, it just makes the experience all the more unique. Sand is rather course, but at least it brushes off your feet easily! Snorkelling is great - take some gear with you.

Other places on the island:
A walk around the island is very nice, a bit like walking around moorland back home, try and find the highest point for a panoramic view. Some of the private homes are unusual, and designed to blend into the landscape. The airstrip is another curiosity. The helipad is really used, but didn't see any planes!

Shopping:
There seemed to be a small shopping area near the port you arrive at, but it only had one small grocery store that was operating (at least in September). Stocked as best as it could be for the lack of customers it seemed to get, and it allowed us to snack until our half-board dinner. Useful to get bottled water from here, but it was closed on Sunday and I think only open in the morning.

Other restuarants:
Yes, there is a pizzeria hidden away in the middle of the island. Wow, you really have to explore, you eventually find everything it's all part of the fun! Sadly it was closed in September. Maybe Summer is much livelier? Anyway, it was in a nice setting with good views, and looked like it would be a good place to have lunch.

Maybe it was the windy weather that put us bad frame of mind, but we felt so sad and let down by this terrifically over priced hotel.

The room we stayed in was tired, the staff were mostly perfunctory - not rude per se, but certainly not effusive in their hospitality. We couldn't help but feel that every request we made was just that tiny little bit unreasonable/too much.

Everything felt tired. The glorious years of this hotel were probably in the 90's, and it desperately needs some refreshing and some magic sprinkled on it.

For example, there were some children's scribbles in pen on the wall and cupboards of our bedroom. Why couldn't anyone care to just clean this up before we arrived? I just didn't feel any pride in the place (having said that the cleaner was very sweet and friendly).

The food, whilst off a set menu (limited to 2 choices per course), was actually very good - it's just a shame that the waiters insisted on telling us in very broken English what the choices were, and then pressurising us into making choices when we clearly didn't have a clue what they had just described. Give us a menu in English!

The island feels quite barren (not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate that some may find charm in it), and a mere 2 minutes walk from the hotel is an abandoned (and partially burnt out) development of small homes. A member of staff said these were built without planning permissions and were attacked by angry locals. Hmmm... this certainly does not give a good impression.

This was the first leg in a two part holiday, and thank goodness the Grace Santorini was the exact opposite of this rather tired feeling establishment.

Must try (a lot) harder.

Hotel is lovely, and the Ile de Cavalo a truly special place. Very remote, and isolated but with the right amount of modernity. The staff and service were also superb. My only warning is that the island only has one restaurant (an overpriced pizzeria) outside of the hotel. Highly recommend otherwise. We hope to go back next year.