Chambre d'Hôtes la Marlotte

So pleased we found this hotel when looking for somewhere nice to book that would also be within striking distance of Bastia airport, for our final night on the island at the end of a 2 week driving tour. We loved its remote location amongst the mountains (although it's actually just 40mins drive from Bastia airport so worked well from that point of view too). We also loved the stylishly quirky but functional decor and big size of our Sultana suite, plus the warm friendly welcome from our hosts and their lovely dog Sheeba. In our 1st floor room there was a kettle and lounge area with sofa, but there is also a shared lounge on the ground floor with large communal refrigerator and microwave for guests to use (they kindly provided plates and cutlery for us on request). The local restaurant apparently only opens July/August, so we brought some food with us, as there are no other restaurants in close proximity. They have a lovely garden area with nice garden furniture which guests are welcome to relax in (and solar lights too, although too early in the eve when we were there for them to come on). It's therefore worth picking up a bottle of wine to bring with you, to enjoy out there as we did, as we enjoyed the stunning views across to the mountains and down the valley as the sun went down. The village is a very peaceful hamlet with just a church and the (closed) restaurant. The continental style breakfast was great too - a lovely spread of pastries, bread, homemade biscuits and jams and local honey, plus homemade yoghurt. I would just suggest that a glass of orange or other juice would have been nice alongside the hot drinks. You sit with other guests at a big farmhouse style table alongside the kitchen. We enjoyed talking to the other guests next to us, as well as the owners. There is normally WiFi available but a recent storm had knocked this out and they had been waiting a few days for it to be fixed - the downside of the remote location! They don't seem to get many visitors from the UK (ditto the rest of Corsica in fact) although they are generally full with other European guests, so we felt as if we had found a hidden gem. If you're thinking of staying (we would definitely recommend!) then please contact the owners direct via their website, as *********** is problematic for them and apparently slow to pass on payments. Thank you so much Frederique and Christophe for making us so welcome!