First of all - before I get into the details about the hotel, Castiglioncello is a very strange place to go on holidays to. Make sure before you go that you know what you're getting yourself into! Myself and my boyfriend came here for 3 nights at the end of a 9-day trip in Italy (3 nights in Rome and 3 nights in Florence too). We wanted a beachside/ relaxing few days at the end of our trip to chill out after the madness of the other two cities. Castiglioncello was recommended by my boyfriend's Italian boss at work. Turns out, Castiglioncello USED to be popular in the 1950s or so, but is now more of a ghost town. We went in early September, which isn't exactly high season, but I would still expect SOME sort of buzz about the place (particularly as Rome and Florence were both heaving with people at this time of year), but Castiglioncello felt like a deserted town with very little to do, very few shops/ restaurants and very few other people around, particularly tourists. (Which yes, is a good thing, but it was unnerving to feel so out of place!). The beach near this hotel is very narrow and small and there is about 1 metre of gritty sand you can lie on before the sea edge. There were no watersports available on any of the Castiglioncello beaches or on the 'White Beach' in Rosagnino (which we walked 3km to get to - really wasn't worth it). It was advertised online that you can go scuba diving here too (we were both very excited about that as we love diving) but when we got here, no-one seemed to know anywhere that did diving trips, not even the girl in the sports shop which sold tons of diving equipment!! Such a strange place. We felt really random there and spent the first two days just wandering around, hoping to come across something more exciting to do. We decided to take the train up to Livorno as that sounded a bit more exciting. Again, we were greeted by an old, dilapidated, dull town with no effort to make it beautiful or appealing. We ended up eating in McDonalds as the restaurant choices were so few. We went to the aquarium in Livorno which was ok, but not mind blowing.
Anyway - the hotel itself was good. It's very old fashioned, and obviously must have been in its prime in the 1950's or so. The bathroom was all old beige tiles and looked like something out of your grandmother's house. That said, the bed was comfy, air con was adequate (but it wasn't overly hot when we were there), the room was cleaned daily with fresh towels. The room was quiet, we both slept very well each night. We had a fabulous balcony out the back of our room with sun loungers and a table & chairs. The indoor pool is lovely and the outdoor pool was great too (it's located two villas down, they tell you the code to get in through the gate) and we had the place to ourselves with lots of loungers and a grassy area surrounding it etc.
The location of the hotel in Castiglioncello is great, 3min walk to the 'centre'. Caffè Ginori in the centre of the town is lovely and quite upmarket, we went here one night for dessert and drinks and it was very nice. Also Il Piccinino restaurant just opposite this had lovely food too.
The breakfast in the hotel was nice - freshly squeezed orange juice, lots of cakes and breads, but little else. There was no fresh fruit which seemed to be the case in all the hotels we stayed in Italy, a coffee making machine, tea, water etc.
The wifi was weak, don't rely on it to download anything significant, but it just about did the job.
The staff were friendly but most didn't speak English, the elderly man and lady checked us in - they were both about 70/80 years old and still going, restocking the breakfast and everything!
All in all - it's a very old fashioned, quiet place. For two people in their mid twenties, we felt it wasn't suitable and would not recommend going here if you're looking for any sort of action or activity.
