Route de Palombaggia, Corse-du-Sud
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From every terrace at Casadelmar, the old town of Porto-Vecchio can be seen across the bay, perched on its hill like a spectator in the gallery. It sits up there for a good reason. When the Genoese rebuilt the town in the sixteenth century, the marshy shore below was so riddled with malaria that most of the first settlers died, and for centuries sensible people kept well away from the water. Casadelmar does the opposite. Its thirty-four rooms are laid out along the water's edge on a pine-covered peninsula, and every single one faces the bay.
It took the shore a long time to be forgiven. Summers in Porto-Vecchio once meant fleeing up to the mountain village of L'Ospedale, named after a hospital for malaria victims, and only after the Second World War, when Allied troops drained and sprayed the marshes, did the coast become somewhere to linger rather than to flee. Today this shoreline is among the most sought-after in Corsica.
A local developer, Jean-Noël Marcellesi, replaced a tired old hotel among the pines and handed the job to Jean-François Bodin, an architect better known for museums, who treated the bay as the main exhibit. The long, cedar-clad building is all wooden slats and tall panes of glass, calm and pared back inside, and each room has a terrace of its own over the water. Nobody here ever gets a view of the car park.
The shore that once emptied the town now fills the day. The pool, twenty-five metres long, runs along the water's edge so that it seems to merge with the bay, and only the temperature tells them apart. The real beach lies across the water at the sister hotel, La Plage Casadelmar, and a boat takes guests over in a few minutes, which turns a trip to the sunbeds into a small expedition.
Evenings bring the hotel's other great draw. The restaurant is one of the most serious tables on the island, and the Italian chef Fabio Bragagnolo cooks with simple island ingredients and very little fuss. As the meal goes on, the old town lights up on its hill across the bay, still keeping its distance from the water.
Casadelmar will appeal most to couples and serious eaters who prefer clean contemporary lines to gilded antiques. It opens only between late April and early October. Children are welcome, although anyone over twelve counts as an adult. Figari airport and the town itself are both an easy drive away.
The old town still watches from its hill, as safely above the water as its founders intended. Down at Casadelmar, nobody shows the slightest desire to move up.
The garden
The 3-hectare garden was laid out by Jean Mus: centuries-old olive trees, Florentine cypresses, stone pines, rockroses, myrtle and immortelles on terraces stepping down to the gulf.
Jean-François Bodin built the hotel low along the slope in wood, glass and pale Bateig stone, so that most of it disappears behind planting until close up. The 3-hectare garden by Jean Mus fills in the rest: olive trees, cypresses, stone pines, myrtle and immortelles on terraced beds, with paths and steps leading down through them to the water.
The pool runs along the edge of the garden facing the gulf, its far rim level with the water beyond, with sun loungers and parasols in a row on the wooden deck. It is open all day and heated according to the season. A few steps below, a platform at the shore lets swimmers go straight into the sea instead.
The gastronomic dining room sits behind tall woven screens, with round tables in white cloths and the gulf beyond the glass. Fabio Bragagnolo, in the kitchen since the hotel opened in 2004 and in charge since 2014, cooks Corsican and Italian produce; Claudio Pezzetti does the desserts. In spring and autumn the same room serves a long Sunday brunch.
The largest of the three double categories is 48 m², with a 15 m² terrace over the sea, a king-size bed and a bathroom with both shower and bath. Like every room, it is done in light wood, Bateig stone and pale fabrics, and it connects with a suite, which makes it the natural choice for parents with older children next door.
At a glance
Where
Route de Palombaggia, 20137 Porto-Vecchio, Corse-du-Sud; on a hillside above the Gulf of Porto-Vecchio, a few minutes from the town centre and from the beaches of Palombaggia; secure private car park behind the hotel with charging points
Why this one
34 terraces, all facing the sea.
Twenty-five metres along the water.
Le Casadelmar and Il Pontile.
The Edit Notes
Every room faces the sea, so the real choice is terrace size. The three double categories, from 35 to 48 m², all come with a 15 m² terrace. From the Superior Junior Suite upwards, at 45 m², the terrace doubles to 30 m², and the suites add a lounge with a daybed or a separate sitting room. For a stay spent largely outside, with breakfast and evenings over the bay, the step from double room to junior suite changes more than any other.
Le Casadelmar is the long, precise dinner: chef Fabio Bragagnolo, who joined at the opening in 2004 and has run the kitchen since 2014, cooking Corsican and Italian produce. Il Pontile, on terraces below the hotel under wisteria, is the easy one: crudo, grilled fish of the day, pasta with langoustine. Each takes its own reservations. Fix the gastronomic evening first, then let the other nights fall to Il Pontile and the lounge bar.
Casadelmar has a sun deck at the shore and a platform for swimming straight into the gulf, but no sand beach of its own. The beach belongs to the sister hotel, La Plage Casadelmar, on the Benedettu peninsula on the far side of the bay, which lists boat transfers to and from Casadelmar. It has its own grill restaurant and pool. Ask the concierge to fit the crossing around lunch there.
Connecting rooms are part of the plan: the Luxury Double Room connects with a suite, and the Superior and Luxury Suites can each be linked to a bedroom. Larger parties can take the Private Villa: 250 m² on two levels, three suites that all overlook the sea, an 18-metre pool and direct sea access, with the hotel's services. A butler, housekeeper, private chef and treatments in the villa can be arranged on request.
The price question
A stay here is built around one thing: a terrace over the gulf, with the pool, the restaurants and the spa a short walk away in the same garden. It does not offer a sand beach on site, published opening dates or terraces of the larger size below junior-suite level. The fair comparison is a hotel on the beach itself, with the town and its restaurants a drive away.
Book it for a few days of terrace, pool and one serious dinner, with the boat to La Plage for a beach day. Anyone who wants to walk from the room onto sand, or a large family needing several rooms under one roof without the villa, is better placed at a beach hotel.
Domaine de Murtoli
A farming estate of some 2,500 hectares in the Ortolo valley near Sartène, run by the Canarelli family: about twenty restored shepherds' houses and old stone houses let one by one, a nine-room hotel at the farm, three restaurants and a beach kept for guests.
Grand Hôtel de Cala Rossa
A family hotel on a sandy cove at Lecci, seven kilometres north of Porto-Vecchio, run by Hélène and Lise Canarelli: no outdoor pool, a heated indoor pool in the spa, and dinner at La Pinède under the pines.
The Extra Edit
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