Amaya M.
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This place is special to us — we’re coming back for a 2nd time. Pollara is far away from “civilization” — life here is still lived the way it was 40–50 years ago. There isn’t a single shop and only a couple of restaurants, one of which is located at the Locanda. Locanda itself, however, is reachable by public bus from the Santa Marina port, which is a good news.
The rooms are decorated in the typical Aeolian style and equipped with air conditioning and a mini-fridge. The free cold still or mineral water refill is available throughout your stay, a great plus. But the real highlight is the hammocks and the sunset view framed by a huge palm tree!
The room rate includes a wonderful breakfast with both sweet and savory options, including homemade jams (especially the lemon one!), pies and cookies baked by the owner’s daughter. We also had dinner at the restaurant — the food was excellent, but the portions seemed unjustifiably small (and without sides), which made the high prices (€15–17 for starters and €22–26 for mains) feel quite steep.
The walk to the beach takes about 15 minutes — don’t forget your water shoes and snorkeling gear! You’ll be rewarded with stunningly clear turquoise water and lots of beautiful fish. We visited in the first half of June, and the water temperature was perfect — 25°C!
As for the “downsides”, for us it was the aperitif tables that the hosts have placed right in front of rooms 2 and 3 — once high season begins, be prepared that if you don’t occupy them, they’ll be taken by numerous tourists coming to the hotel’s restaurant for aperitifs and/or dinner (despite the presence of two grass terraces just below). Personally, we found it quite uncomfortable when one evening a loudly chatting couple was seated directly in front of our room. It really impacted our sense of privacy — something that didn’t happen 3 years ago during our first stay.
