Hotel Hermitage - Hotel 5 star in Tuscany - Island of Elba

Cooking School

No visit to Elba is complete without a close encounter with the local culinary tradition and culture.
Due to its strategic position in the middle of the Mediterranean, the island has been ruled over the centuries by a large number of civilisations, which have left significant reminders of their presence above all in its cuisine: simple and genuine, with the influences of the various peoples who have settled there.
Every week, we organise a 3-hour afternoon cooking course to enable our guests to acquire some of our great Chefs’ knowledge. Courses are offered to small groups of guests and must be pre-booked.
Participants are able to use our wood-fired oven and barbecues: after a theory lesson which also discusses the sourcing of raw materials, you will learn to cook some of the traditional dishes of Elban and Mediterranean cuisine. You will then have the expertise to cook, in your own home, famous dishes such as “gnocchi ignudi”, herb or lemon risottos, raw fish, Elba salt cod, fish with citrus and the thousand ways of cooking the oily fish in which our Tyrrhenian Sea is so rich. You may learn how to cook T-bone steak in the real Florentine style or make a number of simple traditional dishes such as panzanella, Elba meatballs or vegetable gurgurglione.
Those with a sweet tooth will also be able to learn the secrets of sweets and confectionery.
Our Chef Patissier will be delighted to show you how to make everyday cakes or more elaborate desserts such as soufflés.
We also cater for children, offering them special courses where they can learn, with their parents, how to make pizza and focaccia, or chocolate Easter eggs.
At dinner, your family and friends will be able to taste the specialities you have prepared.

For foreign guests, we also provide an interpreter with a small supplement of 20 Euro per person.
The cost of lesson is 40 Euro per person (from 2 to 8 people); schedules are decided in advance on the basis of guests’ needs and our chefs’ commitments.

For information about costs and booking procedures, please contact Reception 



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Barman School

Our ABIES barmen are at your service for an afternoon's course that will teach you how to make some of the most popular cocktails in your own home - pre-dinner and after-dinner cocktails and long drinks - using shakers and mixing-glasses.
We will start with a theoretical session discussing the use of the basic ingredients, and then proceed to make some of the most famous cocktails. All the secrets of the trendiest aperitifs will be revealed!


The course lasts about 3 hours and costs Euro 40.00 per person.



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Elba winery and liqueur visit

After a brief introductory talk by our sommelier on the characteristics of the wines, the grape varieties used and the vineyards, we will visit a number of wineries which produce some of Elba’s traditional wines (Ansonica and Aleatico).
This will be followed by a visit to a small company which makes limoncino (from hand-peeled lemons) and other traditional Elba liqueurs.


The cost of the visit and tasting sessions, including transport, is Euro 45.00 per person.



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Shopping and the fine products of Elba’s craftsmen

A day spent visiting a number of businesses such as L’Acqua dell’Elba, which makes the famous perfumes with the unmistakable sea blue colour, by traditional methods.
Guests will visit the Locman watch factory at Marina di Campo before proceeding, accompanied by their personal shoppers, to pay calls on the many boutiques.
We are able to accompany guests in search of the most exclusive brands on a shopping day trip to Forte dei Marmi or Florence by minibus or private plane: lunch in a restaurant overlooking the sea or in a traditional Florentine trattoria.


Cost of Elba tour Euro 40,00 pp. including minibus and personal shopper.
Forte dei Marmi or Florence Euro 450.00 for travel (max 8 people) by minibus and personal shopper.
Lunch Euro 45.00 (not including wines).



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Excursions exploring the natural world

Outing on a sailing boat, an 18 metre Beaufort fitted with every convenience; enjoy being cradled by the wind, starting from the Hotel’s private jetty.
Euro 90.00 per person including lunch on board.

Guided mountain bike excursions along the island's trails with itineraries in the National Park, running in large loops with stunning views, crossing the famous former magnetite and haematite mines on the east coast, or passing through the medieval villages of Poggio and Marciana to reach the little sailor hamlets on the "sunshine coast".
Euro 75.00 per person including snack at farm.

Day-long walk led by environmental guides, to explore the island’s natural history.
Walks to the Madonna del Monte sanctuary and Masso dell’Aquila or, for hardened walkers, on the Monte Capanne massif.
Euro 50.00 per person including packed lunch.



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Boat trip with the fishermen

Fishing has always been one of the main ways of making a living on Elba.
Enjoy the unique experience of a trip out with the local fishermen, joining them as they pull up the nets laid during the night.
Weather conditions permitting, start around 9 am and return in the afternoon.
The catch will be cooked and eaten on board, together with a good glass of local wine and a stop for a swim in a small bay not accessible from the land.

At some times during the season, we offer a package comprising:
1 week stay
3 days cooking course
1 day visit to wineries with tasting of the best Elban wines
1 day boat trip with the fishermen

For information about costs and booking procedures, please contact Reception 



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The island’s history and works of art

A special guided visit, to breathe in the history of the Island of Elba with its tales of invasions, conquests and the many reminders of the presence of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

For information about costs and booking procedures, please contact Reception 



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Horse riding

Personalised horseback excursions to discover the island’s uncontaminated nature and its ancient paths through the mountains with many terraces overlooking stunning views.

For information about costs and booking procedures, please contact Reception 



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