Michelin This discreet four-star keeps things tranquil on the chichi Costa Smeralda. Instead of a prime beachfront location, it’s set a little back with the forested Monti Corru mountain rearing up behind. That said, you still get views of the sea and the Maddalena archipelago from just about everywhere. There’s an Instagrammable feel to the rooms — all cork-panelled walls, earthy drapes and pops of sea and sun in the colourful fabrics — and even the entry-level contenders have their own independent entrance, ramping up the intimacy. You’ll also find a strong emphasis on wellness, from yoga in the garden to sound baths. The most salient feature of Aethos Sardinia’s setting is not the lawns, but the water. In this case it’s the Bay of Cannigione, on Sardinia’s Emerald Coast, one of the world’s more scenic patches of the blue stuff. And while a location alone does not an extraordinary hotel make, it certainly never hurts. Aethos Sardinia, we’re happy to report, is quite capable of living up to the promise of its setting. The suites are sunny, airy, mixing traditional Sardinian architecture with a contemporary decorator’s eye. No major design statements; again, the views are the main attraction. Comforts are first-rate, if not particularly high-tech — this is simply a slice of the good life. There’s a full-service spa center, as the hotel’s name indicates, a striking little pool, and a pair of restaurants: MiraLuna for inventive Sardinian fare and Farmhouse La Colti for rustic farm-to-table plates and cooking classes upon request.
Telegraph The hotel is located at the foot of Mount Limbara in Gallura – a mountainous region to the north-east of the island. This former farmhouse is hidden deep in the woods and ensconced between hills: indeed, "agnata" is a local word for a protected hollow. Access is via a long, narrow country lane – seven miles from the small town of Tempio Pausania, a place best known for its carnival and equestrian tournaments. It's around an hour's drive to the coast. Come here for silence and soft music, nature, hiking and relaxing in the lush gardens or in the lagoon-pool. The property is officially a three-star boutique hotel. But in spirit, L'Agnata retains the atmosphere of a much-loved family home, complete with De André's furnishings and the sound of his songs playing quietly in the background. It's a popular place with De André afficionados. The heart of the hotel is the handsome 19th-century farmhouse, all swathed in Virginia creeper. Behind the farmhouse is a 1990s annexe that was build to house eight guest bedrooms. The loveliest aspect of the property is the Arcadian setting in dewy green gardens encircled by hills clad in evergreen oaks. A craggy mountain ridge provides a dramatic backdrop.
Telegraph The sleepy agricultural town of Màndas in southern Sardinia has gained a discreet reputation in literary circles since DH Lawrence stayed here in 1921 – a guest of the great-grandparents of the current owners of La Lunetta. The B&B lies in a secluded, walled courtyard off of a quiet side street. There are remnants of the town’s former splendour as a 17th-century Aragonese duchy, and it’s worth visiting the new archaeological museum, but the main reason to stay here today is to enjoy the slow rhythms of rural Sardinia.
For day trips, Cagliari and the beaches of the south coast are around 35 miles away. The Nuragic site of Su Nuraxi and the voluptuous scenery of the Marmilla and the Giara plateau, with its rare wild horses, are all within an hour’s drive. Màndas is also the starting point for the charming "Trenino Verde" (little green train), that putters along the 130-year old railway through ravishing scenery.
Lu Puleo enjoys a remote and secluded rural setting, immersed in 1,500 acres of pasturelands and wooded hills 450 metres above sea level. The views are heavenly: to one side, you overlook the voluptuous Limbara valley; to the other, the Coghinas river ribbons into the sea. It’s a place of silent beauty, blissfully cool in the summer months thanks to the ever-present mistral. The nearest village is Perfugas, a 15-minute drive away, where there’s an interesting archaeological museum, a sacred Bronze-age well-temple, and the magnificent 16th-century altarpiece of St George in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Around Perfugas, there are numerous Nuragic sights and a ‘petrified forest’ of fossilised trees from around 30 million years ago.
It takes patience to reach the east coast of Sardinia — this is the wildest side of the island, where roads peter out into tracks and sheer cliffs dive into the sea — but if you make the trek, you’re rewarded with pebbly coves that have nary another person on them. This sweet 40-room four-star manages the best of both worlds: it’s plum in Cala Gonone town, yet steeped in clifftop greenery and just 300m from the pebbly Palmasera beach. Pared-back rooms emphasise the greens and blues outside. There’s a pool, a tennis court, a five-a-side football pitch and a kids’ playground in the grounds, while the restaurant enables full-board stays if you just want to flop.
Michelin Italy is practically covered with beaches and villages and wineries that you’d happily go a bit out of your way for. But it’s also got more than its share of attractions so striking, so magnificent, that you’d plan a whole trip around it. Castelsardo is one of these. The medieval village was built on a rocky promontory rising up out of the Mediterranean on the northern coast of Sardinia. It’s majestic to behold at dusk, when all the lights in the town start flickering on, and perhaps even more so at night, when the entire village is aglow, appearing to float on the sea. It’s a place you have to see for yourself, ideally while relaxing on one of the terraces at Bajaloglia Resort. With just 24 rooms, Bajaloglia is more of a boutique hotel than a traditional resort. It’s set on a hill across the water from Castelsardo, strategically positioned to offer spectacular views of the region’s star attraction from most of its guest rooms and public spaces. The Classic rooms are just that: classic, done up in a cheerful blue, white, and gold color scheme, with the standard amenities you’d expect and sliding glass doors that lead to a private patio furnished with a table and chairs. Suites offer more space, both indoors and out, and privileged views of the sea and Castelsardo.
Telegraph Clasped in the glittering bay of Porto Frailis – a coastal amphitheatre where the main protagonist is the Tyrrhenian sea; guests have direct access to the sandy beach just a few steps down from the hotel. It’s an oasis in the modern suburbs of the east-coast town of Arbatax. Come here to enjoy the sculptural red rocks and silky sands of the Orosei Gulf or to explore the wilds of the Gennargentu mountains and the ancient nuraghe of the Golgo Plateau. A scenic narrow-gauge railway – the ‘Little Green Train’, which DH Lawrence took a century ago – putters through ravishing scenery from Arbatax to Màndas, 100 miles south. A bright and breezy seaside hotel built in the late Sixties but revamped and extended over the years. Life here plays out in gentle rhythms under exotic palms by the pool or along the sandy beach. Communal areas enjoy wide-screen sea views while brilliant-white walls and colourful maiolica tiles add to the summery, Mediterranean atmosphere
The Costa Smeralda doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Just like its glitzier cousins, this four-star sits right on the waterfront with the kind of vistas for which other Costa Smeralda hotels charge thousands. The difference? Fewer creature comforts. There’s no pool, for starters, but then you don’t exactly need one — the beach is right outside and the clear water is perfect for swimming and snorkelling. All 100 rooms are beach-perfect: bright, summery spaces with sea-blue tiled floors, white furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows — even in the entry-level options (though it’s well worth splurging for a sea view). The sandy Cala Battistoni beach is a five-minute walk away.
The little village of Tuili lies in the voluptuous scenery of the Marmilla, around an hour inland from Sardinia’s south coast. In this magical area of silent landscapes and quiet villages, local traditions remain unsullied by mass tourism. Il Borgo dell’Arcangelo enjoys a secluded location in the heart of the village, near the local bar, pizzeria, and the church of St Peter where there’s a fine Renaissance altarpiece. It’s a short hop to the Giara plateau, where Sardinia’s wild horses roam free, and there are countless Nuragic remains in the surrounding area, including the Unesco-protected site of Su Nuraxi at nearby Barumini
Owned by the Lugas family for the last two centuries or so, the ‘Borgo’ radiates an atmosphere of familial warmth and history. The living rooms occupy former farm buildings set around a stone-paved, porticoed courtyard. Architecturally, it’s a feast of chunky stone walls, arches, barrel-vaults and traditional cane and wood-beamed ceilings. Family heirlooms, portraits and evocative memorabilia deck the halls. Telegraph
Telegraph It’s a ravishing setting – poised over the water between two coves, Cala Capra and Cala Selvaggia, on Sardinia’s beautiful north coast. The hotel takes its name ("Bear Cape") from the striking bear-shaped rock that looks over the Straits of Bonifacio. From its various decks and terraces, you see the shapely outlines of the Maddalena and Caprera islands, a short boat-ride away. Uber-chic Porto Cervo on the famous Emerald Coast is 30 minutes by car. There are also lovely walks across the headland, along scrubby tracks that open onto little beaches and inlets.The nearest air and ferry ports are at Olbia, just 25 miles away,
You’re only half an hour away from the Costa Smeralda beaches, but up here in the mountainous highlands behind the coast you’re in another world. Not just the world of rolling hills and boulder-strewn peaks but also a liminal world between the living and the dead. Around Luogosanto (“sacred place”) is a land of prehistoric stone circles, nuraghe and tombe dei giganti (megalithic burial sites), as well as gargantuan olive trees that are more than 1,000 years old. Gallicantu takes those eternal peace vibes and adds olive groves, beehives, pick-your-own vegetable patches and a cherry orchard. The simple white-walled rooms overlook granite boulders, the pool is surrounded by olive and myrtle trees, and a cave-turned-wine cave is the ideal aperitivo spot.
Telegraph An hour’s drive southwest of Cagliari, past the ancient Phoenician city of Nora, gets you to Chia, one of the southernmost points of Sardinia (next stop: Tunisia). This is a coastline of immense beauty and family-friendly calm-watered beaches, and the resort of Chia Laguna, overlooking a flamingo-filled lagoon, makes the most of it. One of three hotels here, its family-centric Conrad has a kids’ club hosting youngsters up to 17 years old, a children’s pool and activities for teens including riding, tennis, snorkelling and, new for 2025, a football academy. Modern rooms keep the focus on the outside through the huge windows or patio doors. Choose either the hotel’s Laguna (closer to the sea; better for couples) or Oasis (family-friendly; immersed in gardens).
Telegraph The hotel is wedged between the Tyrrhenian sea and the Gennargentu mountains in the province of Ogliastra – a quiet and pristine area, midway down Sardinia’s east coast. Come here for rugged nature and unspoilt coastlines: the long, crescent-shaped beach by the hotel is lovely for lounging, walking, swimming and surfing (the waves can be strong), and the red-rock coves of nearby Su Sirboni (accessible only on foot) have a primal beauty. An immaculately maintained, four-star "experience hotel", designed in the late 1990s to resemble a traditional Sardinian hamlet and since refurbished by the Bovi family owners. It’s a feast of whitewashed stucco and sea-blue woodwork, chunky stone walls and terracotta-tiled roofs. The rooms nestle in Mediterranean gardens planted with olives and oleander, aromatic herbs and exotic palms. Two azure swimming pools provide the focal point. It’s just 250m to the fabulous sand and fine-pebble beach of Foddini.
Telegraph In the historic centre of Gesturi – an attractive small town, inland to the south of the island. Come here to enjoy the voluptuous landscape of the Marmilla area, the Unesco-protected archeological site of Su Nuraxi at nearby Barumini, and the high plateau of the Giara where Sardinia’s wild horses roam free. Set in a quiet and private location in the town’s narrow cobbled streets, Cortis Antigas offers a taste of traditional island life. A car is essential for exploring this area (there’s free street parking just outside the B&B). This 19th-century townhouse – now a four-room B&B – exudes all the warmth of a rustic but elegant family home. Owner-archaeologist Ignazio Mura has painstakingly restored the place, retaining its soul by using traditional methods and materials: cane and wood-beamed ceilings, sheepskin and cork insulation, exposed stone walls, wooden shutters and doors washed in pale Sardinian blue
Telegraph Of all 7,000 nuraghi in Sardinia, only one enjoys Unesco world heritage status: the formidable Su Nuraxi di Barumini, a vast defensive complex spread along a plain in central southern Sardinia. Fifteen minutes’ drive east is the village of Gergei and this luxury four-room B&B, lovingly converted from a 19th-century farmhouse (one room’s in a stable-like building) into an upmarket take on how its owner Samuel Lai’s ancestors would have lived. That means low lighting, exposed-stone walls, headboards made from traditional orbace wool, artisanal carpets and pick-your-own eggs for breakfast. For the full slow tourism experience, take a ricotta-making class with Lai — he’s a cheesemaker by trade. This four-room B&B occupies a traditional Sardinian farmhouse with barns and stables that dates back to the early 19th century. The clutch of buildings is gathered around a grassy, porticoed courtyard where you are free to dine and relax. The Lai family owners have personally restored the place using traditional (and sustainable) methods and materials: river-cane and juniper-wood ceilings, lime plaster and stone walls and handmade bricks of mud and straw. Original rustic furnishings – fully in keeping with the character of the farmhouse – have been given a new lease of life. They do do dinners
Telegraph Here’s a case of Robinson Crusoe meets five-star luxury. It took three years to refurbish what used to be an old mining warehouse (and, later, a simple hotel) on the beach into today’s top-notch resort, and plenty of wildness remains. For starters, they didn’t redo the unpaved road that leads here, crossing some of Europe’s highest dunes on its way, and the hotel really does sit right on the sand. Despite such a spectacular location, it’s not all about what lies outside the deceptively simple rooms, where sand-coloured walls give way to sandy patios. There’s an art collection too, including pieces designed for the hotel. The desert-like Piscinas dunes on Sardinia’s Costa Verde, known as Italy’s “little Sahara”, are among the highest in Europe. Le Dune is the only hotel on this untamed stretch of coast and from its terraces you step straight onto the sea shore, behind which rise pyramids of macchia-clad dunes. Blankets of gold sand stretch for miles around; even in high season, one can always find a secluded spot. Access is via a long, slow, dusty track that rambles down from the hills through the ruins of the former mining village of Ingurtosu, whose ghostly stone buildings are now romantically overgrown. There’s nowhere quite like it. The nearest town is Arbus, around 40 minutes’ drive, but you’ll probably want to stay put. The place is not for everyone: come here for silence and virgin nature, not for nightlife and razzmatazz.
Telegraph As the summer holidays drag on, well-heeled parents sigh and think of Forte Village. It’s not just that the southern coast east of Cagliari is more family-friendly than the Costa Smeralda. This resort is also legendary for providing the kids with so much to do: bowling, ceramics classes, a waterpark, even a Barbie-themed area. Feeling competitive? Train them up at one of Forte’s academies, where the great and good of the sporting world often shower a bit of stardust on the little blighters. Tennis, fencing, dance and boxing — they’re all on offer. There’s plenty for parents too, including the Acquaforte Thalasso and Spa, which specialises in seawater treatments and has circuits taking in six pools.
You’re only half an hour away from the Costa Smeralda beaches, but up here in the mountainous highlands behind the coast you’re in another world. Not just the world of rolling hills and boulder-strewn peaks but also a liminal world between the living and the dead. Around Luogosanto (“sacred place”) is a land of prehistoric stone circles, nuraghe and tombe dei giganti (megalithic burial sites), as well as gargantuan olive trees that are more than 1,000 years old. Gallicantu takes those eternal peace vibes and adds olive groves, beehives, pick-your-own vegetable patches and a cherry orchard. The simple white-walled rooms overlook granite boulders, the pool is surrounded by olive and myrtle trees, and a cave-turned-wine cave is the ideal aperitivo spot.
The hotel is just over half a mile from the village of Isola Rossa in north-west Sardinia. It occupies a blissful location overlooking the Asinara Gulf and out to the red-granite promontory of Li Caneddi. A five-minute stroll takes you to the sandy beach of La Marinedda from where it’s possible to scramble round the cliffs to various other inlets and coves. For local excursions, take a boat to explore this beautiful stretch of coastline or head inland to the traditional town of Aggius and the dramatic rock-strewn Valley of the Moon. Telegraph
Telegraph Set back from the main road, a 30-minute walk from the archaeological site of Nora, and, if you’re in town for the Festival of Sant’Efisio, en route of the four-day walk to the nearby Sant’Efisio church. Cagliari Elmas airport is an hour's drive away. The hotel is full of original artworks and crafts that the owner has picked up on her travels. It's a typical Sardinian low-rise, with white plaster walls and wooden beamed ceilings. Rooms are secreted behind tropical trees and plants, many overlooking the pool, and the tiny spa is a lovely place to relax.
Sea vistas needn’t be expensive. Etched into a cliffside, the four-star Petraladda has views for days: of the multicoloured houses of neighbouring town Castelsardo, clinging to the cliff; of the small Pedraladda beach, immediately below; and of the sea ambling towards the Strait of Bonifacio and Corsica. Drink them all in from its rooftop pool, or from the floor beneath, where a restaurant juts out over the blue, or from your window. In each bedroom sunny yellows and sea blues complement the colours outside; splash out on a still affordable superior for some of those sea views.
Michelin You’re not far from the glittering waters of the Costa Smeralda, yet you also get a taste of the real, mountainous Sardinia at this hotel sculpted from an old stazzu (farmstead) and wedged among boulders. Between rocks and greenery, its entry-level rooms are somehow more atmospheric than pricier categories with far-off sea views. In all cases you’ll get rustic-chic style (hand-carved bed frames, rough-painted walls), a terrace and — for Pool Junior Suites and above — your own tiny pool. The Michelin-starred restaurant, Il Fuoco Sacro, creates dishes from the hotel farm’s vegetables, cheese and even some meats, while the smallish communal pool overlooks the Gulf of Arzachena.
Let’s say you’re an experienced Italian traveler — visited every vineyard, stayed in every villa, summited every hillside and seen every view, from the canals of Venice to the Roman roads and the coast of Sicily. Just when you’re about to feel jaded (if such a thing is even possible), you remember: there’s still Sardinia. Petra Segreta Resort & Spa combines the best of several worlds in Italian hospitality — equal parts Tuscan villa, rough and rugged southern stonework, and the sort of vaguely volcanic landscape that recalls Sicily or Capri at their most dramatic, accompanied by the white sand beaches for which the Costa Smeralda is justifiably famous. With twenty-three rooms and suites, Petra Segreta is certifiably boutique-sized, though when it comes to comforts it certainly earns its Resort & Spa tag as well. Private verandas and patios are universal, as are modern, oversized stone-clad bathrooms. There’s a wellness center that’d be the envy of a much bigger hotel, as well as a heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi with a far-ranging view. Equally far-ranging are the views from the restaurant, where al fresco lounging and dining are the rule rather than the exception. And all of this only a few minutes from the beach.
Telegraph Hotel Relax Torreruja rises above the small town of Isola Rossa on Sardinia’s north coast. The hotel, immersed in the Mediterranean maquis, sits against a scenographic backdrop of red cliffs and sapphire sea; it’s a fabulous spot for sunsets. Around 10 minutes’ walk takes you down to the sandy beaches at Isola Rossa, a somewhat charmless little town redeemed by its glorious setting. Boats leave from the local harbour so you can explore the ravishingly beautiful coast and surrounding islands; concierge can book tours including one aboard a vintage sailboat. As the hotel’s name suggests, the vibe at Relax Torreruja is blissfully low-pulse. Modern, low-rise villa-style structures fan out from the main reception areas on a hillside cloaked in greenery: maquis shrubs, rosemary, myrtle and helichrysum. Reception and dining areas open out onto sunlit terraces, a lagoon-pool and a cinematic panorama of the sea and the ruddy rocks of the “Costa Rossa”. All combine to create a relaxed, holiday atmosphere.
The clue’s in the nature-centric name. This 75-room hotel sprawls in 40 acres of landscaped grounds, including those pines, and opens out on to no fewer than four secluded coves in front of the Maddalena archipelago. If you prefer nurture, there are two pools, an 800 sq m spa, tennis, padel and basketball courts, plus water sports galore. Rooms are categorised according to their location: “Gardens” are immersed in greenery, “Lagunas” cluster around a laid-back pool of the same name, and “Sea Views” do exactly what they say on the tin. As night falls, the focus moves inwards — there’s even a nightclub, with DJs and live music taking turns.
Sardinia may not be wholly undiscovered, but compared to the Italian mainland it’s where you’ll find a surplus of rural tranquility — and in an environment like this, hotels like the Stazzo Lu Ciaccaru Resort thrive. It’s set on the greater Costa Smeralda, a few minutes’ drive from the coast proper, but this old farm is pure rustic romance: stone buildings, olive groves, and agriturismo ambience to spare. Rooms and suites include family-size suites as well as classic rooms, and its private villas sleep up to six. Bring an appetite: La Ciminea serves a refined take on the region’s characteristically hearty cuisine.
On Sardinia’s southeastern tip, astride the deliciously named Capo Carbonara, is peaceful Villasimius, where white-sand beaches are two-a-penny. The Stella Maris sits on one of its own so, while there’s an on-site pool, you’d be mad not to swap it for the loungers and parasols set up on the sand. A four-star, it’s secluded from other hotels and set in a pine forest that backs on to the shore. They aren’t afraid of colour here, with pastel greens, soft yellows and emerald pine tones on the walls. All 49 rooms also have balconies, affording inland views that are just as soothing as those of the sea.
Michelin Telegraph This dubs itself an “experience hotel” and that’s spot-on. In the island’s wild entroterra, or interior, Su Gologone offers activities such as trekking through canyons and caves, taking a 4×4 up the mountainside or dropping in on Europe’s largest karst sinkhole. Back at base you can learn embroidery, make ceramics, stargaze or listen to traditional tenores singers every Friday night. The hotel is a repository of Sardinian art — its owner, Giovanna Palimodde, has collected about 900 works — while the bedrooms, always stylish, range from rustic doubles full of traditional Sardinian artisanship to the outrageously romantic Wild Suite, which is wholly alfresco.
It’s a remote, Shangri-La-like setting in the mountainous Barbagia area – inland, to the east of the island. This is a timeless, untouched landscape, fed by the Gologone spring and guarded by the towering peaks of Monte Corrasi. Come here for a mix of rugged nature and refined art, convivial evenings and silent nights. For day trips, one can explore the beaches of the Orosei Gulf; ramble in the lunar-like Lanaittu valley; scale the Supramonte mountains or plumb the archaeological remains of Tiscali – a mysterious Nuragic settlement. The nearest town – Oliena, well known for its wine – is 10 minutes' drive
Shimmy west from the Costa Smeralda and you’ll hit the far northwestern tip of Sardinia, a curled finger beckoning to Corsica as it stretches north. Jaw-droppingly beautiful, this area offers soft dunes, long beaches and quick hops to Asinara, the “donkey island” just offshore, which isn’t home to just any old donkeys, but indigenous white-coated ones. Don’t worry about the “club” in the name — this is a great little four-star containing just 48 rooms, all with balconies, in 10,000 sq m of grounds. The pool is filled with saltwater while the beach, facing Asinara, is private. Kids’ play areas, tennis and beach-volleyball courts make it a good bet for families too. La Pelosa, possibly Sardinia’s lushest beach, is just over a mile north.
Here’s your leafy retreat in Sardinia’s capital: an elegant art nouveau mansion inside one of the poshest parts of the city, turned into a graceful 19-room hotel (having also once been a convent). Depending on the category, your room, designed by the owner, Lucina Cellino, might have an exposed-stone wall, an in-room hot tub or a soothing view over the back lawn. Whichever you pick, you’ll enjoy this home-from-home. The staff are invariably delightful, the public areas are drenched in art and the garden sunloungers instil a holiday vibe whether you’re on your first or last night. It’s an easy drive to one of Italy’s best archaeology museums in the Castello quarter.
Telegraph Get the best of both worlds courtesy of this castlelike grande dame. You’ll be right in the middle of Alghero, the delectable seafront town that’s more Catalan than Italian thanks to its past rulers, yet also far from the crowds on your very own private peninsula. Italian royals used to love this escape, separated from the masses by two hectares of grounds. Today its 24 rooms still have that classical style with lashings of drapery, antiques galore and views over gardens or the sea. Flop by the saltwater pools or set up a lounger on one of the tongues of rock extending into the blue.The hotel commands a rocky promontory lapped on three sides by the Sea of Sardinia, on the suburban edge of Alghero. The villa is set in private, verdant gardens with views over the "Coral Riviera" to the evocative limestone cliffs of Capo Caccia (take a boat there to visit the magical Grottoes of Neptune). It’s around a 10-minute walk to Alghero’s old quarter and just seven miles (11 km) from the airport. The property is a late 19th-century fantasy – built on the ruins of an ancient watch-tower and shaped like a medieval castle, complete with turret and crenellations. Inside, the atmosphere is that of a noble turn-of-the-century villa: spacious, marble-floored rooms are decked with crystal chandeliers, fine Persian rugs and period furnishings in regal reds and gold. The ambiance is reassuringly dignified and sedate, but never stuffy.
Michelin Telegraph In Sardinia, even the most luxurious resorts retain a rustic edge. La Villa del Re stands on the southeastern coast, an adults-only escape that feels remote, though it’s less than an hour from Cagliardi. It’s a modern structure, but one built from local stone and wood, with an eye toward blending in to Sardinia’s landscape. Inside it’s rather more traditional, its rooms designed with a certain retro elegance; functionally, of course, they’re as modern as can be. Water sports and outdoor activities are plentiful, and the restaurant, Le Palme, opens onto a large terrace with a far-ranging view. The low-rise hotel (just two storeys), built in 2015, is stylish and contemporary with just a nod to tradition: Sardinian red stone walls and towers (with winding stone staircases to rooms), exposed wooden beams, and a palette of white and turquoise. Local plants, dotted throughout the property, are mixed with palms, cacti and grasses.
Telegraph The resort lies in a ravishing position, immersed in the Sardinian maquis, overlooking the sculptural coves and sandy bays on the north-eastern tip of the island. It's set in 70 acres (28 hectares) of private grounds edged by nearly a mile of coastline. Heady views encompass the Maddalena islands to the east and Corsica to the north (the hotel offers boat trips to both places). The pretty town of Santa Teresa Gallura is just over 10 minutes' drive, from where there's a scenic road to the dramatic boulder-strewn promontory of Capo Testa. Glitzy Costa Smeralda – the famous 'Emerald Coast' – is around an hour away.
Sardinia produces some of Italy’s best wines, and you’ll be a short stagger upstairs from nightly samples at this vino-themed stay in the countryside near Alghero. A former farmhouse swaddled by 44 acres of vineyards and olive groves, it’s now a six-room retreat for anyone aged 12 and over. Pair mornings by the pool with afternoons of tastings (try the home-grown vermentino), tours of those groves or a bike ride into town — Alghero is half an hour away. Rooms are simple but tasteful — think wooden floorboards, cheerfully tiled bathrooms and the odd wooden beam — while even the cheapest have sofa-filled balconies overlooking the garden.