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...Sardinia Hotels
Hotel Cala di Volpe
A Private Bay Shelters a Stylish Hotel
A luxury hotel that feels like a private yacht club, the Hotel Cala di Volpe embodies the glamour of the Emerald Coast. Many of the guests are bold-faced names: Italian soccer players, British rock stars, Swiss bankers and German industrialists, not to mention celebrities and highfliers from the United States. The ambiance conveys exclusivity and wealth.
"It's really like a club here," said Robert Koren, the
Starwood manager of Cala di Volpe and its sister hotels, Pitrizza, Romazzino and Porto Cervo. "Nearly everyone knows one another," adds Koren. "It's all about making connections and networking. So, many people do business while they are on holiday here."
However, don't get the idea that you have to be in the pages of the celebrity magazines to have a lovely time at Cala di Volpe. Being a nobody, or at least somebody trying to be a nobody on holiday, is bliss here. The Cala has few equals in Europe for seaside luxury. In 2000, Starwood spent $20 million upgrading the hotel's 121 rooms, including 13 suites and a three-bedroom presidential suite. Most have views over the hotel's small private bay; all offer soothing whitewashed interiors and warm blue and yellow terra-cotta decoration, in traditional Sardinian style. They feel like individual apartments in the heart of a renovated fishing village.
Besides the chic accommodations, there's a huge saltwater swimming pool with a grassy sunbathing area that resembles a PGA putting green, and a secluded fine-sand beach with private launch service. Two excellent restaurants serve some of the best fresh seafood on the island and offer very good wine lists. Service is impeccable throughout the facility.
The hotel's bar and restaurant scene is extremely stylish; many guests dine in summer suits and cocktail dresses before leaving for nearby nightclubs to party the night away. The main restaurant is open only for dinner; it offers refined Italian cuisine with a hint of French sophistication. A starter of linguine with clams and zucchini is fresh and tangy, as good as in any top-notch seaside restaurant in Italy; roasted rack of lamb infused with herbs is reminiscent of that from a Michelin-starred restaurant in France.
The wine list includes nearly 300 selections, with offerings from the best Sardinian producers and full coverage of the rest of Italy. Particularly interesting is the Collezione Privata, which includes top 1997s from Tuscany. There are also a dozen selections each from Gaja, Sassicaia and Sella & Mosca.
The poolside restaurant offers a more casual alternative. It's incredibly relaxing to sit in deck chairs overlooking the private bay while enjoying a diverse buffet of fresh salads and pastas, grilled seafood and meats. The wine list is also available here. Many guests from the other Starwood hotels nearby have lunch at the poolside restaurant, since few other places on the island can deliver such seaside chic and straightforward, delicious food.
The Cala di Volpe is expensive, but considering that the alternative is renting a large yacht and mooring it off the hotel's beach, it could be viewed as somewhat of a bargain. Plus, the company at the hotel is always entertaining—whether you are networking or not.
Hotel Cala di Volpe
Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo
Telephone (011) 39-0789-976-111
Fax (011) 39-0789-976-617
Web site
www.luxurycollection.com/caladivolpe
Rooms 107 Suites 14
Rates $370–$1,385
Hotel Pitrizza
An Island Within an Island
Sardinia's Emerald Coast is famous for its glitz and buzz, but those who seek out the Hotel Pitrizza treasure its serenity. You almost feel like you're staying on a private island as you sunbathe on your bungalow's patio, swim at the secluded sandy beach or eat in the friendly restaurant beside the stylish pool. The most exclusive albergo on the island, Pitrizza is the perfect place for a romantic getaway or for reenergizing from the stress of work.
The atmosphere is blissfully relaxed and low-key. The biggest decision you have to make while you are there is when to take a swim or what to eat or drink in the excellent, cozy restaurant. Service is perfection; the staff, from waiters to beach attendants, know you within minutes of your arrival, and divine your every want and desire for the rest of your stay.
The Pitrizza's grounds are stunning. The 52 bungalows, built of local stone and wood, are perfectly integrated into the rocky, rustic coastline. The center of the small complex is the irregularly shaped salt-water swimming pool, which resembles a tidal pool. It's not very practical for swimming, but it's beautiful to look at while enjoying lunch or dinner on the terrace of the restaurant. The bar's terrace is perfectly positioned to watch the sun set into the Bay of Liscia di Vacca on a summer's evening. Even if you don't stay here, it's worth visiting just to have a drink at the bar.
Each of the bungalows has its own patio, creating a feeling of intimate privacy, and has its own special atmosphere. Most are decorated in soothing pastel colors and furnished simply with handcrafted furniture, large firm beds and fluffy sofas and chairs. All the modern hotel amenities are available, including satellite television and Internet connections. But such technology seems rather superfluous; lying in the sun, reading a book or taking a nap on your small patio are the best ways to enjoy your stay.
The hotel's restaurant is one of the best on the island. Chef Andelio Sironi makes delicate yet intensely flavored cuisine with an emphasis on Sardinian ingredients, from line-caught Mediterranean fish to the locally raised lamb. Dishes range from a simple starter of semolina linguine with fresh artichokes and creamy mozzarella to a main course of tender lamb cutlets that are roasted and infused with thyme, served with candied shallots and a tangy vegetable pie.
Nicola Stacchini, the maître d'hôtel, is a keen wine lover and keeps a respectable wine list, which not only includes all the top names from Sardinia, but also stars from Piedmont and Tuscany such as Gaja, Sassicaia and Ornellaia. He recommended an outstanding small-production red from Lombardy, Cabanon Infernot Riserva 1997—something I had never tasted before.
Great wine and good food, when combined with such a delicious ambiance, give the visitor to the Pitrizza little incentive to leave the grounds of the hotel. And why would you? It's like a paradise island within an island.
Hotel Pitrizza
Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo
Telephone (011) 39-0789-930-111
Fax (011) 39-0789-930-611
Web site
www.luxurycollection.com/hotelpitrizza
Rooms 38 Suites 14
Rates $680–$2,590
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