DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Olbia - Sardinia {ITA} [No longer Hilton]
Aug 9, 2013, 3:56 pm
#1
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Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,752
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Olbia - Sardinia {ITA} [No longer Hilton]
I've lots of questions.
Who has stayed? What did you think? Is it a comfortable property?
How did you get to and from Olbia or indeed Sardinia?
What is there to do in the area? Is it interesting for tourism?
Who has stayed? What did you think? Is it a comfortable property?
How did you get to and from Olbia or indeed Sardinia?
What is there to do in the area? Is it interesting for tourism?
Aug 11, 2013, 5:28 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: DTW
Programs: DL,HH,SPG,ICH,Thrifty,Hertz
Posts: 66
Can't help you too much about the DT. Last time I was in Sardinia (it's been awhile) it was not there.
There are quite a few airlines that fly into Olbia from Europe. Just depends on where else you are coming in from. Rome probably being the easiest to come from because along with flying, you can also take the ferry over from Civitavecchia.
Sardinia is pretty interesting in general. Just depends on what you would like to do. The Costa Smeralda (http://www.sardegnaturismo.it/en/) which is on the northeast side of the island is very beautiful. There are also a few little islands you can visit in that area like La Maddalena. I spent two years there courtesy of the US Navy. Also, Corsica is a very short ferry ride from there also. Hope this will help a little. Ciao.
There are quite a few airlines that fly into Olbia from Europe. Just depends on where else you are coming in from. Rome probably being the easiest to come from because along with flying, you can also take the ferry over from Civitavecchia.
Sardinia is pretty interesting in general. Just depends on what you would like to do. The Costa Smeralda (http://www.sardegnaturismo.it/en/) which is on the northeast side of the island is very beautiful. There are also a few little islands you can visit in that area like La Maddalena. I spent two years there courtesy of the US Navy. Also, Corsica is a very short ferry ride from there also. Hope this will help a little. Ciao.
Aug 12, 2013, 1:46 am
#3
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: HHD
Posts: 215
We stayed there two years ago. As a HHD I got no big upgrade, but the room had a nice sit out balcony. Breakfast was good and parking free.
We usually do not use the pool or other facilities so I cannot comment on those.
I would not hesitate booking this hotel again.
We had a rental car for two weeks and the hotel was a convenient base to explore most of the island.
We flew from Amsterdam via Rome to Olbia. Olbia is a modern airport with a separate section for private planes. The island is popular by some well to do persons.
We usually do not use the pool or other facilities so I cannot comment on those.
I would not hesitate booking this hotel again.
We had a rental car for two weeks and the hotel was a convenient base to explore most of the island.
We flew from Amsterdam via Rome to Olbia. Olbia is a modern airport with a separate section for private planes. The island is popular by some well to do persons.
Aug 31, 2013, 6:01 pm
#4
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Join Date: Oct 2000
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As an fyi to anyone considering Sardinia, airBerlin flies to Olbia from Dusseldorf and Berlin. Our transatlantic flight delivers us to LHR. From there, we will fly on BA to DUS, then onward to Olbia on airBerlin, using avios for the trip. Our alternative was to take the bus from Heathrow to Gatwick. easyJet flies to Olbia daily in the summer. I want to fly on to Nice, and am still trying to figure out alternatives, award and paid. There appears to be flights 3 days a week on Air Corsica. I'd be happy to go by ferry should anyone know of offerings.
I very much appreciate the report by Stephan54 about the hotel, and would appreciate others chiming in. This hotel is only 60 euros in early summer, which almost makes me uncomfortable compared to the luxe Starwood offerings.
I very much appreciate the report by Stephan54 about the hotel, and would appreciate others chiming in. This hotel is only 60 euros in early summer, which almost makes me uncomfortable compared to the luxe Starwood offerings.
Mar 27, 2014, 4:26 pm
#5
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,752
I'd love to hear from more people who have stayed here. What did you think? How was the treatment of diamonds? How was the water view? Did you find any nice restaurants in near driving distance?
Jun 15, 2014, 3:03 am
#6
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We espent 3 nights here. I remain ambivalent about the property, and will attempt to fairly represent the goods and the bads.
Good
- The hotel was remarkably affordable. We stayed in June, so still off season for Sardinia. I used points for a suite for 2 nights, just 75K or 37.5K per night at the time that I booked. I never saw that value when I subsequently wanted to add a third night. I booked a third night for just 57 euros. This was for a room with a balcony.
- We arrived before noon and were allowed to check in. Further, we were allowed to stay in the suite the third night.
- The hotel is fresh and new, with a dominant color palette of white.
- The hotel is close to the airport, perhaps a 10 minute drive when you know where you are going. (See below.)
- Front desk staff is very congenial (though not very effective at resolving issues. See below).
Poor
- The hotel is very difficult to find, even with our gps. We had to call for help Once there, we programmed the gps so that we could easily return.
- The hotel is isolated. You must have a car to stay here. It is surrounded by open fields, though in fairness, it is just a couple blocks from a small neighborhood.
- Our suite, advertised with a view, had none. We had a terrace that wrapped around the living room and bedroom. However, the wall of the terrace was translucent and came roughly to my shoulders. When seated or in the room, you saw nothing. This was a shame, as the view above it was of the harbor.
_ Our suite was advertised with a walk in shower. Instead the shower was in the jacuzzi tub, and required some agility to get in. They should add a grab bar for safety.
- Breakfast was served in an indoor room. It's summer, it would be easy to set up tables outside. Breakfast was mediocre.
- We had no internet in our room for the first two days. We must have visited or called the front desk 12 times. Finally, on the third night, they fixed it with the solution I proposed the first call - adding a bridge to the wired line in the room.
The Costa Smeralda area is strikingly gorgeous and it would have been lovely to have stayed there. Then, again it would have cost 10x what I paid at the Doubletree. In the end we were out so much of every day that I was content with the decision I made to stay here.
Good
- The hotel was remarkably affordable. We stayed in June, so still off season for Sardinia. I used points for a suite for 2 nights, just 75K or 37.5K per night at the time that I booked. I never saw that value when I subsequently wanted to add a third night. I booked a third night for just 57 euros. This was for a room with a balcony.
- We arrived before noon and were allowed to check in. Further, we were allowed to stay in the suite the third night.
- The hotel is fresh and new, with a dominant color palette of white.
- The hotel is close to the airport, perhaps a 10 minute drive when you know where you are going. (See below.)
- Front desk staff is very congenial (though not very effective at resolving issues. See below).
Poor
- The hotel is very difficult to find, even with our gps. We had to call for help Once there, we programmed the gps so that we could easily return.
- The hotel is isolated. You must have a car to stay here. It is surrounded by open fields, though in fairness, it is just a couple blocks from a small neighborhood.
- Our suite, advertised with a view, had none. We had a terrace that wrapped around the living room and bedroom. However, the wall of the terrace was translucent and came roughly to my shoulders. When seated or in the room, you saw nothing. This was a shame, as the view above it was of the harbor.
_ Our suite was advertised with a walk in shower. Instead the shower was in the jacuzzi tub, and required some agility to get in. They should add a grab bar for safety.
- Breakfast was served in an indoor room. It's summer, it would be easy to set up tables outside. Breakfast was mediocre.
- We had no internet in our room for the first two days. We must have visited or called the front desk 12 times. Finally, on the third night, they fixed it with the solution I proposed the first call - adding a bridge to the wired line in the room.
The Costa Smeralda area is strikingly gorgeous and it would have been lovely to have stayed there. Then, again it would have cost 10x what I paid at the Doubletree. In the end we were out so much of every day that I was content with the decision I made to stay here.
May 17, 2017, 5:44 am
#10
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands
Programs: Marriott LTP, Hilton Gold, ITA Elite+, Cathay S, Singapore S, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 3,152
Stayed here for a quick one night stay early May. Hotel was pleasant, very modern and up to 4 star quality. It was clean, and had friendly staff. Was "upgraded" to a hilton hhoners room. Which was perfectly fine.
Location is very odd, kind of in an unfinished industrial estate. I thought to myself, what a strange location for a Doubletree. But for my purposes it was great. You can walk into town, it takes about 20 minutes, over some very dimly lid roads. But seems perfectly safe to walk, tough not very scenic.
They had free safe indoor parking. Did not have dinner at the hotel, but did have some drinks. Bar closed really early tough, about 23:00 if I recall correctly.
Would not hesitate to come back for business, but would not stay here on holiday.
Location is very odd, kind of in an unfinished industrial estate. I thought to myself, what a strange location for a Doubletree. But for my purposes it was great. You can walk into town, it takes about 20 minutes, over some very dimly lid roads. But seems perfectly safe to walk, tough not very scenic.
They had free safe indoor parking. Did not have dinner at the hotel, but did have some drinks. Bar closed really early tough, about 23:00 if I recall correctly.
Would not hesitate to come back for business, but would not stay here on holiday.
Jun 24, 2017, 6:33 am
#11
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Zurich
Programs: HHonors Diamond
Posts: 449
I have stayed here 2x2 nights last week. These stay framed our short vacation in Sardinia.
The hotel's description on their website how to get there from the airport is very helpful. Only that we missed to chose the left alternative when the road splits into two direction just when coming from the airport. But this has to do with Sardinian (or Italian?) signalization.
I booked a deluxe room with balcony on both occasions and got pre-upgraded to a queen suite view view. Those have a balcony, too.
Stay No. 1: I had checked in into 806, a top floor queen suite. We arrived after 21.00 hrs. Odd enough, the sofa bed had been made up as a bed. Since we are two guests only we asked to have the sofa bed folded away. The (very friendly) receptionist said that the sofa bed was broken and cannot be folded away. He offered us to move to 802 and then helped us with our luggage.
Nice suite, jacuzzi bath tub with (rain and hand held) shower. As SanDiego1K noted the terrace is wrapped by a translucent balustrade which indeed is that high that I had to step up to have the view. The other disadvantage was that the balcony was open and exposed it to the sun until afternoon. With temperatures of 30 degrees C and more it was impossible to sit outside.
It was late and we went down to the restaurant's outdoor sitting to have a beer. Meanwhile it was about 22.00 hrs and when we got our beer staff started to put the other tables and chairs away. Finally we are asked to move since they would close. They could have told us in advance...
Breakfast was good, service attentive but a bit chaotic.
On check-out the friendly agent told us that the suites on floors 4-7 are slightly larger. He said that he would ask the reservation manager to accommodate us in on of them.
Stay No. 2: Again checked in online into 609, queen suite with view. We arrived at about 14.00 hrs. Indeed, there was more space and the balcony had enough shadow by not being on the top floor. Especially the bath room was larger and had a separate shower. When we arrived we found out that the balcony was not accessible from the sleeping room and that one shower stall door did not close. And the remote control of the tv did not work. We told the (other) friendly receptionist and he asked to come with us so that we could show him the non working features. When returning later in the evening everything has been fixed!
As we had a very late flight back home I asked for a late check-out at 16.00 hrs. The answer was no due to being fully booked. But we were given a check-out at 14.00 hrs and offered to use the pool and the showers downstairs to freshen up before we went.
I found reception staff, waiting staff and house-keeping in general very pleasant, attentive, knowledgeable. Some more attention would not harm to give to the shower (to remove mold). We had a 15 minute walk to Olbia centre. Not the most pleasant walk-way but walkable. Although the Doubletree looks like a stand-alone building it is next to other houses, a small shop, a small local restaurant and a gas station.
And the price was in fact absolutely low, i.e. 72€ for the deluxe room (the basic room was even cheaper). We did not try the restaurant, we did not make use of the pool. All in all a relaxing ambient and a pleasant property. I would stay there again!
The hotel's description on their website how to get there from the airport is very helpful. Only that we missed to chose the left alternative when the road splits into two direction just when coming from the airport. But this has to do with Sardinian (or Italian?) signalization.
I booked a deluxe room with balcony on both occasions and got pre-upgraded to a queen suite view view. Those have a balcony, too.
Stay No. 1: I had checked in into 806, a top floor queen suite. We arrived after 21.00 hrs. Odd enough, the sofa bed had been made up as a bed. Since we are two guests only we asked to have the sofa bed folded away. The (very friendly) receptionist said that the sofa bed was broken and cannot be folded away. He offered us to move to 802 and then helped us with our luggage.
Nice suite, jacuzzi bath tub with (rain and hand held) shower. As SanDiego1K noted the terrace is wrapped by a translucent balustrade which indeed is that high that I had to step up to have the view. The other disadvantage was that the balcony was open and exposed it to the sun until afternoon. With temperatures of 30 degrees C and more it was impossible to sit outside.
It was late and we went down to the restaurant's outdoor sitting to have a beer. Meanwhile it was about 22.00 hrs and when we got our beer staff started to put the other tables and chairs away. Finally we are asked to move since they would close. They could have told us in advance...
Breakfast was good, service attentive but a bit chaotic.
On check-out the friendly agent told us that the suites on floors 4-7 are slightly larger. He said that he would ask the reservation manager to accommodate us in on of them.
Stay No. 2: Again checked in online into 609, queen suite with view. We arrived at about 14.00 hrs. Indeed, there was more space and the balcony had enough shadow by not being on the top floor. Especially the bath room was larger and had a separate shower. When we arrived we found out that the balcony was not accessible from the sleeping room and that one shower stall door did not close. And the remote control of the tv did not work. We told the (other) friendly receptionist and he asked to come with us so that we could show him the non working features. When returning later in the evening everything has been fixed!
As we had a very late flight back home I asked for a late check-out at 16.00 hrs. The answer was no due to being fully booked. But we were given a check-out at 14.00 hrs and offered to use the pool and the showers downstairs to freshen up before we went.
I found reception staff, waiting staff and house-keeping in general very pleasant, attentive, knowledgeable. Some more attention would not harm to give to the shower (to remove mold). We had a 15 minute walk to Olbia centre. Not the most pleasant walk-way but walkable. Although the Doubletree looks like a stand-alone building it is next to other houses, a small shop, a small local restaurant and a gas station.
And the price was in fact absolutely low, i.e. 72€ for the deluxe room (the basic room was even cheaper). We did not try the restaurant, we did not make use of the pool. All in all a relaxing ambient and a pleasant property. I would stay there again!
Apr 8, 2022, 9:51 am
#12
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: Delta Platinum, United Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 120
Almost 5 years since the last report.
Just stayed here for 4 nights. The price really is very affordable at roughly 75 Euros/night. It is the low season so not sure what they will charge in summer.
As discussed above the hotel is isolated and about a 20 minute walk to the old city. There is a McDonalds about a ten minute walk away on the main road.
The rooms are clean and well equipped, but the shower is very tiny, even in the Queen Deluxe rooms.
The major drawback of this property is quality of food and opening time of their restaurant (my colleague ordered a pizza for lunch and described it as inedible). The breakfast was very basic. Their restaurant only opens for dinner at 7:30pm. I understand southern Europe has late dinner times, but for international travelers arriving from a different time zone this was too late. No problem you say, order room service. Well, that isn’t really open either and if it was they charge a flat 10 Euro delivery fee versus the more standard 10-15% of most hotels. No problem you say, get Uber Eats (or Deliveroo in Italy). Ah, here is where the fun begins. This hotel has a policy of no outside food delivery. To enforce their policy they also have a charge of 200 Euros if they find any outside food in your room. Quite honestly, that is nothing short of extortion to enforce a ridiculous policy of no outside food delivery, which enforces eating after normal dining hours due to their late restaurant opening time. The whole thing is a nightmare for any North American or northern European traveler.
The above is all reason to avoid this hotel until such time as they are forced to change their ridiculous policies by Hilton Hotels Worlwide.
Pizza in town was awesome though :-)
Just stayed here for 4 nights. The price really is very affordable at roughly 75 Euros/night. It is the low season so not sure what they will charge in summer.
As discussed above the hotel is isolated and about a 20 minute walk to the old city. There is a McDonalds about a ten minute walk away on the main road.
The rooms are clean and well equipped, but the shower is very tiny, even in the Queen Deluxe rooms.
The major drawback of this property is quality of food and opening time of their restaurant (my colleague ordered a pizza for lunch and described it as inedible). The breakfast was very basic. Their restaurant only opens for dinner at 7:30pm. I understand southern Europe has late dinner times, but for international travelers arriving from a different time zone this was too late. No problem you say, order room service. Well, that isn’t really open either and if it was they charge a flat 10 Euro delivery fee versus the more standard 10-15% of most hotels. No problem you say, get Uber Eats (or Deliveroo in Italy). Ah, here is where the fun begins. This hotel has a policy of no outside food delivery. To enforce their policy they also have a charge of 200 Euros if they find any outside food in your room. Quite honestly, that is nothing short of extortion to enforce a ridiculous policy of no outside food delivery, which enforces eating after normal dining hours due to their late restaurant opening time. The whole thing is a nightmare for any North American or northern European traveler.
The above is all reason to avoid this hotel until such time as they are forced to change their ridiculous policies by Hilton Hotels Worlwide.
Pizza in town was awesome though :-)
Apr 8, 2022, 10:08 am
#13
Community Director Emerita
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,752
No problem you say, get Uber Eats (or Deliveroo in Italy). Ah, here is where the fun begins. This hotel has a policy of no outside food delivery. To enforce their policy they also have a charge of 200 Euros if they find any outside food in your room. Quite honestly, that is nothing short of extortion to enforce a ridiculous policy of no outside food delivery, which enforces eating after normal dining hours due to their late restaurant opening time. The whole thing is a nightmare for any North American or northern European traveler.
Mar 26, 2024, 9:38 am
#14
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 213
Is this hotel closed ? DoubleTree Olbia - Sardinia - "sold out" all dates in future
Rates calendar view shows "sold out" every day though 2025.
Hilton IT is very good & results appear fast (good db & programming) but
1. there no message, for example, closed for season, closed for renovations, etc
2. so, gives potential guest the impression the hotel exists, it's operating, etc ... why no rates ? database / programming screw up?
3. Booking.com doesn't display any rates for this property
Thx
Hilton IT is very good & results appear fast (good db & programming) but
1. there no message, for example, closed for season, closed for renovations, etc
2. so, gives potential guest the impression the hotel exists, it's operating, etc ... why no rates ? database / programming screw up?
3. Booking.com doesn't display any rates for this property
Thx
Mar 26, 2024, 12:32 pm
#15
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 641
I am a bit puzzled by the question to be honest - did you visit the hotel's website at all?
There is a bright yellow banner on the top titled "Hotel Leaving Hilton Brand" and when you click on it you read:
"Please note that as of April 1, 2024, DoubleTree by Hilton Olbia - Sardinia will cease to operate as a Hilton hotel. As a result, stays booked past this date will not accrue Honors points. Please contact the hotel direct in case of any questions."
There is a bright yellow banner on the top titled "Hotel Leaving Hilton Brand" and when you click on it you read:
"Please note that as of April 1, 2024, DoubleTree by Hilton Olbia - Sardinia will cease to operate as a Hilton hotel. As a result, stays booked past this date will not accrue Honors points. Please contact the hotel direct in case of any questions."