Hotel Cala di Volpe, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Costa Smeralda

The location is beautiful with sea views to the misty hills beyond, idyllic. The hotel has the facilities but the building itself is old- and there comes a point where rustic becomes plain tired and no amount of white paint can hide that fact. The main restaurant reflects the hotel’s age, the breakfast buffet is cramped and I have seen better offerings in lesser hotels, but service is generally good- and occasionally exceptional. The elephant in the room is the prices- €18 for two coffees…….no the hotel is not that special. It’s ten minutes by taxi to Porto Cervo- €40 each way and they claim their credit card machine doesn’t work. I have no problem paying for value, but this hotel needs to up its game- it isn’t as good as it thinks it is!

Lovely hotel, with the James Bond vibe of course. Wonderful architecture. The rooms are lovely, make sure you get a water facing one. The staff are wonderful. The breakfast by the pool is lovely, and the pool is gorgeous, as well as the private beach reached by hotel boat that nips around the bay. Also you don't have to pay for the beds on top of your rooms, like the S of France! A quick drive or a 20 min walk away are some very gorgeous public beaches too.

We went to the restaurant for an afternoon lunch after making a reservation. To our shock the price was 300 Euros per person for the buffet not including drinks. The buffet was underwhelming to say the least. I have had better quality and far more choice at virtually any Carribean all inclusive hotel. The sushi seemed to have been sitting for some time as the rice was dry and the selection was very limited. We were very disappointed and will ensure nobody we know will ver make the same mistake