Arbatasar

We had a good time at the Arbatasar Hotel, and I'd recommend it for a stay in Arbatax. Our room was spacious, cleaned every day, and had a luxurious feel. The building has the look of a grand traditional Mediterranean villa with some modern touches, and the olive tree lit with candles between the entrance and pool is lovely at night. It's also well placed for getting around: the port for boat trips, the red rocks, Porto Frailis and Cala Moresca beaches, restaurants, and a bus stop are all nearby. One thing to check with reception is the hotel rules. It was also the first hotel where I was asked for my credit card details on arrival.

The pool was fantastic, and breakfast was good. We found the staff professional, and the whole place was spotless and beautifully kept. Our cosy room looked out over the pool and garden, with an incredibly clean bathroom, compliments to housekeeping, and a very comfortable bed. It is on the firm side, so it may not suit everyone. This hotel made our holiday, and we'll be back.

The room had just one usable outlet, nowhere near the bed, which made charging devices a real pain. There were also some bugs. For a hotel room, having a single outlet is awful. Bring a large power bank or your own power source if you stay here. After I posted the review, the owner replied with rude comments. They could have taken and uploaded a photo, but didn't. There was one European socket and one German socket, so why should I have to buy an adapter? I wrote this before checking out; the owner could have come and spoken with me then. I would have removed the review if I was shown to be wrong, but he seemed happy to be rude online instead. They also wouldn't let me pay the city tax by credit card and accepted cash only. I don't know why the owner chose that approach, since other places were happy to charge my card. I'm no longer sure this is a tourist-friendly hotel.

The hotel has an interesting design, and the rooms are spacious. Breakfast was okay rather than great. One thing to know about parking: if you leave your car inside the hotel, you have to hand the keys to reception. What really spoiled things was the manager of the hotel and restaurant. His manners were atrocious, and I was shocked by how rude he was. We checked in around 5 p.m. without anyone telling us the pool rules. When we got back from the beach at 7:20, I went to our room while my sons, aged 16 and 14, went to the pool. They didn't know it closed at 7:30. While they were showering off the sand and salt, a man came over aggressively and spoke in Italian, which they don't understand. I asked reception about the rules and was only told the pool was open from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. I passed that on and thought no more of it. The next day we arrived at 6:15; my sons went swimming while I spent about 20 minutes at the nearby supermarket. When I came back, our room key cards had been blocked because we supposedly hadn't followed pool rules. My wife was told children had to be with their parents and diving wasn't allowed. I went to tell the boys. The pool employee said they had dived three times and weren't with me. The written rules didn't specify ages, so it seemed anyone under 18 counted as a child. I sat by the pool until 7:29 to make sure they followed the rules. Two other boys dived in, and the employee saw them but did nothing. At 7:30 we left. The manager was apologizing to some customers and said the reprimands weren't for them, but for "others". I speak Italian and understood that he meant my family and me. He could have spoken to me directly during the two days we were there, and simple courtesy might have avoided all this. Instead, he showed poor manners and couldn't handle an easy situation. I had planned to eat at the restaurant, but changed my mind. At checkout I complained, but reception staff gave me ridiculous excuses for the manager's behavior.