Lu' Hotel Carbonia

At €139 a night, this hotel is far too expensive for what it offers. Expedia shows rooms for much less than booking directly, and I’d sooner stay somewhere else for €60-70. Maybe it used to be good, but it definitely isn’t now. The room feels old; the bottom of the shower looks as if it’s been patched two or three times, and dirt has stuck around those repairs. After flushing, I could still hear water dripping inside the wall for minutes while the tank refilled, even lying in bed. The air conditioning is loud and keeps running, so sleeping is difficult. Breakfast was the worst I’ve had in a four-star hotel. The staff there seemed tense and almost angry, and weren’t very friendly. I guess they’re not paid enough. You can’t even order fried eggs from the kitchen. The scrambled eggs tasted like baby food with too much milk, and nothing on the breakfast table seemed to have any life to it.

The checkout time is very early, 10 am, even though breakfast also ends at 10. The hotel has a lot going for it, including a large, nice gym, a pool, a spa area, and parking. The rooms are spacious, but ours smelled bad as soon as we checked in and had lots of ants, so they need pest control. The cleaning staff were very friendly and did their best to get the rooms ready before guests returned from breakfast. Breakfast needs work and doesn’t meet a four-star standard. The staff in that area seemed unmotivated and unfriendly.

We loved the restaurant and were really impressed by how good the food was and how nicely it was presented. The hotel and staff were lovely too. The location suited us: we could walk to the nearby square and shops, rent bikes, and get onto the cycle paths quickly. Those paths were amazing for exploring different parts of the island at our own pace.

Carbonia itself isn’t all that interesting, though the hotel is modern and breakfast is great. The rooms were good, and the hotel is about 15 minutes from the sea.