Villas Resort Wellness & SPA

Getting around without a car was a major problem. The resort offered no transport to Costa Rei city centre or Villa Simius. Walking to Costa Rei along the main road felt dangerous, though the beach route is an option. For farther trips, we had to call taxis or local transport firms. A five-kilometre ride could cost up to 80 euros at peak times, depending on availability. I hadn't planned on it, but in the end I had no choice but to rent a car. The Cagliari airport transfer was also outsourced to another company, at 240 euros return. The vans were new and the drivers professional, but the price was wildly out of proportion. Since several guests arrived and left around the same time as me, a resort shuttle could have been more profitable for the hotel and less inconvenient for guests. The food was another big letdown. The dining room served average food of low quality, so we skipped nearly every lunch and dinner. Breakfast was unavoidable, and the buffet was set along both sides of a narrow entrance corridor. There were flies everywhere and little airflow; the heat, crowds, and flies were enough to kill your appetite. Poolside dining also came with a charge if you wanted a table near the pool at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Those tables were often empty while everyone else was crowded into the other side of the dining area. A beach umbrella in the first or second row could cost up to 100 euros a day. The American Bar by the pool looks cool, but the management was a mess. There was no menu or proper drinks list, and no food beyond leftover ham and cheese toast from breakfast, olives, and peanuts. No fancy ice cream cups, fresh coconut or pineapple drinks, burgers and fries, tortillas, popcorn, or salads. The servers asked what we wanted, and when we asked what they had, the answer was something like the usual drinks, spritz, mojito, gin tonic. Children couldn't even get packaged ice creams, since the pool bar only served fresh ice cream in four flavours. It was disappointing. There was no Italian aperitivo or international happy hour either, just a depressing lack of options. The rooms are dated. Cleanliness was okay, and the staff were helpful and cordial, but the beds, mattresses, linens, and pillows were far below an acceptable standard. We all left with back pain. The in-room fridge was useless, there was no kettle or tea or coffee, and whether the air conditioning worked seemed to come down to luck. Maybe this was a four-star place back in 2015, but now it's an expensive, overrated resort that barely meets international three-star standards. I think a stay at Villas Resort in Castiadas will leave most guests with a clear idea of what to avoid on their next trip to Sardinia.

A relaxing place to stay, with friendly staff and a clean setting. The food was good quality and there was a nice range of options.

My family and I had a good two-week stay, but check-out came with an unexpected extra charge: €7 per adult per day and €5 per child per day. We'd already paid €19 a day for 14 days for “using the hotel services such as the swimming pool, animation, beach...” Neither our operator nor the hotel mentioned these extra fees, and I've never come across anything like this anywhere in the world. A proper Italian job.

The beach was lovely, but the room smelled awful when we arrived. I said this wasn't acceptable, and although they cleaned it with bleach, nobody apologized. We also heard that guests who had booked at the last minute were upgraded, and it wasn't clear how they decided who got one. There were so many flies around the food that it was often hard to eat. The beds were very hard, and the air conditioning was poor. After a week at Villas resort, I found it quite expensive and sadly not the four-star stay it was advertised as. They could do better.