Cugnana Mare Resort

I had a very pleasant stay after the yacht I was meant to stay on was overbooked and I ended up here by accident. The resort is huge, with a great pool area and amazing views from a lovely location. The rooms are decent for the price, with a bit of a college dorm feel, though not in a bad way. Staff were incredibly nice and helpful. I’d recommend it, especially for families.

The location is the best part for us, right on top of a mountain with wonderful views of the sea and stars day and night. It’s close to the Emerald cost, about 10 minutes away, and there’s free parking. We had five people, including three kids, and still had a wonderful time. For a short stay, if you rent a car and don’t spend too long in the room, it can work well. Would I go again? Yes, as long as it’s no more than five days. The buildings are old but safe, and although everything is worn, it was clean. The beds cost extra, which surprised us, and the mattresses felt so old we could feel the springs. There are no lifts, so you need to be fit for all the steps. Reception closes after 8 pm and during lunch, so there’s no help then. The pool is wonderful, but you have to pay to use it. With pool bedding and tourist tax, there was €270 on top of the reservation. Rent a car and be ready to climb the steps to get into your apartment. The place wouldn’t be my first choice, but we did have a good time.

The nightly price looks low, but there’s a €70 cleaning fee, and they tried to charge us €30 for arriving late. We had to cancel at 11 pm and find somewhere else. The place felt second-rate and gave me a strange, cultish vibe, like Lord Farquaad’s castle. It also had that timeshare-scam feeling. Be smarter than me and don’t book here.

The village is okay for families with kids up to 15: there are two restaurants, a mini market that isn’t too expensive, and a pool. I stayed at residence Cugnana Verde for two weeks in an apartment in a shared property. It’s small but furnished well enough. My only real gripe was no air conditioning, just a pretty unstable ceiling fan.