The Pelican Beach Resort & SPA - Adults Only

The hotel is in a peaceful spot with the beach directly in front. By car, Cala Gonone is about an hour and a half away, while Palau is roughly an hour in the other direction. Boats leave from Palau for Sardinia’s beautiful beaches and the La Maddalena archipelago. The location is excellent, and the staff are extremely friendly. The rooms can be noisy, though our neighbors were fine until the last day, when we heard slightly louder guests. The bed is two single mattresses pushed together, and they kept sliding apart and leaving a gap at night. If you have long hair, bring your own hairdryer, since the one provided is quite weak. We got a fresh beach towel each day, and after checking out we could use a shower before spending a few more hours at the beach. That was great.

The staff were exceptional, and the restaurant had really nice lunch and dinner choices. Breakfast, though, was fairly average. The hotel is right on the beach, with a free public section, a free grassy hotel area with loungers assigned to each room, and a private beach section that costs €40 for the day. It’s worth asking about the different room types, since they vary quite a bit. Some open straight onto the garden, others are upstairs with good sea views, and the main hotel rooms are set back from the beach but close to the pool.

My wife and I had an enjoyable stay, and the staff treated us very well. The restaurant was good, breakfast had a great spread, and the concierge did a nice job pointing us to wineries and tours. We stayed in a beachside room, a higher-end option than the standard rooms across the street, and had our own umbrella and two chairs on the lawn. The problem was how understaffed the hotel seemed. One person at reception had to manage check-ins, check-outs, and tour bookings, which led to long waits. Room service was sometimes unavailable because the few staff had to focus on the restaurant, and getting a bucket of ice for our wine was difficult. Sometimes we were only given cups of ice. The employees did their best, and the staffing issue isn’t their fault. Management needs to hire more people. Even so, we’d encourage people to stay here.

At €280 a night, this felt like a €130-a-night stay to me. The beachside location looks stunning at first, but the hotel is run-down, uninspired, and badly short on maintenance, quality, and hospitality. It might be acceptable at €120-140 a night, but not at nearly twice that. Sardinia is amazing, so I’d stay somewhere else. Our room was bare and outdated, with white tiles, rusty fixtures, dim lighting, curtains that didn’t close properly, and weak air conditioning. The tiny TV wasn’t smart and sat awkwardly far from the bed. There was a kettle and instant coffee, but little else to make the room feel comfortable or luxurious. The shared garden outside had a hot tub only three meters from our room, so there was no privacy unless we kept the curtains shut all day. The pool is small, and hearing it vacuumed ruined the chance to relax. Breakfast wasn’t included, and sun loungers on the so-called “private beach” cost extra. Some restaurant staff also acted as if they were doing us a favor.