I Giardini di Cala Ginepro Hotel Resort

We walked away and found a very nice place nearby after spending an hour on this. I’d never recommend this hotel to someone I like. After disappointing online bookings elsewhere, I decided to come in and see what I’d get for my money. We arrived to find three tourists at reception and six men behind the desk waiting for work. The first answer was to book online to get a room. I was standing right there and asked if they could tell me immediately and show me a room. The lobby had a totally stressed, unsympathetic vibe. After 15 minutes, a guy showed us two rooms. One was dark and beside the pool party area; the other was dark but quiet. Neither had anything I’d seen on the booking website: no charm, warmth, or luxury, and definitely not four stars. The whole hotel felt like a labyrinth full of children and organized budget tourist groups. We went back to reception and waited another 20 minutes, then were told the room they’d offered wasn’t available and we had to take the other one, by the pool and loud. The room was still listed as available online. This torture of unsympathetic, incapable ignorance cost us ONE HOUR of our life. The chef didn’t even apologize to us and refused to talk.

Nice enough if this is your kind of place to hang out. The beach is close if you walk, but if you try to drive there, you just can’t get through because of the camping ground.

The rooms are well organized, and the olive oil made by the Ginepro hotel family is a special touch. Chef Andrea’s careful cooking at lunch and dinner was very good, with Italian and Sardignian specialties that are worth trying at least once. Cala Ginepro is a lovely base for visiting the east Sardigna coast, and the beach is 300-400 meters away. The place itself is nice, but the garden still needs a lot of work and the services aren’t ready for a 4-star hotel. As things stand, it feels like a 3-star place at most. A lot needs to improve before next season.

This is still one of my favorite places, with a nice mix of welcoming hospitality, good food, and a great sea. Some of the buildings are a little old, though, and could do with modernization.