Hotel Cala Di Volpe

Please note: Hotel Cala Di Volpe is a seasonal property open annually from early April to late October.

Hotel Cala di Volpe, located on Sardinia's Costa Smeralda, is a palatial luxury resort designed in the style of an old-fashioned Mediterranean village. The surroundings are spectacular (Costa Smeralda means Emerald Coast, after all), all white sands and translucent waters. But the hotel itself is no less striking - its archways, terraces, and towers seem to blend into the rocky countryside. The fishing-village illusion is impressive, surreal - but this is no historic replica. The hospitality industry had ignored the Emerald Coast until the 1960s, when the Aga Khan set his sights on developing the imposing and yet-unspoiled coastline. The result is this sprawling castle of a holiday resort, the utmost in old-money opulence and Mediterranean beauty.

This is a classic Sixties jet-set resort, a discreetly wealthy sort of place, where moneyed Europeans distract themselves with a game of tennis, a swim in the Olympic-sized saltwater pool, or just lounging in the lobby or one of the bars. Nobody is just passing through Sardinia, on the way somewhere else - this hotel is designed as a destination unto itself, a self-contained world of relaxation. There is a putting green, a nearby golf course, even a water-skiing school, and boats are available for rental, with or without hired crew, to explore the bay and the archipelago's many islands. Every imaginable luxury is on offer here - this is truly the ultimate in European hospitality.

How to get there:

From Alghero City: follow signs for Sassari/Olbia/Costa Smeralda. Approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) to the hotel.

From Olbia-Costa Smeralda: follow signs for Costa Smeralda then Cala di Volpe.

From Porto Cervo Village: follow signs for Olbia and then Cala di Volpe. Approximately 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) to the hotel.