Palm Village - Villasimius, Italy 

We stayed here for a week at the end of June-a good time to go for space on the beaches while still enjoying great weather (30 degrees plus). The apartment/room was exactly as shown on Expedia.it - spotlessly clean, large and very comfortable - the furnishings are tasteful and good standard, the bed firm, the bathroom large with a good shower, the kitchen space well-equipped for your likely cooking needs, good-sized fridge etc, although no coffeepot but you can buy your morning fix from the hotel cafe (or pick up one in the town for ?7 like we did). We had a ground floor room at the front end of the hotel with a large private patio area, more secluded than other ones - perfect for sitting out and dining or the morning coffee. The staff were all extremely nice - most spoke English to some degree, communication was never a problem. We had a problem with a broken door lock and their response was faultless - we were offered a larger family room on the upper floor, which we decided not to take as our patio was larger. The lock was fixed within a day (they had to get a locksmith to come from Cagliari). The owner was exceedingly nice about it and we noticed when we left that he didn't charge us for use of some facilities, which was a nice and courteous gesture. There are sliding doors onto the patio, which was great as we could leave them open at night for air (a minor drawback is there is a daily charge for using the air-con, standard practice for Italian hotels, but easily avoided by use of the patio doors). There are high curtain nets so mosquitos weren't able to get in and we felt no danger in sleeping with the doors open at night - it's a very peaceful place, only 5 mins walk from the fine beach. There's there's a safety box for valuables also. There was no noise from other rooms at night; the resort was perhaps half-full when we were there and everybody seemed to be having a very relaxed time. The swimming pool was great, largely unused during the day so we made use of it (especially the open-air jacuzzi beside it!)during the hottest parts of the afternoon; it's partly covered over so you can hide from the extreme heat at times. The hotel facade has beautiful vines in flower growing up it and birds nesting - it was idyllic to sunbathe in the pool while small birds swooped overhead to the vines, singing to each other. There's a small cafe with light meals, coffee & snacks in the hotel reception - reception hours are a little unusual as they close at 8pm nightly, but this was never an issue. Bikes, treks, boat rides & horseriding treks can all be arranged by them. There's also a large 24-hour barbeque area at the rear of the hotel, so you can organise cook-outs for yourself and guests if you wish (everything you need can be bought from reception). For location, it would be hard to beat - a short stroll to the white sand beach where Palm Village guests have free use of recliners and sun umbrellas. There are a huge number of other excellent beaches all within a short distance of Villasimius, each one completely spotless and with gentle waves. We drove to two beaches each day for variety - Porto Grinio was superb and very close to where we were staying. The coastal drive was lovely if nervewracking - steep winding cliff drops and Italian drivers & bikers who overtake on blind bends are not for the nervous motorist. Villasimius itself is a quiet and pleasant small town, only 2 minutes drive from Palm Village - not a lot to do in it except stock up on wine and good local food for your stay. We ate in 3 of the restaurants, all were fine, nothing exceptional in terms of Italian dining experiences but not overpriced; a full meal was ?20-30 euro each with wine. And you must try the wine! we bought lots cheaply from the supermarkets in town and it was excellent stuff, some of the best whites and reds we've had in Italy (my companion lives in Italy so that's a high reccommendation). The salami and local cheeses were great too. Overall, we found the Palm Village perfect for a peaceful beach & sun holiday with really pleasant, friendly staff - I would highly, highly reccommend it and I intend to stay there again next time I need to get away and relax. Sardinia is a superb place for sun, scenery and local food - I'm looking forward to many future visits.

First holiday in Sardinia and I'm hooked! Have fallen in love with the Island - but not the prices! Was quite a shock! Got a weeks self catering at Palm Village - which I was very happy with. The rooms were basic but spotless and the balcony overlooking the pool was huge! The beach in Villasimius is soo beautiful - easily one of the best beaches along the s/east coast. As I mentioned before Sardinia is quite pricey - 3 course meal for the two of us with wine came to ?95!! This seemed pretty much the norm, hence found a nice take-away pizzeria in town! I would recommend Palm Village as only 50 mins drive from Elmas airport and short stroll to the best beach.