Hotel Pedraladda - Castelsardo, Italy 

Please visit Sardinia it's a beautifull island but avoid staying at the Hotel Pedraladda, the rooms are adequate, however although they suggest you get a balcony or patio, it is not apparent until you arrive that the balcony is only just big enough for 2 chairs side by side and you have to use the air-con unit as a table!! patios are not private but shared. The food is terrible, the cold self service buffet is fair but the 'hot' food is quite often cold or warm at best. Having complained about the temperature of the food we were told that this was the Italian way! However in all the other resteraunts I ate in (my wife ate very little due to gastric problems, see below) the food was always piping hot. We had booked 6 nights but only stayed 3 (it would have been 2 but they demanded 24hrs notice), for the rest of the holiday my wife had suspected mild food poisoning!!! The entertainment appeared to be recorded music for you to dance to (entertaining yourselves) . The island itself is beautiful with some of the best tropical plants we have seen outside the carribean, the views from the mountains are stunning as are the beaches.

My husband, three year old daughter and I stayed here for a week at the end of August, 2007 and had a wonderful holiday! We opted for the 'superior' room which, after talking to other guests simply meant 'air-con and a view' - both of which were worth the extra. The room, although basic, was cleaned daily and absolutely spotless. It had a fridge but no tea/coffee making facilities which I personally missed. The shared balcony was no problem at all and the views to Castelsardo were beautiful. Being on the third (top) floor of course meant that our daughter was never allowed on the balcony by herself. The breakfast was outstanding with lots of choice every day - hot & cold buffet, pastries, yogurts and fruit. I regretted not choosing the half board option as the food at the hotel was excellent and I would have eaten there quite happily every night. My husband however was more than happy to pick up pizza nearly every evening and eat it on the balcony with a bottle (or two!) of red wine. There seemed to be numerous fish restaurants in the town but if like me you're not a huge fish - or pizza - fan then eating at the hotel is the best option - and it's much cheaper to choose it at booking than to pay for it on a daily basis. There were two pools at the hotel, both very clean. We spent most of our time next to the baby pool which my daughter loved. Be warned that there are no depth indications at the large pool and if you're not an experienced or strong swimmer then this could be dangerous. There is a life guard on duty at peak times - which does not include about two to three hours in the afternoon when most people tend to nap - we did after our first three days! There was entertainment every night performed by a crew of very lively red-coat type people. My daughter loved the 'babydance' and even though this was all in Italian it never proved to be a problem.There were also a number of activities arranged for the day such as waterpolo, dancing, darts etc. All staff from the reception staff to the restaurant staff, the hotel photographer to the cleaners, were friendly, accommodating and very helpful at all times. The beach at the hotel is a shingle beach and quite small but it was private and reached via a tunnel under the road. We did visit the beach at Stintino which although beautiful, was absolutely packed by the time we arrived (9 a.m) and hardly worth the two hour stay. We chose Sardinia because we don't enjoy the "Brits Abroad' holiday and we weren't disappointed. The majority of the hotel guests were Italian and in the whole week we met only two other British families at the hotel. If you want five star and luxury then go to the Forte Village but if you want clean and comfortable and value for money then choose the Pedraladda.