This island is truly exotic. It’s an untamed outpost. A veritable swimming and sunbathing paradise of that refreshingly unsung glory one finds amongst the quieter regions of the Mediterranean.
This Costa Smeralda, this ‘emerald coast’, was promoted by the Aga Khan to develop into the 1960s playground of the famous and fashionable.
This ‘endless island’ relates to tourists with its gorgeous blue water, its granite cliffs shaped by wind and water erosion and its caves most numerous on earth (per square mile). It’s in the middle of the Mediterranean and the 2nd largest island (after Sicily). Here the population is outnumbered by sheep 3:1. It coined the words sardine (where once they were abundant) and sardonic (meaning ‘of Sardinia’ and mentioned by Homer). The four moors depicted on the island’s flag (as opposed to just one on Corsica’s) are said to represent either the four Moorish princes defeated in battle or four historic Sardinian victories. Indeed, despite being invaded and exploited, the island was never conquered.
I arrived first at Golfo Aranci, a charming low-rise ex-fishing village with a backdrop of hills and with sea views stretching right across to small islands. I stayed at the charming Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel and Suites. (www.hotelgabbianoazzurro.com/en)
It’s an independent 4-star hotel. It’s elegant and refined and, despite what DH Lawrence says in his legendary 1921 novel ’Sea and Sardinia’ things have changed and there’s now a plethora of seagulls such that Gabbiano Azzurro has adopted the name ‘blue seagull’.
There’s something hearteningly authentic about family-owned hotels. Ones in which they also live. It gives the place real heart and it became a real home for me also with the infectious warmth of the staff as they made a special effort with their small, delicate generosities of restaurant fleeces and beach bags. It’s open during the April-October season and possesses mellow, yellow de Chirico-esque alcoves. Its bright, breezy lobby is adorned with nautical sculpture and ceramic artefacts. There’s an inviting white piano, white sofas with traditional turquoise needlework and thriving banana plants.
The rooms are spacious, fresh and airy. They are tasteful and timeless: on-trend and uber-cool with their earthy colourings. All come with their own private balconies that look out over the sea or the village.They come with lovely sandstone bathrooms which offer the hotel’s own-brand of myrtle-scented products famous for their healing properties. From my shutters and glass-screened veranda I witnessed both sunrise and sunset. Dawn was to bring its chorus of seagulls and thereupon an orchestra of activity developed as catamarans bobbed, fishing boats chugged and the tops of the yachts drifted.
Along an oleander, mimosa, myrtle and bougainvillea-scented walkway is the hotel’s Blu Restaurant, where wooden fans rotate and clusters of wicker lampshades blow in the breeze. Here I enjoyed that famous Italian presentation and artistry: all from such basic ingredients. I looked out to sea and delighted in my branzino (sea bass) baked under salt, my julienned carrots and my Sa Fregula Nera, Sardinia’s pasta dish which is similar to couscous and worked with the fingertips using water and salt.
I loved how on the hotel’s sandy white private beach (very much the prime spot), a forest of tasselled parasols, tickled by the breeze, fluttered balletically like swans across their lake. For, with its shallowest and bluest of water, came the pleasing gradual wading to deeper water. Ideal for parents and their toddlers.
Across the gulf I arrived next to Cala Cuncheddi (https://vretreats.com/en/cala-cuncheddi/), a 4-star hotel that means ‘shell cove. It was renovated in 2014 and is part of the Italian hotel collection called VRetreats. It’s truly captivating with its panoramic views of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the legendary Tavarola. How wonderful it was to look across the expansive of the gulf that offered every shade of blue before dusk fell. Indeed, looking back from the sea, this sandstone hotel resembled the artist Corot while the backdrop is pure Cezanne: immersed, as it is, among old olive trees in Mediterranean underbrush: scrub consisting of juniper, arbutus, cistus, lentisk and myrtle.
I relished my strolls past the hotel’s signature grey and white parasols and the pomegranate trees and resident herons to the local beaches and bays. My head-to-toe spa treatment felt like floating on water and the rare yet effective belly massage definitely helped me unwind all the more. At this hotel some cycle, some trek, most guests spend their time bathing on Li Cuncheddi beach, set directly beneath the hotel, as it is perfect for swimming.
Cala Cuncheddi’s outdoor pool has as its central feature a single olive tree giving it a very tranquil vibe. The wild-flower landscaping is gorgeous with its panoply of ferns, shrubs and foliage. Such tamed wilderness set amongst divine paving stones as this flourishing of native plants sweetened the air with their pungent scent. Everywhere is extremely well spaced with a rocking chair here, a sofa there.
The 79 rooms and 3 suites (starting from £211 / €250 / $270) possess patios and fetching Moorish verandas with their oak railings that embrace the curves of nature. Most come with a seaview and some overlook the garden. The rooms are simple yet stylish, which is an art in itself, and are decorated in calming neutral tones.
Of the hotel’s three different restaurants I took my breakfast at Asarena (meaning ‘to the sand’) and enjoyed the confident dinner menus at both Asumari (meaning ‘to the water’) and Zinnibiri (‘juniper’). The latter has a stunning setting with its six tables sitting beneath wicker lanterns and bamboo shelter. It all felt so wonderfully natural in the open air. So stylish and rustic.
In keeping with DH Lawrence I also relished my 6-day Sardinian journey and, as he said so correctly, “this land resembles no other place”. For a paradise it always was and is: an island of real beauty, strong, wild, hard and forever mysterious.
By Adam Jacot de Boinod
