Booking a hotel on La Maddalena in Sardinia
Mar 19th, 2002, 01:43 PM
#1
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Booking a hotel on La Maddalena in Sardinia
I have only one more hotel to book for our long summer trip. We'd like to stay at the small Hotel Giuseppe Garibaldi just off the little piazza in the town and island of La Maddalena. Their phone number 789-737-326 and fax number 789-737-314 only get me recordings that seem to say the numbers are not in service. Even if they are still closed till the end of March, wouldn't there be a phone line or an answering machine? I can't find an email address which would be ideal, and I am even willing to try a booking agency, but none of the ones I search show this hotel. Why am I so insistent on staying there? Well, for one thing it is highly recommended by friends as well as an article I clipped out of Travel and Leisure. And for another, it is the only one I can find that doesn't require a half-board which I really don't want. I already have a list of small restuarants I want to try. I'm really not into the big conference and resort hotels which that coast seems to be filled with, and I'm very hung up on the idea of staying on the island of La Maddalena. Any ideas how to go about trying to book this hotel?
Mar 19th, 2002, 01:58 PM
#2
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Patrick: I would wait until April 1st. They may be closed for the winter and have no answering machine or forwarding service. If they still don't respond, I would telephone the local tourist board in Arzachena or Palau to confirm the phone and fax numbers (they may have changed).
Mar 20th, 2002, 12:23 PM
#4
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Duh, no that was just me. When I typed them onto this post I reversed the fax and phone numbers. I am right in dropping the 0 of the area code, though,right?<BR>I have emailed the tourist board three times asking about how to book this hotel, or asking for suggestions of other hotels, but have never received an answer. I'm just not sure if I'm going to get an English speaker there if I call.<BR>By the way, I did look at one Sardinian listing of lodgings which shows closed dates for hotels, but it appears from it that the Giuseppe Garibaldi is open all year.
Mar 20th, 2002, 12:47 PM
#5
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You should dial the zero before the prefix (0789). This will make the difference. According to the Hotel Booklet for 2000 published by the Ente Sardo Industrie Turistiche in collaborazione con gli Enti Provinciali per il Turismo e la Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, Assessorato del Turismo, Artigianato e Commercio (is that a mouthful?), this hotel is open all year!
Mar 20th, 2002, 12:59 PM
#6
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Thanks GAC. I just tried dialing the fax number with the 0 and I do get a recording in Italian. Whether it is the hotel or not I can't tell. About all I can understand is "numero" and "grazie", but it disconnects before it will take my fax. A little late to call the phone number tonight, but will try tomorrow to see if I can reach anyone.
Mar 25th, 2002, 05:12 AM
#7
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Well another week has gone by and I still have had no luck.<BR>I do get a recorded message at the Hotel Garibaldi, both on the fax and the phone numbers, but I am totally unable to understand a word. I left my name, number, and email address on the recording in case someone would contact me, but haven't heard from them and expect that I won't.<BR>I tried calling the tourist offices in both La Maddalena and in Palau, but in both cases was told that no one speaks any English.<BR>Any more suggestions other than just forget going to La Maddalena?
Mar 25th, 2002, 10:20 AM
#9
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Hotel Gribaldi seems to be the only one I can find at all that is right in town, which we'd like. There is a Hotel Garibaldi by the harbour, but they (like most hotels there) require half board -- a total waste as far as I'm concerned. I'm open to other suggestions. Meanwhile we're considering staying in Palau for the three nights at a Hotel Palau, which looks nice and can be booked (if still available) via Hotel Switch. Although not on the island of La Maddalena, it is quite close, and apparently we can even catch a ferry (without the car) in the evenings to go over for dinner.
Mar 25th, 2002, 10:37 AM
#10
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Certainly didn't proofread that last one! The hotel I'm trying to book right in town is Hotel Giuseppe Garibaldi. The only other hotel that sounds somewhat interesting, but requires the half board is Hotel Il Gabbiano.<BR>I guess part of my problem is that the more difficult a place seems to be to get, the more enticing it becomes. Anyone else have that problem?
Mar 25th, 2002, 12:28 PM
#11
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Don't despair. I would still wait until next week to call again. Monday is Pasquetta and a National Holiday in Italy. Call on or after Tuesday. It's possible that they have been on vacation until after Easter. It's also possible that the answering machine number you called has a message in Italian which you have not been able to understand (e.g. alerting you that they are closed for maintenance until XXX date). It is not uncommon for many hotels in prime tourist areas of Sardinia (outside of major cities) to require minimum half-board in high season. This is true whether it's an expensive property or a mom-and-pop establishment. If all else fails, do consider staying in Palau: it has good public transportation options to La Maddalena (half-hourly ferries) and to other points in northeastern Sardinia. Since you will be driving, you will have maximum flexibility. You could even stay in nearby Arzachena or Baia Sardinia. The Hotel Palau is the largest property (or one of the largest)in Palau, if I am not mistaken.
Mar 25th, 2002, 01:25 PM
#12
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Patrick: I was getting sos frustrated reading your posts, I called the hotel. There is so much static on the line, it's very unclear what they're saying (even the very little bit in English), but essentially what I understood was "This is the answering machine for the Hotel Giuseppe Garibaldi....reopening March 26.....call this number: 3356-116-792....thank you....good-bye." <BR>Hope this turns out to be of some help.
Mar 26th, 2002, 09:52 AM
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Success at last! Thanks again for all the suggestions, but St.Cirq the most.<BR>I faxed Hotel Giuseppe Garibaldi about 10 this morning. By 11 I received an email from them confirming a price of 104 Euros per night B&B and asking for credit card details and a signature -- by fax. She thanked me for waiting for their reopening today. By noon I had faxed that information, and at 1:01 PM I received a final confirmation from "Antonella". So that is the last of my 29 hotels to be booked for our 92 nights in Europe this summer. Now as long as I don't change my mind while waiting it out. . .
