22 Best Hotels in Sardinia, Italy

Long a magnet for the beautiful people, this hyperglamorous Marriott Luxury Collection hotel was designed by Jacques Couëlle to resemble an ancient Sardinian fishing village, complete with its own covered bridge; the exterior is complemented by a rustic-elegant interior with beamed ceilings, terra-cotta floors, Sardinian arts and crafts, and porticoes overlooking the Cala di Volpe Bay. There's an Olympic-size saltwater pool, boat service to a private beach, and access to the Pevero Golf Club. Summer prices are high (€1,400 and up), but discounted rates are available with loyalty points and in low season.

Now relaunched under Hilton’s Conrad banner, the Chia Laguna hotel still has its captivating position overlooking Monte Cogoni beach and the sleek expanse of Chia lagoon, and its five-star facilities are geared to maximizing guests’ enjoyment of these natural advantages. One of the resort’s alfresco restaurants, La Terrazza, also enjoys sea views, as do most of the modern, spacious, and light guest rooms. Other facilities include curving, lawn-surrounded pools, tennis courts, and a gym. Milanese designers have made the interior an appealing blend of modernity and Sardinian motifs, with traditional island artifacts set amid ceramic-tile floors and sand-hued walls.

This simple block-style hotel—more or less standard for provincial Nuoro—is ideal for a stopover; rooms are spacious and clean, with parquet flooring and modern amenities. Breakfasts are abundant, and there's a snack bar for lunch and wood-fired pizzas in the evening. The staff are friendly and professional, and guests can make use of the small gym on the premises. The hotel is near the train station, and a 15-minute walk from the old center.

Atop a cliff at the end of a rocky track on Sardinia's southernmost tip, a working lighthouse dating from 1856 contains this unusual hotel—a self-described "door suspended between the sky and the sea"—where it's easy to switch off and tune out amid luxurious surroundings. It’s small and select, but still has space for lounges and a library, all blending vintage furnishings with elegant modern pieces. Some guest rooms are in a separate annex. It's a bit of a trek to go out in the evenings, but top-notch four-course dinners are available in the dining room for €100. A wide terrace with gazebos and an infinity pool overlook the sea, and a Jeep is on hand for shuttling you to nearby beaches.  Request a Sea View Suite for 360-degree coastal vistas.

The airy white rooms, period-style furnishings, and ceramic flooring make this third-floor pension directly opposite the port cozy and characterful. Venetian glass chandeliers hang in the air-conditioned rooms, some of which have sea views and are decorated with ceiling frescoes, though most are courtyard-facing. One room is a triple. Expect polite, friendly service with basic English spoken from the host family. Breakfast, while free, is not taken in the hotel itself but at one of the open-air cafés under the atmospheric arcades of Via Roma, below. The bus and train stations are steps away.

Family-run Canne al Vento has been a quiet, cheerful haven in town since the late 1950s. Despite a bland exterior, the place has a defiantly rustic feel, with a bamboo-roofed breakfast area, the odd ornamental wagon wheel and tapestry, and rooms that are sparsely furnished but cool and comfortable. Breakfasts are the highlight of a stay here, with homemade jams, fresh ricotta with honey, Sardinian pastries, and plenty of fruit. The next-door restaurant, run by the owner's son, is worth sampling, too.

A brief walk from the town center, this hotel occupies a panoramic spot right by the splendid Rena Bianca beach and has functional rooms—most of them spacious, a few of them with balconies and sea views. Public rooms are much grander, furnished with wicker chairs, and there are terraces and lawns for sipping drinks. The grounds include a palm-shaded pool, and there is a shuttle service to transport guests to beaches further afield. Bike hire and boat excursions can also be arranged. Everything is well maintained by the exceptionally friendly staff, and there is a minimum five-night stay in peak season.

This Art Nouveau–style hotel with modern whitewashed rooms sits on the harbor in Carloforte. Front-facing rooms have harbor views, though there may be some traffic noise; those at the back overlook a small courtyard garden with a few palm trees. Avoid rooms at the top, which have low ceilings and no views. The central location means that you're a short walk from some good restaurants.

Close to the highest peaks of the Gennargentu range in the center of Sardinia, this hotel, a palazzo in the center of Fonni, provides a warm welcome at any time of the year. Although the building is old, it has been tastefully renovated: the fittings and fixtures are all modern, and rooms are air-conditioned and heated in winter (the suite features a spa bath). Off-road vehicles are available for mountain excursions. Even if you're not staying here, Sa Orte is worth a stop for its restaurant, Il Pergolato, where you can dine on fresh pasta and local meat dishes as well as pizzas.

A broad sun terrace and white, plant-filled decor make this sleek boutique hotel a good choice, as do the spacious and surprisingly quiet—given the busy location—guest rooms, all of which have modern bathrooms and some of which have private balconies. Buffet breakfasts are served on the terrace in fine weather.

If you love golf and stargazing, then the place to stay in southern Sardinia is this peaceful hotel, with 70 Mediterranean-style rooms and a 27-hole golf complex. The hotel offers air-conditioned classic rooms overlooking the pool or with panoramic views of Nora's Spanish watchtower, verdant landscape, and sea. The technically challenging fairway and greens of the 18-hole championship course and the 9-hole Yellow Course are the benchmark for Italian golfing, and the Dan Williamson Golf Academy is open for all levels and ages. Relax in the atmospheric clubhouse after practicing swings in the driving range. For beach lovers, there is a free shuttle service to a local private beach; however, be prepared to wait coming and going. The locally recognized restaurant here serves creative Mediterranean cooking.

At this quiet haven in the heart of the Marina quarter, the spacious, high-ceilinged rooms are decorated with taste and restraint with period furnishings redolent of the 19th century, making you feel as if you're a guest at a palazzo. Rates are very reasonable, and rooms for three and four people, suitable for families, are available. Breakfast is served in your room.

Housed in a remodeled palazzo built at the end of the 19th century for the count after which it is named, this small and select hotel occupies a quiet location on a traffic-free backstreet just a few steps from Corso Umberto. There are exposed granite walls and quirky period touches everywhere, although facilities are modern, including spacious rain showers in the marble bathrooms. Suites and the extra-large suites boast their own veranda or balcony, spa bath, or sauna, Generous breakfasts are taken in the basement, from which steps lead further down into a room where you can view the remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct and where massage treatments are available. There is no restaurant, but guests are directed to the chic and much-lauded Essenza Bistrot, right opposite.

This central downtown hotel has a reassuringly old-fashioned style, with its grand, columned exterior and elegant neoclassical lobby hung with chandeliers. The staff are professional but friendly, while the well-kept, comfortable rooms have lovely wood floors and furniture, simple white walls, striped bedding, and efficient bathrooms. There's an internal garden, and the hotel's brick-vaulted Blao restaurant pulls in the locals.

Sea and mountain views, top-quality cuisine, and chic and spacious guest rooms are the main draws at this romantic boutique hotel outside the picturesque village of San Pantaleo. Heavy oak tables and wood-beam ceilings lend a farmhouse character to the lounges, and the Michelin-starred restaurant, Il Fuoco Sacro, has a stunning veranda overlooking the verdant hills and the sea in the distance (booking early for Il Fuoco Sacro is recommended, and there's a second, less formal osteria). In addition to the hotel's heated outdoor pool, 10 of the suites have their own private pool, and guests also have access to a wellness center equipped with a Turkish bath, a Roman sauna, and a menu of massage treatments. No children under 12 are permitted in July and August. The hotel, perched on a hilltop covered by junipers, olive trees, and white granite boulders, is a few kilometers inland from the Costa Smeralda, and a 10- to 15-minute drive from some prime beaches.

One floor of a 19th-century palazzo, next to the town hall on Oristano's traffic-free main square, has been tastefully converted into a small but stylish guest house, with rich furnishings, chandeliers, antique murals, and domed ceilings. There are quirky touches, too—one room, for example, has a spiral staircase leading to a modern bathroom. Guests can prepare a light breakfast in the rooms, and vouchers are provided for a fuller breakfast in the Bar Eleonora in the piazza below. The hostess is friendly and attentive.

The only hotel located in Alghero's central Catalan quarter occupies an ex-convent once attached to the church of San Francesco. The somewhat cramped and cell-like guest rooms are ranged around the atmospheric 14th-century cloister where breakfast is taken. Though short on comforts, all accommodations have air-conditioning and private bathrooms, and are surprisingly quiet considering the central location. There's no elevator, and a three- to seven-night minimum stay in summer.

On the shore boulevard opposite the Villa Las Tronas and 15 minutes from the airport, this grand, modern hotel (pronounced "Carlos Quinto") has an array of gardens and terraces, as well as a saltwater pool with sea views and a separate children's pool. The spa and wellness center offer a range of treatments, and there's a fully equipped gym and a tennis court.  Don't settle for a slightly cheaper room facing the back; the pleasure is all in the magnificent vistas from your spacious balcony.

Just southeast of Nuoro, in the foothills of the Supramonte range, Su Gologone combines luxury with rural flavor in guest rooms that feel like country retreats (exposed beams, wooden chests, traditional Sardinian fabrics) and a rustic restaurant that pairs local cannonau reds with such Sardinian specialties as maccarones de busa (thick homemade pasta twists), culurgiones (ravioli), suckling pig, and, for dessert, sebadas (fried-dough pockets stuffed with cheese and lemon peel). Relax around the large swimming pool and in the lounging areas, or coordinate with staff members to organize 4WD or hiking expeditions.

In the vicinity of Parco di Monte Claro, about a 15-minute taxi or bus ride from Cagliari's center, this trendy hotel offers contemporary styling and upscale guest rooms in a 15-floor circular tower with sweeping city views. What feels like a business-hotel lobby leads to a full-service bistro, restaurant, and bar defined by a striking upside-down cone. The outdoor courtyard is decked out with reflecting pools, plant pots glowing rainbow colors, and an oversize video screen. The 207 spacious, soundproof rooms are impeccably designed with Philippe Starck furnishings and equipped with modern bathrooms. The T Wellness Centre comes with a hydrotherapy pool, steam bath, and herbal tea salon. Friendly and attentive staff serve excellent breakfasts, refreshments, and international cuisine year-round, making this lively hotel a popular gathering spot for locals.

A stunning mansion dating from the 1880s has been transformed into this elegant secluded hotel that blends gold tapestries, crystal chandeliers, marble floors, canopy-draped beds, vaulted ceilings, and other Belle Époque treasures with modern amenities such as a luxury spa with a gym and an illuminated pool. It's set on a rocky promontory—above the sea but still near the center—affording great views from the spacious balconies of every room. Guests often congregate in the main lounge or the adjoining billiards room for after-dinner drinks. In summer, the outdoor saltwater pool, beach bar, and sun terrace are great places to relax. Service is sophisticated and impeccable, especially in the restaurant, where black-tie waiters suavely deliver silver-domed seafood and vegetarian platters (not meat), and the sound of live piano music and, occasionally, an opera singer set a suitably upscale tone.