Grand Hotel Smeraldo Beach

"Really enjoyed our stay at this beautifully located hotel. It was a nice hotel, very traditional and spotlessly clean. The sun beds were a bit of an issue unless you got down very early. The breakfast was ok - a bit repetitive and no ‘egg station’. The staff were excellent and very helpful. The pool areas were lovely and it was nice that there were lots of different areas around the hotel with access to the pools. The private beach was great with easy access to the sea. "

"We’ve just returned from a weeks stay here. I tend to do lots of research on any type of holiday so we knew what we were getting. At the general level I’ve listed the pros and cons below, although we knew the cons none of which bothered us hence the 5 stars. Pros: The location is perfect, fantastic views over the sea and towards the La Maddalena islands. There’s a small beach (relatively easy access but down some steps) and a much smaller tiny beach (down a series of rougher steps). The water is just so clear and we much prefer small bays as opposed to large beaches so this suited us perfectly. Additionally there’s a good 6 or 7 pools all in different areas with trees and greenery making the areas feel more individual and as we did you’ll usually find one area that’s your favourite. We only stayed B&B as we knew there’s a well reviewed restaurant straight outside the hotel and plenty only a 10 minute walk away at Baia sardinia. Breakfast was fine for us as it gave the mix of things we like. Other reviews talk of the hotel being dated. In my mind there’s two types of dated with one being a little tired and in need of a refresh and the other being something that has traditional decor but everything is clean and well looked after. This hotel for us was definitely the latter we quite liked the feel Cons: For some people these might be issues but for us they weren’t. 1st. The outside areas have plenty of steps so if you don’t want this then this is not the ideal hotel. 2nd. Granted it is only the end of June and august might be different but the towel dump to grab a lounger definitely happens in the favoured positions but we never had an issue getting a lounger normally with great views over the sea. 3rd. Whilst it’s less than a 10 minute walk to the centre of Baia sardinia with its beach and restaurants it’s up a steepish hill and down the other side. We didn’t mind it in the evenings but won’t suit some people and would limit options for restaurants. One final piece I spent a fair bit of time looking at boat trips to la maddalena prior to travelling. Yes most trips go from Palau but there’s plenty of options from Baia sardinia and it’s a place that we’ll worth going to. The options we looked at are the big tourist motorboats (circa 65 euros) booked via hotel or the booking huts on the beach. Self drive dingys but decided against that. This left 3 options for a day trip all catering for 10-12 people these being velieravalentina and old yacht, a motorboat for the same number which I can’t remember the name of and gamesailing who have a catamaran and actually go from a port 5 minutes away but will sort the trf. I’d highly recommend gamesailing but also velieravalentina but with this latter option the access to the sea is off a ladder to the side and not as easy as a catamaran."

"Hotel is generally ok but if you want a sunlounger you need to be up at 6am to put your towel down. Despicable practice but alive and well at this hotel"