"Beautiful resort, but service and communication need significant improvement
We stayed at the Curio resort in Chia for nine nights as a family of four, with our 21- and 17-year-old children, and booked two connecting rooms. Overall, we had a good holiday and there are some genuinely fantastic aspects to this resort. However, for a hotel at this level and price point, there were far too many inconsistencies in service, communication and housekeeping.
From check-in, everything was presented as though navigating the resort would be very straightforward, but unfortunately that wasn't always our experience. Information could be inconsistent depending on who you spoke to. For example, we asked Reception about transport to restaurants outside the resort, only 5–10 minutes away, and were that would be cheaper to book a shuttle with them than book a taxi ourselves. The initial shuttle price given to us was €20. When we later tried to book it, we were told it was actually €40 each way, which is quite a difference.
Housekeeping was very disappointment. As we had two rooms, initially two complimentary cans of water were left in each room each day. After the first couple of nights, however, water was replenished in only one room. I raised this with Reception and was told Housekeeping would be contacted, but nothing changed until the night before our departure.
There was similar confusion regarding bed linen. On arrival, there was a sustainability card explaining that bedding would normally be changed daily, unless the card was placed on the bed, in which case it would be changed every 3 days. We initially used the cards because we were happy to support the hotel's sustainability initiative. After a couple of days there were visible marks on the bedding, so we stopped leaving the cards on the beds expecting the linen to be changed. It wasn't. This happened in both rooms, and the bedding was eventually changed only on the night before we left. At that point, after almost the entire stay, changing it one night before departure seemed rather pointless.
Restaurants and food
This was probably the most inconsistent part of the resort experience.
Guests really need to understand that restaurant reservations are essential. If you don't book in advance, you may struggle to find somewhere to eat. I appreciate that booking ahead may be customary locally, but a resort of this size should ideally retain some availability for guests who have just arrived or whose plans change. It would also be extremely helpful if Reception had a folder or QR code with current menus and opening information for all restaurants.
Il Ginepro was described to us at check-in as having a mixture of Japanese and Sardinian influences, which sounded interesting and was one of the reasons we chose it one evening. We couldn't identify any Japanese influence on the menu.
More disappointing was the service. We were seated and then waited without anyone coming to take our order. When we eventually managed to order, the waiter didn't even ask whether we wanted drinks. Our first and second courses arrived, we finished our meal, requested the bill, paid and left—and at no point during the entire dinner did anyone ask whether we would like something to drink.
Interestingly, many of the same team members work at breakfast, where the experience is completely different. Breakfast at Il Ginepro is excellent. There is a huge selection, and the staff are attentive and willing to go above and beyond. They were also very helpful regarding allergies and dietary requirements, with good gluten-free and dairy-free options available. This made the contrast between breakfast and à la carte dinner service even more noticeable.
The dinner food itself was okay—not bad, but not memorable either and, in our opinion, not worth the price. We had considerably better meal at a local restaurant outside the resort.
We also had lunch at Le Dune Beach Restaurant . The food was fine, but our first interaction with the staff was unnecessarily unfriendly. Before we even had the chance to get changed and sit down, we were abruptly told about the restaurant's clothing rules. We had shorts on and obviously understood that we needed to put our T-shirts on before sitting down. The issue wasn't the rule—it was the way it was communicated. There are polite and welcoming ways to speak to guests. This is, after all, a beach restaurant within a holiday resort, not formal fine dining in the middle of a major city.
Bar Bollicine was another disappointment. We checked the online menu beforehand and chose to go there because it showed a good selection of snacks and more substantial dishes. Once we arrived, we were told the online menu was outdated and the actual selection was extremely limited—around five snack options. By then it was too late to find somewhere else because we hadn't made another restaurant reservation. We ordered what the menu described as "sliders", expecting mini burgers. What arrived was essentially a single burger patty with cheese inside a plain bread bun, with no lettuce, tomato or anything else. We also ordered the arancini balls, which unfortunately were some of the most disappointing we've had—essentially fried rice balls heavily covered in Parmesan. The online menus really need to be kept up to date, particularly in a resort where alternative dining options often require advance reservations. The food itself was disappointing, but the bigger issue was that we'd made our decision based on a menu published that wasn't actually available. In a resort where dining requires so much advance planning, keeping menus accurate and accessible is really important.
The pizzeria was a much better option. The pizzas were tasty and our first visit was very good. We returned a second evening when it was much busier, and once again the service seemed to struggle when the restaurant was at capacity. We weren't offered the usual bread basket despite paying the cover charge for each person.
We also ate one evening at Osteria La Torre. The food there was very good, but unfortunately the service wasn't at the same level. The team appeared overwhelmed by the number of guests, and we waited around 20 minutes simply to receive our bill.
Despite the above, there are aspects to love about this resort.
The beach is absolutely beautiful and was probably one of the highlights of our stay. Compared with many European summer destinations, the whole beach experience is wonderfully stress-free. Having sun loungers allocated to your room means there is no morning rush or competition to secure a place. We could arrive knowing that a pair of loungers would be available, which makes a huge difference to a relaxing holiday.
The golf-cart transport system around the resort is also excellent. You can easily get between the different areas without having to walk long distances in the heat. Most of the drivers were friendly, smiling and very helpful. There were one or two exceptions where a little more warmth would have been welcome in such a guest-facing role, but overall the service worked extremely well.
The pool at Baia di Chia Resort is another lovely feature. It is peaceful and relaxing, with easy access to the nearby bar, and was a great alternative when we wanted a break from the beach.
And the gelateria deserves a special 10/10. We visited several times and loved it. There were multiple sorbet flavours rather than just one token dairy-free choice, which was particularly appreciated by members of our family who avoid dairy. This was one area where the resort offered both quality and good dietary choice.
Would we return?
Unfortunately, no.
This doesn't mean we had a terrible holiday. We didn't. We enjoyed the beach and there were some genuinely lovely moments during our nine days. The problem is value for money. Last year we spent approximately the same amount on a family holiday in Greece, stayed for even longer, and came away with virtually nothing to complain about. That comparison made the number of inconsistencies here much harder to overlook! When you're paying this level of price for nine nights and two rooms, you shouldn't repeatedly have to chase basic housekeeping, discover that published menus are outdated, receive conflicting information or experience such different standards of service depending on how busy a restaurant happens to be."
