Arbatax Park Resort - Telis

Location: Highly praised for being in a scenic, nature-surrounded area with access to beaches, farms, and attractions like the animal park.

The Arbatax Park Resort is nestled amidst the breathtaking natural beauty of Capo Bellavista, Arbatax. It boasts three private beaches and a sprawling natural park where animals roam freely, often befriending the guests. The panoramic view from the hilltop, amidst the Sardinian donkeys, is simply awe-inspiring. Furthermore, the resort offers a plethora of pools, ideal for children and families alike. The restaurant showcases a quality buffet, again accompanied by a serene vista of the sea. However, that's where the accolades end. Services to explore the resort's surroundings are conspicuously absent. The excursions office will organize two sea tours of the magnificent Golfo di Orosei – one aboard a ship and the other on an inflatable boat – but there's a whole lot more to explore in the vicinity. There are no connections, for instance, to Lido di Orrì (where the resort supposedly has a private area, yet unaccountably unavailable) or to the picturesque Cea's beach, aside from an exorbitantly priced taxi service (€60 to Cea, a staggering sum given the mere 15-20 km distance). Heading north, the Selvaggio Blu trekking path, which leads to the iconic beaches of the gulf (Cala Mariolu, Cala Goloritzé, etc.), goes unmentioned, as does the Trenino Verde della Sardegna, which runs every Friday (a crucial detail to note!) and offers a chance to discover the wild, untamed interior. Moreover, the room I was assigned fell short of expectations for a four-star establishment. A simple thunderstorm was enough to allow rainwater to seep through the ceiling and drench the bed; the bathroom mirror was stained, and the wall was peeling. That same thunderstorm resulted in two blackouts and a protracted interruption of the Wi-Fi for several hours. The reception experience also left much to be desired. Upon checking in, I was merely handed a map of the park, a room number, and the instruction to find my own way. The resort is sprawling and certainly not intuitive initially, and navigating it with relatively heavy luggage was far from ideal. Furthermore, no steward was available to accompany me back to the main entrance on the morning of my departure, despite their presence for the welcoming ride. Frankly, I found this discourteous and smacking of indifference given that I was leaving rather than arriving. To add insult to injury, no one at the resort could provide information on the nearest bus stop. Despite the team's commendable efforts, the entertainment was abysmally lacking, unless you were a five-year-old. Adults could partake in morning stretching, water aerobics, and evening yoga, full stop. There were no games, no more intensive fitness courses (despite the presence of a well-equipped fitness area), and no evening shows (though I was told they were delayed by technical problems). Just some (at times somewhat melancholy) soft-bar evening music by the pool. A special commendation, however, goes to the team of entertainers. Their tireless dedication, despit

Where do I start?! The positives: not your typical beach setting but I kind of love that rocky beach, not your standard looking, the water is crystal clean with loads of fish so great for snorkeling. The majority of staff we encountered during our 5 night stay were friendly, but not all. The views are incredible. But that's just about it for positives I'm afraid. The animal park is great for the kids they loved it and so did we, petting the donkeys, horses etc The negatives: 1. The hotel is sooo outdated. Maybe that's the point for it to be rustic and all but omg its in dire need of a refurb. This is NOT a 4 star by any standard. I'd give it a 2 but I think I'd be quite nice. If you're after staying in a 1960s room then maybe. Had loads of ants in the room, the fittings were poorly fitted with screws showing... Anyway I stayed in 3 starts looking hell of a lot better. Everything is either uphill or downhill, if you're not fit, you'll struggle. 2. We took our kids with us and we booked full board for that reason so we dont have to faf around with breakfast and dinner for them. HOWEVER, one of our biggest disappointments with this place was the food. We were expecting that being in Italy we would have great food at the resort. We were so wrong. The food although not completely horrible, was very under par with anything and anywhere else we'd been, and we'd been in loads of places. The kids options were inexistent almost. No pizza in the buffer for kids IN ITALY?! OMG, not even the basic one? Mind you they had a pizzeria but we had to pay extra ... For pizza ... In Italy. We were so disappointed we went out and ate on two occasions. I asked the guy who was serving the pasta, for a bit more souce and got rejected. I asked why he shrugged his shoulders ..***?! No juices for the kids at lunch or dinner , only at breakfast... Only draft beer, water and wine included. Would we go there again? Definitely not. Would we recommend anyone to go there? Sardinia, yes. Arbatax Park, hell no. It is such a shame the service we received was sub par because the sea and the views are amazing . Anyway, we were truly disappointed by our experience there. You'll have much better time elsewhere for the same or less money.