From sheep to chic: Sardinia has a rush of luxury hotels coming, but it wasn’t always this way
Famed as a place for the rich and famous to hang out, Costa Smeralda is about to get an even bigger dose of luxury, as some of the world’s most exclusive hotel brands plan hotels there. But why now? And how is the island of Sardinia changing?
There have been many headlines recently around a 14 square mile of coast in northern Sardinia. Things have never been exactly quiet on the tourism front on this popular island, but it’s not really been a hotbed of luxury hotel development either.
The rush of hotel news so far this year comes partly as a result of an inevitable activation by current owner Qatar Investment Authority, which has owned Costa Smeralda for just over 10 years. The fund’s deal back then encompassed four leading hotels – the Cala di Volpe, Pitrizza, Romazzino and Cervo Hotel – in addition to the marina Porto Cervo (known for its designer shops) and the highly-ranked Pevero Golf Club, in addition to 2,400 hectares of land.
Working with JLL, deals were signed this year for Hotel Romazzino and the Hotel Pitrizza to be operated respectively by LVMH Hospitality Excellence’s brands Belmond and Cheval Blanc, sparking the initial flurry of headlines. Both hotels were designed in the 1960s by architects Luigi Vietti and Michele Busiri Vici and are about to undergo huge renovation projects.
Belmond’s property will emerge first during the 2024 season, as the Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel, Costa Smeralda, while Cheval Blanc Pitrizza, Costa Smeralda might not be revealed in its full glory until 2026, but will remain operational throughout the works.
Meanwhile, Mandarin Oriental has also announced it will open in mid-2026 in the heart of Costa Smeralda, marking the hospitality group’s fourth venture in Italy. The 83-key Mandarin Oriental, Porto Cervo will feature five restaurants and bars, a Spa at Mandarin Oriental and the Beach Club on Porto Paglia beach.
Changing times
Perhaps the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the global community of Ismaili Muslims and wealthy founder of Costa Smeralda, will be pleased to see such prestigious brands open hotels here. It was love at first sight for him when he saw it, spearheading the development of the ‘emerald coast’ as a corner of paradise for his close friends along a 35-mile stretch of beautiful crystal-clear waters.
Malaria was a big concern on the island at the time, and he was alerted to the island as an investment opportunity by John Duncan Miller, vice president of the World Bank, who was monitoring the progress of a mosquito-eradication project there. Miller shared his enchantment over what he was seeing with a group of investors – including the Aga Khan – and the rest is history.
The Aga Khan’s careful planning of Costa Smeralda meant all buildings were low-rise and made from consistent localised building materials with a vision of integrating traditional Galluran architecture into the surrounding environment. Complete infrastructure had to be installed, from instating a fire brigade for the area to setting up rubbish collection, while all power lines were buried underground to maintain the beauty.
Some say what Costa Smeralda was to become amounted to an over-the-top playground for millionaires and billionaires, with fancy clubs, parties and private yachts clogging up the bays.
These days, there’s more of a hankering for the more genuine aims the Aga Khan had in mind in 1962, and a great deal of nostalgia sits among older residents with respect for how he transformed a rocky part of the island.
Indeed, local authorities are even trying to calm people’s general enthusiasm for the island’s beaches, with a series of new fines and fees this summer. To curtail Sardinia becoming another victim of overtourism, several restrictions have been introduced to try and slow the number of travellers heading to its beaches, including fines of up to €3,500 and nominal fees to access others.
Spiaggia Rosa, for example, is known and loved for its pink sand, but the beach can now only be observed from afar on a boat trip, with walking on it bringing a potential €500 fine following reports of people stealing the sand by the bucketload as souvenirs, something which now carries a penalty of up to €3,500. It’s a similar scenario in the stunning Maddalena national park, where numbers to the archipelago are being capped to restrict access to visitors, who may find they now need to book a slot online and pay €3 per person to visit with a guide.
Meanwhile, under Qatari ownership, Smeralda Holding Group’s long-term strategy since 2017 is stated as being to “enhance and enrich the region” as a best-in-class destination. That’s heralded the introduction of renowned F&B operators such as Nikki Beach, Zuma, Novikov, Beefbar and Matsuhisa, so the arrival of such prestigious global hotel brands of late should come as little surprise.
Another arrival is Rocco Forte Hotels, set to operate a resort in Porto Cervo, jointly developed with Eidos Hotel Capital Partners as a project to transform Hotel Le Palme, with Patricia Urquiola appointed for the interior design of the 64-key hotel. Set to open in 2024, there will also be a spa, three restaurants and panoramic rooftop bar.
Island arrivals
Just a pebble’s throw away is Baja Sardinia, which has a similar natural and architectural sensibility to Costa Smeralda, but without its ritzy reputation. And the area is also home to 7Pines Resort Sardinia, which opened for its first full season this year after a 2022 initial debut.
“Italy generally is having a great moment when it comes to the luxury market,” says 7Pines’ managing director Vito Spalluto, who also adds that Sardinia still offers a rustic contrast too, with travellers well able to see the kind of rural scenes that would have thrilled the Aga Khan.
7Pines even offers the chance to spend the day with a shepherd, understanding their way of life, away from the glitzy shops, marinas and hotels, proving the island is still charmingly rustic in many places; it has more sheep than humans.
“You escape daily normal life and enter a shepherd’s rustic world, eating with them, doing as they do, seeing how they make cheese, how they graze the sheep, it’s a very genuine and local thing to do,” explains Spalluto.
The island is also one of five Blue Zones in the world, known to have particularly high levels of longevity, with the reasons for this believed to be things such as leading an active life; eating a local, Sardinian diet; strong family ties; and of course, a good glass of Cannonau di Sardegna red wine.
Planning ahead
So why the rush of hotels now? Spalluto says: “Hotel owners are looking for a change, and private land owners have been selling off their property too, with great potential. The ADR here [average daily revenue] is really high and within a 20km area you have some of the highest rates in the world.”
The UK market was number two for 7Pines in 2022, helped by British Airways’ direct seasonal flights from Heathrow to Olbia Coast Smeralda Airport. Demand for this year has already been very strong too, but Spalluto admits the unpredictable level of last-minute bookings can be difficult to manage.
The resort was developed (on the site of a smaller existing property) by 12.18, a hospitality investment and management company whose portfolio already includes 7Pines Resort Ibiza, Castle Roxburghe in Scotland and several hotels in Austria and Germany. 7Pines Sardinia has also signed up to be part of Destination by Hyatt, bringing another global brand to the island while simultaneously accelerating 7Pines’ own global reach.
The island’s legendary Forte Village is well known for its sporting academies covering a plethora of activities for all ages and hobbies. And 7Pines has taken a leaf out of that book, with this summer season swelled by a number of Sports Academies at the resort with the likes of footballing ace Gianluca Zambrotta; tennis pros Karel Novacek and Paul Haarhuis; and Olympian gymnast Jury Chechi.
The hotel will also stay open until later in the season, “we will try until 20 October and see – it will still be a wonderful time to be here”, Spalluto says. Keeping people in jobs for longer, and keeping those staff loyal is a big challenge for him – but one he seems to relish. “We have 95% Italian staff – of those, 85% are from Sardinia, something we have worked hard to capture, and I make sure everyone is engaged with what the resort is about. Anywhere can have a beautiful box, but it’s the people that really matter in a hotel.”
Opening opportunities
Meanwhile, Italian brands such as Baglioni are also keen to shore up their presence on the island, having opened Baglioni Resort Sardinia in 2021 in a four-hectare private estate in Tavolara Marine Protected Area on the north-east coast, adding six-bedroom Villa Le Pernici this season.
Also new for this year is an upgraded Mangia’s Santa Teresa, with renovated rooms and wellness spaces in Santa Teresa di Gallura, a small town overlooking the Straits of Bonifacio and Corsica, just 14 kilometres away.
It’s also important to remember that Sardinia is a really big place, and there are of course plenty of homegrown brands on the island already away from the Costa Smeralda bubble who have well-established portfolios, such as Delphina Hotels & Resorts which has eight hotels dotted around the island.
As Spalluto concludes: “Sardinia was always popular but now we have a whole new level of luxury with the arrival of brands such as Cheval Blanc, Mandarin Oriental, Rocco Forte and Belmond – people are really looking at this as an ideal destination. They [investors] really see the opportunity, and travellers appreciate even more the quality of life we have here.”
• April Hutchinson visited Sardinia as a guest of 7Pines Resort Sardinia, part of Destination by Hyatt, where rooms start from approx. £284 per night on a bed and breakfast basis.
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