Cervo Hotel, Costa Smeralda Resort — Hotel in Alzachèna/Arzachena

Let me start by saying this is a 5 star resort / hotel that should have that 5 star taken away. |DO NOT STAY HERE!!!!! |Our flight in was delayed so we were 1 hour late getting to the hotel, no big deal. Well, we made a reservation at ZUMA on our own (within the same complex and I HIGHLY recommend ZUMA). We got in and asked the concierge if he could call and see if we could move our reservation by thirty minutes. He did NOT want to do so since we did not book through him. Not big deal.... we go to our rooms and only open our bags to change from our travel clothes to something appropriate for dinner. This is where the issues began. IT WAS SO SO SO HOT in our rooms - one of which was an upgraded room with a walk out to the pool (which was not good). We get dressed and are sweating before we walk out to the lobby. We stopped by the front desk and told them that is was super-hot in both rooms and asked them if there was an issue. We did not have time to stand there for an answer, so we went to dinner. Dinner lasted about 3 hours, and then we walked back to the hotel. We get back in our rooms and it was so miserably hot that we could not sleep. I got in the shower and turned the water all the way cold, just to cool down and wash off the sweat before getting into bed. Into the bed that we had to throw the covers off because it was so hot. We slept with the door open because the breeze outside helped with the MISERABLY hot room. About 2 hours into being in our room, me (upgraded room) and my friend (one level down) both called the front desk and asked if there was a fan that could be brought to the room. The manager on duty responded to both of us --- separately --- saying that there were no more fans to take to rooms because they were all being used. He then told us that there was an issue with the hotel's ac unit and that all rooms were experiencing this stagnant, HOT situation. So, we hardly slept our first night. ||Second day, both of our rooms had someone come in and replace the air filter and say that it should have been replaces at least a MONTH EARLIER!!! My friends notices that the floor to ceiling curtains in their room were being sucked into the intake of the ac unit in their room, so they went to the front desk to ask if the curtains could be opened or pinned up. We went to breakfast on site and returned to our rooms to change for the day and housekeeping knocked on my friend's door. She came in and literally cut and hemmed the curtains so that they would not be sucked into the intake part of the ac unit. We were baffled by this. The seamstress then tells us that it should have been done months before. We leave to go to lunch in the hotel and are sat at a table outside on a beautiful day. A server comes up and asks us if we would like a drink menu and we respond yes, but can we go ahead and get a few glasses of water. The water was dropped off and that was it. Well, 27 minutes later and the server never came back up to our table. We got annoyed by this and said we were leaving. On the way out, we get stopped by the server saying there that we needed to pay for the bottle of water. Sure, no problem, but we let him know that we sat and waited on service for an unacceptable amount of time. ||Third day, we go to the front desk again and complain about the experience we had the first night, into the second day. We start the conversation about some soft of compensation for NOT HAVING ANY WORKING AC for the first nearly 16 hours of our stay. We were told the manager was not on site and the front desk team took down our complaints and our request to see a manager. ||Last day, we go visit the sister hotel and were told be the receptionist that there was a discount for all f/b, pool chairs, etc. since we were staying at Cervo Hotel. We had to check out at 11 and were told to go to the sister hotel for lunch if we had time. We get to the sister property and are greeted and told that we get a 50% discount on the buffet because we paid $12,000 to stay at Hotel Cervo. Well, we are seated by the hostess and the server comes up and tells us that we need to sign what appears to be a bill for the full amount of the buffet (i think it was $250pp). We caught this and asked why the discount was not applied and we were told that because we checked out of Hotel Cervo 45 minutes earlier, the discount would not apply. Super annoying but whatever. We return to the lobby of the hotel and ask for a glass of wine and (2) diet cokes. We drink those quickly and decide to go elsewhere for lunch. We are then presented with a $100 USD bill for a glass of wine and (2) diet cokes. We asked if the Coca-Cola had gold in it and were told that there is a minimum spend anywhere on property that serves f/b and that min is $100.00 ----- just another thing that we were not told by the Cervo Hotel staff when they referred us to the sister property for lunch. Annoyed by this, we get a car (which was $40 usd one way) to head back to the hotel. At this point, we are super frustrated without entire stay and have 5 hours before our flight, so we decide to sit in the lobby. I get up and go talk to the receptionist (Matteo) again to complain about our stay and to again request some kind of compensation. (I feel it necessary to remind anyone reading this that this hotel is expensive.... if it were $200 a night, we would not have pushed the issued, but it was far, far more and is a 5-star rated property). Matteo tells us that the manager is not on site and he asked for our Marriott Rewards #'s and our phone numbers and email addressed. We provide all of that and sit for about 2 hours waiting until we need to leave for the airport, hoping the manager would return to the property, or, as Matteo said, would respond to the phone calls from him. That never happened. Now we have to leave for the airport, so we go back to the desk and ask what next steps are. We are read our Marriott rewards numbers again and assured that someone would contact us with 24 hours. Fast forward 6 days and we have sent 3 emails and left 2 messages with the front desk asking for a return call. We never received a call back. We called MULTIPLE times and were told each time that the manager was not on site. Finally we call and get to speak to the manager who offers us 15,000 points. I tall her that I am not marriott loyal and that i would like a refund for our first night stay. We were told that she needed to speak with her director and that we would get a call back. the call back never came. |We decided to escalate this issue to marriott corporate and were given the run around. Finally, after a month and a half of emails and no phone calls back, we accepted 92,000 points (one room night at this property is over $1000 usd, so 92,000 points does nothing). We expressed our immense dissatisfaction with this resolution. ||I should note now that while we were sitting in the lobby for 2 hours, a couple came to the front desk to report that a pair of earrings were missing from their room. The receptionist says to the couple (from Dallas, TX) " housekeeping did not go into your room while you were out for lunch." The woman replies, " well, someone made the bed, restocked the bathroom, rearranged my jewelry on the dresser and opened the curtains." To this, Matteo replies that housekeeping only entered the room to open the curtains. This caught my attention, because just before this, he told the woman that no one went into her room. She asked to file a complaint and was told that the manager was not on property but to return to the front desk in the evening to speak with the manager and file the complaint.||The only decent thing about this property is that it is walking distance to ZUMA. ||This hotel is AWFUL and extremely overprices. Drinks are mediocre, service is AWFUL, food was subpar (go to zuma or go to the grocery store on property or across the street to the sandwich shop). ||We travel quite a bit and I can honestly say that the experience we had with the "management" at this hotel and our issued with service and the ac make this my worst hotel / resort experience ever. ||There are far more economical places to stay that have working ac. ||If you check the hotel's instagram posts and look at the comments, you will see some concerning things. Do yourself a favor and do...

We just arrived home from Sardinia and I would like to start my review by saying that Cervo Hotel is stunning. The setting is spectacular, the rooms are clean, comfortable and spacious, the breakfast is great and the staff are friendly and very helpful. The private beach is small, but beautiful. We spent a few hours there which was tranquil and relaxing but limited after that. The pool is similar, but ideal for a few hours to make a plan in the morning.||Unfortunately, after that I haven’t got many positive things to say about Porto Cervo. It is by far the most over priced place I have ever been and it’s left a bitter taste in my mouth after leaving there. I don’t mind paying for quality but this place has been over inflated by its super rich clientele and you end up paying ridiculous prices for a mediocre product.||Example 1 Il Portico was the first bar we went in and it set the tone for the weekend. We had ordered a 330ml bottle of Peroni, a glass of Prosecco and a tray of fries. The bill came to €72 which was made up of €22 for the Peroni, €30 for the Prosecco and €20 for fries. I’ve been to Dubai, Vegas, Paris, Dublin and Sydney, which are all expensive for drinks, but €22 for a 330ml bottle of lager is by far the most expensive I have ever bought 😬|Example 2 Hotel Cervo controls the taxis in the area and the meter goes up quicker than any taxi I’ve ever been in (approximately 10 cents per second). We went to San Pantaleo one day and the hotel taxi there cost €100 whereas the Uber back was €70. Our taxi from the airport on a Saturday evening cost €90 whereas our hotel taxi back to the airport on a Tuesday midday cost €131 on the meter. Absolute daylight robbery 💰 ||Example 3 We went for food in Al Pescitone on our last night. We had had a late lunch in Cannigione so decided to settle for a main course and a couple of drinks. I ordered one of their signature dishes which was fried seafood and my wife ordered the Angus beef. Neither came with a potato based side so we ordered a portion of roast potatoes. I had 2 bottles of Peroni and my wife had a glass of Prosecco and a chamomile tea. The food was decent but nothing revolutionary or resembling Michelin Star quality food. The bill came to an eye watering €228 for two mediocre mains, a side and 4 drinks.||The average price of a 330ml bottle of beer in Porto Cervo is about €16-18.||For any people who read this and haven’t got an endless amount of money in their bank and still want to go to Porto Cervo / Sardinia then these would be my top tips|• Don’t stay in Porto Cervo. There isn’t enough to keep you entertained for more than one day and it is ridiculously expensive to stay there or leave there once you’re there. I would recommend staying in Olbia, which is bigger and more reasonably priced. It is also more central to visit little villages like San Pantaleo and Arzachena. Porto Cervo is worth a visit, but arrange transport in and out yourself so they can’t rip you off.|• Hire a car. We spent over €550 on taxis over 4 days. The public transport isn’t reliable and hiring a car will allow you to visit numerous places at your own leisure. |• Don’t drink from the mini bar - another rip off|• Book a boat trip around la Maddalena before you get there, but don’t book it through the hotel as they will have your pants down again||We probably didn’t do enough research before we booked but it was an eye opener for...

Our perception on our arrival for our four night stay at this hotel was immediately enriched by the hotel's front door staff's very warm welcome, seamless and fast early check in coupled with a very generous upgrade to a glorious top floor suite.

A special thank you to Antonella who introduced herself and greeted us at check in and made us feel truly privileged guests.

Service was generally superb with a "prego" and smile from the restaurants to housekeeping. Particularly and consistently impressive was the front desk staff and the valet parking from our arrival and during the frequent use of the rental car throughout our entire stay.

The hotel is for its early 1960's construction understandably a tad dated but is still uniquely quaint yet chic and very well maintained and furnished.

Shortly after check in, we took advantage of the pool area which is adequate without being opulent. Staff on board were mostly prompt in assisting with the set up of lounges which were plentiful and supplying of towels. The ambiance of the pool area however compromised by being alongside a long row of gym equipment being used outside on the pool terrace. A couple of lux touches missing also were the supplying of water and the offering of a second towel.

Taking advantage of the complimentary shuttle boat to the hotel's private beach is just plain good fun as a journey in itself and should not be missed albeit as other reviewers have noted the facilities at the beach are limited

Our room was of a high standard but was missing again a couple of 'better' hotel finishing touches. For example our lovely suite had only standard Sheraton bathroom amenities and despite having multiple fridges and mini bar had no wine glasses! As usual with Italian hotels, no kettles, coffee machines or irons are available.

Agostino is a real star at breakfast and a great asset to the hotel (with rumours of him having been the last head waiter to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed untested) although some of the younger support staff are not quite as charming or service orientated. The offerings at breakfast are a little short but nonetheless more than reasonable. The adding of a glass of Proseco would be a great initiative.

Porto Cervo is obviously an expensive travel destination (which would give Monte Carlo and Geneva a fair run) and this will inevitably impact on your stay especially if you always dine or drink at the nearby bars and restaurants or in the hotel.

One last tip is a must being to hire a car and avoid being held to ransom by the exorbitant taxi prices and to allow you the opportunity to explore including dining at the many great restaurants outside the immediate...