Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel & Suites — Hotel in Figari/Golfo Aranci

Me and my partner stayed a week at this hotel and was easily the worst hotel experience we have ever had - definitely ruining the holiday which is a shame as Sardinia is such an amazing gem that isn’t too ruined by tourism. I have a lot to get into so strap in!||Firstly let’s talk positives because with any experience, there are some! The view if you get a sea view room is stunning and the pool area is fairly nice. The reception staff were also amazing to us and tried their best to help and be understanding despite the language barrier. I cannot remember the names exactly but I believe two of them were called Monica and Georgia. There was also another woman with curly hair who was also amazing! So a big thank you to them…however the list ends there…||The photos and reviews online of this hotel are EXTREMELY deceiving. The regular rooms are basic but the location is stunning so it almost forces you to a sea view room. Some of the bathrooms are old and some are upgraded. We were unaware of this until we arrived. We got shown our room and were underwhelmed immediately which I’ve never experienced. This is not because the room was basic (it was) but because of the amount paid for the room. At nearly 500€ a night, you expect nice high quality facilities like how it appears online. However we were gobsmacked to find the latter false. The ac unit was yellow and degraded, there was a yellow stain on the bed sheets, the light switches were yellow and stained, the bathroom light was barely visible and made a sound like a helicopter, the cups were dirty in the room, the walls were cheap popcorn and the balcony was yellow and basic and all in all the room was extremely basic and outdated - I understand much of Sardinia is like that but this was poor for the money spent. We could not relax in the room so knew we had to say something. We could not believe how different it was from online photos!||We went to complain and were immediately shown a new room (226), they apologised and showed us the room which was pretty much identical but with the renovated bathroom. Which is the room we SHOULD have had. To be fair the renovated bathroom was very nice (even though the noise persisted from the light) but we were still left feeling underwhelmed at the quality. We spent our first day trying to complain about it and received very little compensation (although the receptionists tried their best and even offered a junior suite for half the trip as the hotel was full at the current time). We were then denied this opportunity when, I presume the owner, came and spoke to us and told us to basically suck it up, don’t be spoilt, justify the errors in the room, pay for an upgrade for a minimal discount or just leave the hotel and lose the deposit because she needs to know so she can sell the room to someone else. She was extremely dismissive and rude. We decided we were trying to draw blood out of stone so left the issue and left feeling unhappy with no compensation. I say that, we were given a fruit platter…thanks. ||We thought we had no choice but to put up with it n try forget (which was hard given the room) but it did not end there! Our room was right next to an elevator and given the building is old, the walls and ceilings are thin so we could hear every movement or object or elevator ding in every direction. We could not fall asleep till 11.30pm only to be woken up at latest 7.30am. I have had better sleep in a hospital! When u cannot sleep or relax the whole holiday it definitely ruins the experience and have come away feeling very bitter. The hotel lobby is also old and outdated and I also find it strange you have to pay for the beach when it’s a free public beach anyway. ||Ironically, a few days later when we had our room turned down, we had stains on our bedsheet again - the same reason we complained mainly in the first place! We had no energy left to complain but when you pay money that can get you 2 weeks and flights in a 5* hotel in dubai, you expect the BARE MINIMUM. Speaking of bare minimum, breakfast was sparse with very little options. Basically bread, yoghurt, cheese, scrambled eggs and a couple variations of pork. The view on the terrace is nice but again everything there is very basic and feels like you are in a dark basement. If it wasn’t for the staff being kind we would have walked out in 48 hours. ||I could keep ranting but I will run out of words. Please please please save your money and find somewhere else and don’t get catfished online. If you are going to go and can suffice the noise and poor breakfast, opt for one of the proper suites as they look new and renovated otherwise don’t waste your money. I have never felt more scammed in my life staying at a hotel and would do anything to rewind time, get my money back and find somewhere else. Me and my partner were unbelievably excited to go here and left feeling like we just went on a disaster holiday. You would have to refund my stay here to delete this review - the worst part is everything I’ve said is true and I’m not being dramatic one bit…SAVE YOUR MONEY & AVOID!!! (Sardinia is a beautiful...

Me and my partner stayed a week at this hotel and was easily the worst hotel experience we have ever had - definitely ruining the holiday which is a shame as Sardinia is such an amazing gem that isn’t too ruined by tourism. I have a lot to get into so strap in!

Firstly let’s talk positives because with any experience, there are some! The view if you get a sea view room is stunning and the pool area is fairly nice. The reception staff were also amazing to us and tried their best to help and be understanding despite the language barrier. I cannot remember the names exactly but I believe two of them were called Monica and Georgia. There was also another woman with curly hair who was also amazing! So a big thank you to them…however the list ends there…

The photos and reviews online of this hotel are EXTREMELY deceiving. The regular rooms are basic but the location is stunning so it almost forces you to a sea view room. Some of the bathrooms are old and some are upgraded. We were unaware of this until we arrived. We got shown our room and were underwhelmed immediately which I’ve never experienced. This is not because the room was basic (it was) but because of the amount paid for the room. At nearly 500€ a night, you expect nice high quality facilities like how it appears online. However we were gobsmacked to find the latter false. The ac unit was yellow and degraded, there was a yellow stain on the bed sheets, the light switches were yellow and stained, the bathroom light was barely visible and made a sound like a helicopter, the cups were dirty in the room, the walls were cheap popcorn and the balcony was yellow and basic and all in all the room was extremely basic and outdated - I understand much of Sardinia is like that but this was poor for the money spent. We could not relax in the room so knew we had to say something. We could not believe how different it was from online photos!

We went to complain and were immediately shown a new room (226), they apologised and showed us the room which was pretty much identical but with a renovated bathroom. Which is the room we SHOULD have had. The renovated bathroom was very nice (even though the noise persisted from the light) but we were still left feeling underwhelmed at the quality. We spent our first day trying to complain about it and received very little compensation (although the receptionists tried their best and even offered a junior suite for half the trip as the hotel was full at the current time). We were then denied this opportunity when the owner, came and spoke to us and told us to basically suck it up, don’t be spoilt, justify the errors in the room, pay for an upgrade for a minimal discount or just leave the hotel and lose the deposit because she needs to know so she can sell the room to someone else. She was extremely dismissive and rude. We decided we were trying to draw blood out of stone so left the issue and left feeling unhappy with no compensation.

We thought we had no choice but to put up with it n try forget but it did not end there! Our room was right next to an elevator and given the building is old, the walls and ceilings are thin so we could hear every movement or object or elevator ding in every direction. We could not fall asleep till 11.30pm only to be woken up at latest 7.30am. I have had better sleep in a hospital! When u cannot sleep or relax the whole holiday it definitely ruins the experience and have come away feeling very bitter. The hotel lobby is also old and outdated and I also find it strange you have to pay for the beach when it’s a free public beach anyway.

Ironically, a few days later when we had our room turned down, we had the exact same stains on our bedsheet again - a few other weird things happened in our room after cleaners too...We had no energy left to complain but when you pay money that can get you 2 weeks and flights in a 5* hotel in dubai, you expect the BARE MINIMUM. Breakfast was sparse with very little options. Basically bread, yoghurt, cheese, scrambled eggs and a couple variations of pork....

Has a lot of potential…. We stayed in July 2022 the hotel is set in a beautiful location with breathtaking ocean views, a private beach and pool. This all sounds like heaven but it’s unfortunately poorly managed. It’s not run down, actually quite the opposite but the management seem to want to draw you in with glitz n glamour to then charge additional fees for the most basic privileges. Oh and a huge problem with this Hotel are the paper thin walls! It’s actually annoying beyond belief which is the main reason we won’t be coming back. It’s a shame because it does have the potential to be excellent by making some simple changes to the silly rules and additional fees.

If you like a good nights sleep this hotel definitely isn’t the place for you. We were abruptly woken constantly via loud clunking, doors slamming, kids screaming, chairs and tables being dragged etc etc! The sounds echo loudly due to the hollow acoustics and paper thin walls/ceilings. We complained a few times about this and asked to move rooms but our complaints were out right dismissed without an apology. No/Not possible are the managements favourite words here which is extremely frustrating.

The best way to sum this up for potential guests and constructive criticism for the management are my below lists of pros and cons:

Cons are

[ ] No/not possible is a common phrase at this hotel. [ ] Very hard Uncomfortable beds that are actually two singles pushed together to make a queen bed. [ ] Extremely loud noises coming through walls and ceiling day and night. [ ] No iron in the entire hotel (apparently) [ ] You can’t lay on the beach without a rented lounger @ $30+ per person per day, your not allowed to use a beach towel on the sand. [ ] No drinking water or ice provided unless paid for at the bar. [ ] The pool is nice but there’s only a limited amount of loungers and many are reserved for the apartments overlooking the pool. There’s also far to many screaming children at the pool to enjoy it. [ ] Extremely poor internet connection via wifi, if your looking to stream anything don’t even bother, you’ll just be buffering for hours.

Pros

[ ] Very nice location with stunning views [ ] Friendly staff but they are unfortunately limited to silly management rules. [ ] Good sized modern rooms with fantastic sea views and a nice bathroom. [ ] Free parking but please note, it’s street parking so at a first come first served basis and there are lots of residential properties that park there too. If hiring an SUV you’ll definitely struggle to find a spot. [ ] Lovely pool to enjoy when you can get a lounger. [ ] The sea water is beautiful to swim in, in July it’s roughly 25 degrees. [ ] Lovely beach but very crowded [ ] Bathroom towels changed twice per day if required.

So if the management offered the following it would be a 4-5 star experience.

Offer paying guests free drinking water from filtered dispensers.

Offer loungers at the beach for a much lower fee than €30 to €50 per person per day, this is actually daylight robbery and most loungers were empty due to the high rates. Make it €10 and actually fill them.

If guests complain regarding lack of sleep due to noise disturbances actually follow this up and act on it! We had 6 restless nights and in my eyes we should be compensated for this. For the sake of future guests, at a bare minimum install furniture gliders on chairs.

Don’t be cheap and supply an iron in the rooms, this was extremely frustrating not being able to iron cloths.

Upgrade the beds with memory foam toppers.

And finally actually listen to guests concerns, act on them...