The Most Perfect Spa Retreats in Sardinia
With its pristine coastline, white sand beaches and glittering Mediterranean views, this Italian island provides the ideal setting for a stress-busting stay. From Cagliari to Sassari, read on for Culture Trip’s selection of the best spa hotels in Sardinia. Sardinia provides the perfect recipe for a forget-it-all island spa retreat. Whether you want to detox in a Finnish sauna, soothe your skin with seawater therapies or mix up hot and cold in Roman-style baths, you’ll leave these wellness hotels feeling entirely revived.
1. El Faro Hotel & Spa
Spa Hotel, Hotel
El Faro Hotel & Spa squats on a narrow outcrop of land in northwest Sardinia’s rugged Cape Caccia, 14km (9mi) from Neptune’s Grotto, one of the most intriguing marine caves in the Mediterranean. Its luxury spa has open-air treatment spaces overlooking the Caccia’s turquoise waters and sheer cliffs. It also includes an indoor seawater pool, Dead Sea Salt bath consisting of rehydrated salt from the Asian lake, sauna, jacuzzi and a spa bar in which to retox. Adjacent is an outdoor fitness centre surrounded by aromatic pine forest.
2. Eliantos Hotel
Hotel, Spa Hotel
This intimate four-star hotel is situated on Southern Sardinia’s Santa Margherita di Pula, a 10km (6.2mi) stretch of secluded bays and beaches divided by rocky promontories. Most of its 14 rooms and suites have balconies overlooking the pool and gardens, and the on-site spa provides an extensive massage menu, colour therapy, sauna and steam bath. The popular Santa Margherita beach is 400m (1,312ft) away and the ancient ruins of Nora, a major city during the Phoenician and Roman eras, are reached with a 10-minute drive.
3. Inghirios Wellness Country Resort
Resort
Escape to the Inghirios Wellness Country Resort, a 25-minute drive from Sassari, the island’s second-largest city. Its 11 rooms and suites display a modern version of traditional Sardinian decor, and are surrounded by groves of olive and carob trees. The spa has Roman-style baths at varying temperatures, as well as a Turkish bath, Finnish sauna, starlit relaxation space and a varied selection of face and body treatments. One-night pampering packages include an Italian breakfast, spa access and romantic add-ons, such as dinners for two and couples’ massages.
4. Tenuta Pilastru
Independent Hotel
The Filigheddu family welcome you like old friends at Tenuta Pilastrau, a set of luxurious lodges in Northeast Sardinia’s Gallura region. Spread across gardens of centuries-old olive trees, these outdoor-orientated suites sleep up to have five and most have balconies or verandas surveying the greenery and the pool. The soothingly illuminated spa offers a decent range of beauty treatments, a relaxation room with a chaise lounge and an indoor pool and jacuzzi. Sample the estate’s own wine and meat at the on-site restaurant, which specialises in Galluran cuisine.
5. Nora Club Hotel
Spa Hotel
If you want to intersperse your spa sessions with sporty interludes, the four-star Nora Club Hotel is a great option. Located in the lively town of Pula, near southern Sardinia’s finest beaches, the hotel arranges activities such as diving, horse riding and fishing, as well as offering a fitness centre with the latest Technogym equipment and free rental bikes. When you’re done sweating, recover in the Oriental-style spa, where you can recline by the indoor pool, steam in the Turkish bath or sip herbal teas in the relaxation room.
6. Hotel Simius Playa
Hotel
Hotel Simius Playa is situated in the town of Villasimius, overlooking the beach of the same name. Most of its 47 rooms and suites have private balconies with uninterrupted views of the greenery or the Med. The open-air jacuzzi is free to use, whereas facial treatments, massages, manicures and pedicures are available for a surcharge. Drive 10 minutes south to dive or hike in the protected marina park of Cape Carbonara, or to meet the Notteri Pond’s resident pink flamingos. The on-site restaurant serves meat from the hotel’s farm and fish caught from its very own boat.
7. Pullman Timi Ama Sardegna
Chain Hotel
Families heading to southern Sardinia should check out Villasimius’s Pullman Timi Ama, a five-star resort with a huge selection of organised kids’ activities. Separate clubs cater for 4- to 11-year-olds and teenagers, offering daily art and gardening classes, archery, tennis and beach volleyball. When the little and not-so-little ones are occupied, you’re free to hit the spa, where you’ll find a heated seawater pool, jacuzzis, a salt room, an emotional lounge and an ice fountain. You’ll also find seven bars and restaurants on-site, plus a private beach.
8. Hotel La Rocca Baja Sardinia
Hotel, Resort
This all-singing resort lays claim to having the best wellness centre on the Emerald Coast in the north – no mean feat, given that this is one of the island’s most glamorous regions. Looking out over Mediterranean greenery from vast windows, the spa offers everything from thalassotherapy cabins and Finnish saunas to an indoor pool with jets and a chromotherapy shower that alternates cold fog with warm citrus rains. As well as this hedonists’ playground, you’ll also have access to an outdoor pool with a waterfall, private beach and two classy restaurants.
9. The Pelican Beach Resort & Spa
Resort, Hotel
10. Hotel Relais Villa del Golfo & Spa
Resort, Hotel, Villa
11. Cala di Volpe
Hotel
12. Sardegna Termale Hotel & SPA
Hotel
13. Hotel & SPA Riviera Castelsardo
Hotel
Gillian McGuire contributed additional reporting to this article.
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