Italy

7Pines Resort Sardinia occupies a rocky headland at Baja Sardinia on the island's northern coast, facing the marine protected waters of the Maddalena archipelago, ten minutes by car from Porto Cervo. Opened in 2022 as part of Destination by Hyatt, the resort spreads across 15 hectares of fragrant gardens designed by Piazza Martiri 7, its interiors built from juniper-wood fixtures, hand-woven textiles, and island stone—the kind of place where bare feet feel right. Seventy-five rooms and suites sit in three zones: the Gardens, close to the main pool amid palms and shrubs; the Laguna, an adults-only enclave around a quiet lagoon pool; and the Sea Views, steps from the sand. Every room comes with a House Bar stocked with cocktail tools and premium spirits, turning your terrace into an aperitivo station. Paths wind through the gardens to five secluded coves, some with entrances only guests seem to know.

Capogiro earned a Michelin star in 2026 under Chef Pasquale D'Ambrosio, who shapes Sardinian seafood and seasonal produce into modern Mediterranean plates on a sunset-facing terrace. Poolside Spazio by Franco Pepe—twice named the world's best pizzaiolo—turns long-fermented dough and island ingredients into creations like the Margherita Sbagliata. Cone Club is the resort's pulse: conical structures on coastal rock that serve as beach club by day and DJ lounge at sundown. Pure Seven Spa wraps around a garden courtyard with Turkish bath, sauna, ice shower, and Kneipp circuit, all treatments using organic, vegan, paraben-free products. Tennis, padel, basketball, and watersports fill active hours; yoga and meditation unfold on the clifftop to the sound of waves. KIO kids' club gives younger guests nature-based play. 7Pines is not the kind of resort that asks you to dress up—it is the kind that makes you want to kick off your shoes and leave your phone behind.

Hotel Pitrizza commands one of the most secluded coves on Sardinia's Costa Smeralda, five kilometers from Porto Cervo. In 1963, architect Luigi Vietti drew the hotel into the hillside above Liscia di Vacca Bay using granite, terracotta, and dark timber from Sardinian earth—a property so woven into juniper and olive groves that Vietti noted it was invisible from sea, land, or sky. Forty-nine rooms and suites scatter across gardens and sea-facing rock, finished with hand-carved stone and painted tiles. Sunlight floods through floor-to-ceiling windows; every room opens to a balcony or terrace framing garden canopy or emerald sea. Categories run from the Classic Room to the Deluxe Pool Suite, each generous yet unforced. Sixteen villas add private pools and full living quarters for families—the three-bedroom Pitrizza Pool Villa tops 200 square meters, with sea views from every angle.

The Grill overlooks pool and bay, its kitchen built around the island's sun-ripened produce: charcoal-grilled catch of the day and local vegetables perfume the terrace. Bar Pitrizza takes over from afternoon through midnight, Sardinian botanicals shaken into cocktails best sipped while light shifts across the water. The saltwater pool, hewn from native granite, appears to grow from the coastal rock itself, its briny water meeting a private beach steps away. A wellness center offers face and body treatments; the fitness center stays open around the clock. Tennis, padel, and a full roster of watersports fill active days, while a dedicated kids' club and garden keep children three to twelve engaged under attentive care. Hotel Pitrizza suits travelers with no interest in being seen and every intention of disappearing into the Mediterranean. For over sixty years it has done the same quiet thing—letting stone, seawater, and sunlight tell the whole story.

On the northeastern edge of Sardinia, along the coast known as the Costa Smeralda, Romazzino is what Belmond calls Sardinia's original beach hotel. It rests on a green outcrop above an emerald bay, with one of the island's loveliest white-sand beaches, Spiaggia del Romazzino, at its feet. The whitewashed, red-tiled, gently curving buildings are the work of architect Michele Busiri Vici, built in the 1960s, lending the resort an enduring retro-chic elegance. Life here follows the unhurried Sardinian rhythm, la vita sarda: wake to waves on the rocks, and let afternoons dissolve among the gardens and terraces. There are just 100 accommodations in all, 78 rooms, 16 suites, and 6 private villas, each with a terrace, a marble bathroom, and views of either the sea or the gardens. The Romazzino Suite and Smeralda Suite take in 180-degree views of the bay, while the three-bedroom pool villa, Villa Principe, is named for Spiaggia del Principe, the beach beloved of the Aga Khan IV.

The dining unfolds along the shoreline. The main restaurant, La Terrasse, serves refined modern Sardinian and Italian cooking on a terrace above the moonlit bay; closer to the water, Éntu e Mari brings freshly grilled seafood to within a few steps of the waves. An aperitivo belongs at the elegant Bar Ginepro, a lazy afternoon at the Pool Bar. Two outdoor pools, one freshwater and one seawater, sit ringed by sun loungers, while the private beach comes with full service and secluded cabanas. The Rosemary Spa is a place to slow down, and the outdoor gym, tennis and padel courts, putting green, and sailing and diving turn the whole coast into a playground. Families are especially well looked after, with a Kids' Club, supervised activities for children, and a seasonal cooking school. Romazzino never rushes to perform the glamour of the Costa Smeralda; it simply gives you a quietly beautiful place you will want to return to each evening.