Some of the reviews of this hotel dating back to 2006 did not reflect our experience in 2008, so I thought I should update your site with a more recent review. First the place. Porto Cervo is a fantastic setting BUT this is a summer destination which, apart from between late June to early September, is as dead as a dodo. So, even though the weather may be nice in the low season, don't expect a full range of restaurants and shops to be open. The hotel itself is just great - about 40 rooms and it is of just the right size to give you a very personal experience. The staff are friendly and very helpful. Everywhere you go in the hotel you are met with a cheery greeting and a smile. The hotel has no restaurant but the breakfast is good as long as your need for a cooked breakfast focuses in on scrambled eggs. Otherwise there are plenty of fresh bread/toast ,cereals, cold meats, cheese and jams/marmalades. A very pleasant lunch bar is available serving pasta, snacks and drinks by the pool. The rooms themselves are smallish but very pleasant and most open on to a balcony with absolutely terriffic views over Porto Cervo marina to the sea beyond. Some web sites say that ALL the rooms open to a balcony - BUT THIS IS UNTRUE. A few, sold as 'without sea views', are extremely pokey and dark and only have a very small window (2ft x 2ft) opening on to a covered courtyard which serves as a washing line. Whatever you do avoid these rooms - they are absolutely terrible - but, thankfully, there are not many of them. Our week's stay was very pleasant and we will certainly go back.

We booked the hotel through www.cognoscentiworld.com (they are very nice by the way). Travel time from Olbia airport - approximately 40 minutes. The hotel itself is just up a hill above the Marina and the town but it only takes a minute by car to zip down. You can cut through down the hill to the marina (probably about 10 minutes walk). Walking into town would be a bit of a trek though. The hotel is lovely, the travel agent noted down that it was our honeymoon and we were upgraded with a bottle of champagne waiting for us when we entered the room. Upon checking in, the lady at reception was lovely (Ana) and she was very helpful with regards to getting a porter to help us with our bags and with restaurant recommendations and local attractions. Room breakdown:- - Terrace - fantastic view - The room cleanliness - very clean, as were the soft furnishings and sheets. (The room was cleaned very well every day, magically they worked around us knowing when we were out) - Pool - a relaxing haven with a bar and barman who will come and take your order. It is really well kept, as is the whole of the hotel - Breakfast - was basic, I preferred to take the couple of steps to the Spinnaker cafe for a cappuccino and pastry. Having said that, the breakfast room has lovely view. - Parking - is 2 seconds away from the rooms There is an EXCELLENT restaurant just a few seconds up the road called Spinnaker. We were at the hotel for 7 nights and practically lived here during meal times. They have a cafe next door which is great for an afternoon cappuccino or breakfast where they have a lovely selection of pastries. There is a nice buzz around the cafe and the neighbouring local shops. The manager and the staff are extremely friendly and the food, just as good as any in Porto Cervo but at a reasonable price (we tried a few places). The cafe have a good selection of ice cream too by the way. The neighbouring shops are a touristy shop selling beach paraphernalia, next to that is a fancy pasta and other traditional food shop and a great mini supermarket (which sells everything from fruit, alcohol, cheese etc.). I have to admit, Porto Cervo is not my ideal stopping gap. Out of season, it is rather clinical because it is new but by car you can very easily reach more interesting towns and beaches.

We thought this looked like a lovely, romantic hotel -- BUT it was not!! We were given the wrong room, without balcony, when we arrived even though we had the email confirmation printed out and i had called to make sure it was all set. We were told that there were no other rooms available so we'd have to stick with it. Also, the desk staff lied about the distance to Centro, saying that it was 100m from the hotel -- meanwhile it was a 30-minute walk on the side of winding roads without sidewalks. Also there was NO shuttle to the beach as stated on the website. Other BIG problems included dirty/stained towels that arrived day after day, being given wet pool towels, and many, many ants in our bed, crawling down from the oh-so-not-romantic stained cloth four-poster bed. Worst of all, we had the cleaning staff walk in on us several times, even though the "non distrubare/do not disturb" sign was on the door!! No knocking or anything... They said that HAD to give us new towels, despite the sign! And the towels were stained.... We left the hotel VERY DISAPPOINTED -- hardly worth all of our wedding gift checks!!!!!!!!

Balocco is a lovely hotel set in the hills of Porto Cervo. Although it is some distance from the port and nearby beaches, it's setting is still very much picturesque. The grounds are lovingly looked after and the staff are really helpful and pleasant. Be aware of the fact that the Hotel does not have a restaurant on site so you might have to leave and venture forth in order to grab a bite. I recommend Spinnaker just up the road towards Palau. Porto Cervo is an extremely posh area with boutiques that range from Gucci to Bulgari so be awares of where you pop in for a drink - the bars on the main square are particularly bad for a ripping off.

Das Balocco ist ein klasse Hotel in dieser Region, die Zimmer sind sehr preiswert mit vernünftigen Raten und augezeichneter Einrichtung und Service. Das Hotel hat auch einen schönen Pool, der manchmal etwas voll wird, die Zimmer sind hell und gut eingerichtet mit guter Klimaanlage und Dusche. Das Personal ist sehr höflich und hilfsbereit, das einzig Negative war das Frühstücksbüfett, das etwas mehr Speisen für den englischen Touristen hätte bieten können, sowie etwas Schinken, Würste und Bohnen, statt dem kontinentalen Frühstück.