The first thing to say about the Luci Del Faro is that it really is off the beaten track - literally! As is mentioned in the directions, the tarmac road finishes long before one can see the hotel, and the approach is along a dusty dirt track for several hundred yards, across a beach car park, then some more track, and then one is greeted with a sign saying “No Way Out”. Shades of Hotel California! But then one is at the hotel, and a little bit of heaven.
What the Luci Del Faro does is peace and tranquillity. There is no traffic noise, no aircraft noise, no disco noise - nothing. Occasionally one hears a dog bark in the distance, and at dinner they play music in the restaurant, but that is about all.
We had a lovely room on the first floor - I’m told that in Sardinia there is a law prohibiting the building of anything more than two stories high within three kms of the coast - and although we could not see the sea from our room itself, we could sit on our huge shady balcony and watch the sun go down over the Isola San Pietro across the strait. The room itself was large - big enough for a table and two chairs between the bed and the doors leading onto the balcony without feeling cramped. It was not luxurious - this is only a three star hotel - but very effectively furnished with plenty of storage space and a good safe big enough to take a laptop. The bed seemed a little on the hard side of comfy but good firm pillows were provided and we slept reasonably well. There was no bath - I suspect that water is in short supply in such a remote place - and the shower lacked pressure, but sufficed.
The hotel is built around the swimming pool, which is superb. It is big and deep. I never did get to the bottom diving in at the deep end - no silly signs banning diving here - and even the shallow end was up to my shoulders. Not ideal for children, perhaps, but it was a very good place to have a relaxing swim and then read a book on one of the many loungers on the grass beneath the trees surrounding it.
Meals are taken on a covered terrace overlooking the sea. Breakfast was reasonable, though with pretty indifferent coffee from a machine unless you ask for a proper cappuchino. The table d’hote evening meal gave a couple of options for each course and was very acceptable both in terms of price and quality.
The Luci Del Faro is not, I would think, a place for a family holiday, though they do have a small play area, a good tennis court and a ping pong table. Having a car is highly desirable, although the hotel runs a shuttle to Calesetta and the beach if required. The nearest beach - the Grand Spiagga - is a longish walk or a short drive back up the track, and is excellent. Calesetta itself is a ten minute drive away and is virtually untouched by tourism, which is refreshing, but there are few attractions there. Do take the ferry across to Carloforte on San Pietro. Steps, narrow streets and winding alleyways abound, reminding me of Bellagio on Lake Como, and it has a number of very good restaurants.
We just loved our stay at the Luci Del Faro. The staff were charming and helpful, though speaking little English or any other language for that matter, and for us, a couple of a certain age, the whole experience was wonderfully relaxing - just as a good holiday should be. The only criticism I would have is that the garden seemed to lack the attention it deserved. The lawns around the pool were dying for lack of water, as, more seriously, were the geraniums in the pots around the restaurant. The chef should have spotted that detail and sorted it out!
