Hotel Balocco is a uniquely designed 41 room boutique-type hotel located on a hill overlooking Porto Cervo. There are 9 suites and 32 standard rooms.
To write a review that presents the most valuable information to future prospective guests it seems only logical to discuss the good and bad aspects of the Hotel in a fair and balanced manner. Further, it is only fair to the hotel to mention all of the good things along with the aspects I found lacking.
THE GOOD
I think most guests who choose Hotel Balocco will be pleasantly surprised that even to new visitors to the area, the hotel is not that hard to find. From Olbia airport my journey was under 40 minutes and about 40kms. From the road the hotel is very clearly marked and we found the hotel provided plenty of parking. The reception area design and overall layout of the main building is both unique and pleasant. Overall a terrific first impression with a lovely view overlooking the sparkling waters of the port below.
The maintenance and cleanliness of the rooms on a daily basis was really quite good. The only caveat to this, they do seem to use quite a bit of bleach - it can very clearly be smelled when returning post cleaning. If this is a sensitivity, this could be an issue. For us, a few minutes with the patio door open, it aired, and was just fine.
I was excited to see the ample amount of hotel closet space. Being on a longer journey I had quite a bit of clothing and luggage accompanying me. For a smaller sized room, there was more than enough space to properly stow and store everything - and plenty of hangars!
Our patio was small, but rather cute, and the view of the port was just lovely. A nice perch in the evening to sit and watch as the sun set. We did find there to be a lot of ants around. Hardly the fault of the hotel or anyone, just watch your drink or snack you may be enjoying as they tended to find their way into them in rather short order.
The pool area was nicely designed, quiet and relaxing. The pool area also was more than substantial in accommodating the number of guests. The pool chairs were certainly nothing special, but more than adequate for a quiet stay by the pool.
The curtains in the room were substantial and adequately kept out light while sleeping.
Internet and breakfast were automatically included with our stay.
THE BAD
My first impression of the room was a good one, however as I became more settled in several things stood out.
First, the bathroom was unexceptional. The beauty kit left in our bathroom appeared as though it had been rescued from the trash several times, there was no lotion, and the shampoo and bath foam was of very low quality. In fact, after the first night, the very first thing we did the next day was visit a mini-market to purchase some decent shampoo and conditioner. The hotel towels in the bathroom are also relatively small and of very poor quality and would likely be thrown out or retired to rags in most homes. We did notice the hotel out-services it's towel and linen service and would encourage them to pressure their provider for a better quality product or change providers all together. No tissue or Kleenex was provided in the bathroom. There was only one small garbage can provided in the room, this was in the bathroom. It would have been nice to have another in the main area to dispense of rubbish.
There was a wall safe present, but it appeared un-operational, or would require further instruction.
The mini-bar was small and poorly stocked with only a few items in it. If you did select something, the only glasses provided in the room were 2 - 4oz plastic disposable cups. Given we were in Italy and perhaps would like to enjoy a fine glass of wine on our terrace, we asked reception for 2 proper wine glasses. We were told this was not possible, it was a hotel policy and we were offered 2 short stemmed chalice beer glasses. We enjoyed our lovely wine from these glasses for the remainder of our stay :((( not the end of the world, but certainly a disappointing and unexpected policy for a 4 star hotel in a region (Sardinia) known for some terrific wine.
The TV in the room was rather small given the placement of it in the room (the corner). Again, not the end of the world but rather unimpressive.
Lighting and the switching of lights within the room was poorly designed. During the day not an issue when the curtains have been opened, but at night a bit of an inconvenience; for proper lighting we often found ourselves using the bathroom which was reasonably well lit.
Breakfast at Balocco again fell into the category of unimpressive. To be more specific it was very limited and very often depleted by the time we got there (10:00AM). The only hot selections were scrambled eggs and bacon. On 2 occasions during our stay, both of these were completely exhausted near the end of breakfast and nothing remained or was replaced. Further, fruit selections like watermelon were not replaced or present as well. Much of the fruit at breakfast was uncut or prepared and simply left as whole fruit. Not the end of the world, but certainly room for improvement in service standard. The breakfast was the same every day, hence fora longer stay it would have been nice to see some variety. The cappuccino at breakfast was excellent, however you were limited to one. On one occasion I went down for breakfast alone as my spouse was not feeling well. I explained this and asked to return to the room with a coffee or a juice, even offering to bring the cup back, but this request was also denied.
Along the parking lot hedges nearest the hotel side, one area has been infested by a wasp's nest and there are literally 100's of wasps floating around the hedge in the afternoon. The hotel should look at dealing with the issue as we saw several hotel patrons, like ourselves, completely avoid that hedged area and stray into the parking lot to avoid the wasps. Not the end of the world either, unless you get bitten by a bunch of wasps.
THE UGLY
2 small lilac coloured towels were provided for pool and/or beach use. The towels were small and unfortunately did not come anywhere close to covering the poolside chairs. When we requested an additional towel from the pool area we were referred to reception. Reception subsequently declined our request telling us it was hotel policy to provide one guest with one towel. This means unless you purchase or bring additional towels, you will be sitting on a half covered pool chair - not the most sanitary or healthy of policies. For this reason (not wanting to sit in someone else's sweat) we limited our time at the pool. Finally, if you would like clean pool towels, hotel cleaning services do not automatically change them. You must return them to reception and request clean towels.
The internet policy could be the most insane thing I have ever seen from any hotel. Hotel codes are given to guests but they only last for a few hours. Hence, you have to return to reception sometimes 3-4 times daily for internet codes. Further, in our room our devices saw no wifi connection. We were only able to connect on our terrace with our iPads but our iPhone connections were sporadic at best. I run a business and I am reliant on having a proper internet connection. Hence, the poor internet policy and access was very disappointing as it is a pre-requisite in any hotel I choose to stay.
Our room was on the edge of the upper building near the parking lot. Unfortunately, this meant we heard every car door slam, every conversation of returning and departing hotel guests, and the noise from the garbage getting picked up only metres away. Hence I would recommend booking anything as far away from the parking lot as possible, even of it meant sacrificing your view. Further, in our bathroom shower there is a window which every guest in the upper building walks right by (within only a few feet of). Obviously, a poor design choice and not appreciated.
Showering could also be an adventure at Balocco. Water temperature varied greatly from really hot to cold. Nothing you would ever expect in a four star hotel. It again appears to be a design or engineering flaw as it seemed there was plenty of hot water available, but the flow seemed to be intermittently interrupted by something.
Finally, the air conditioning in our room at full operation was unable to maintain a cool room. Given the hot summers of Sardinia, this could be unpleasant to say the least. Our stay was at a time of below average temperatures and rather cool nights and our room still remained quite warm.
In conclusion the very best rating I feel this hotel could ever earn would be 4 stars (given it's water temperature issues and design flaws). Given that hotel policies in place detract from the guest experience, and what the the hotel offers in many way is average or below average at best I feel a 2 star rating is accurate and in some respects generous based on my experience. I hope readers (including hotel management) will find this review accurate, fair and balanced and ultimately useful. Useful in making an informed consumer decision, and useful to improve the overall guest experience.
