A rural gem that we discovered 'by accident', which goes to prove that miracles still happen.

A last minute holiday opportunity coincided with a new Ryanair route, to a destination totally new to us, which lead to a search for a rural retreat not too far from Alghera airport in north-eastern Sardinia and, hey-presto, we found the Funtanarena Hotel. With terms like 'fun' and 'tan' one just has to be intrigued - and we were.

An exchange of warm, friendly emails found us booking for two nights. That was our one mistake, for we should have stayed longer.

The flight arrived late at night and our drive in pitch black made us feel a little anxious over the last few kilometres, but we arrived safely, were greeted and taken to a very spacious bedroom. The next morning we went down to the large dining room, to find to our amazement that we were the only guests in the Hotel. The season had virtually finished; some Americans were expected in a weeks time and they... more