I would like to make a positive start by saying that the location of the hotel is delightful, being as it is, set in a natural park and right on the beach.
The vast majority of the staff were pleasant and helpful and the dinner menu was, on the whole of good quality and choice. Breakfast was OK, but could have benefitted from a little more variety.The rooms were clean and fairly spacious, plus having the adjoining family rooms was a big bonus with the two bathrooms and balconies. Finally, the childrens' entertainers are very friendly and hardworking and our children enjoyed some of the activities.

Unfortunately though, the negatives outnumbered the positives. The area around the hotel at the front was extremely scruffy and full of litter when we first arrived, creating a negative first impression. There are steep steps up to reception with no-one there to greet us and help with heavy luggage. The pool area is much smaller than the brochure photographs would lead you to believe meaning that when it got busier in the second week it wasn't very pleasant being in the pool. It is also closed over lunch as there are no lifeguards to supervise at this time. Some of the lunchtime bar staff were terse and unfriendly, despite our efforts at cordiality and speaking Italian and the lunchtime menu was limited and expensive.

The main problem though was the level of noise. On arrival we were presented with a daily entertainment timetable. It was clear straight away that in the evening the entertainment went on until 12pm. We had been advised by our travel agents that it finished at 10pm We were however slightly reassured by the fact that the 11-12pm slot was supposed to be the piano bar and therefore we presumed it would be quiet. However on our first night we were dismayed at being kept awake by loud music and a compere shouting down a mic until 12.45 . We had been up since 3am the previous morning due to an early flight and my 11 year old daughter was in tears she was so tired and unable to sleep because of the noise. It didn't help that our room was very near to the back of the stage area.

We complained the next morning and were reassured that it was a one-off and had been a "special occasion". Even so, most nights there was loud music and more shouting until at least 12pm, followed by people returning noisily along the corridors to their rooms. Our children are pretty much ready for bed by 10pm, paricularly after being up early for breakfast, but there was never really any chance of an early night.
Coupled with this was the daytime activities programme. Most mornings there was loud music in the terrace bar from 11am. Then there was often a quiz with a compere (with no concessions for those whose who are not fluent in Italian ) before lunch. At lunch there was a pianist, which was great for the first few days but then began to annoy. Then after lunch more music from the terrace bar. Then at 4pm a speaker was placed by the pool and very loud music (the same tracks every day) was thumped out for the aqua aerobics, which rarely had more than a handful of participants. Then half an hour of quiet then another session of aerobics on the grass by the pool again with a loud thumping sound track. Then more music from the terrace bar, until finally some peace from 6pm until 9pm, when most people are getting ready for and having dinner. Then the kids disco and the rest is history. We complained twice more but there was no change.

It was such a shame; an idyllic setting ruined by noise pollution! Plus, as the hotel really was in the middle of nowhere and as we had been advised by our travel agent that we wouldn't really need a car, we were stuck there. We did have a morning in Alghero, which is not the most attractive of towns, and went on a boat trip on another day and I it was a relief to have a break from the noise.

We are a fun-loving family who enjoy a quiz, games, music and activities like most people. Just not all the time and not at full blast! Even if they had made it alternate days it would have helped. I had visions of leisurely dance lessons, relaxing background music and some fun things for the children to join in with. Ten days in a row of "Barbie Girl" and Rick Astley blaring out constantly would send even the most devoted fans crazy. The compere seemed incapable of going anywhere without the microphone permanently attached to his mouth and unless you were completely fluent in Italian his shouting eventually just became noise too.

All in all a real disappointment! It's a shame that so many family hotels can't get the entertainment/peace and quiet in the right doses. Even the beautiful location would not tempt us back