We were a bit dubious as we had originally booked the Alghero Country Resort Hotel but having realised how far out of town it was and that we'd need to hire a car, which was extremely expensive, we decided to switch hotels at the last minute. We took the bus from the airport to the hotel at an incredible price of just 1 euro each; the journey takes only 15 minutes and the bus stop is but a five minute walk from the hotel. Having read some of the reviews we were a little concerned that the Soleado's location, being right on the main road, would be a problem but this turned out to be unfounded. The hotel is in an excellent location right opposite a clean, white sanded beach just metres from the hotel. Now and again on a gust of wind, there was an odd smell on the beach at times, possibly from the seaweed which washed up on the shore but was cleared away over night. The sea was clean and warm and pleasant to swim in. There is a great little coffee/snack/cocktail shack right outside the hotel serving fantastic coffee at a reasonable price which we frequented on a daily basis as we came off the beach at the end of the day. The hotel swimming pool was also good and very under used so absolutely no problems with sun loungers. There was also always a constant breeze around the pool which was most welcomed in the heat. On the 4th floor is a huge sun terrace with loungers, again with a good breeze, which was barely used by anyone, perhaps because nobody told you it was there (we only knew having read previous reviews on trip advisor). The room was spacious and spotlessly clean with a good shower room and large balcony; we were fortunate to have Room 416 which happens to be the last but one room on the top floor so the balcony was much larger and the bathroom was outside the room footprint unlike other rooms where the bathroom took up space within the footprint of the room. The down side is that the plumbing is extremely noisy so that when your neighbour flushes their toilet, even 4 or 5 rooms away, you can hear it like someone is jet washing the wall behind the bed head, although we don't know if the same could be said of other rooms. It was great to have a fridge in the room too. Breakfast was reasonable with lots of choice and we doubt anyone would eat more at home than was on offer at the hotel. We were half board and were glad to be able to switch between lunch and dinner when we wanted to although the restaurant itself completely lacked atmosphere; stark lighting and no music. Personally, we felt the starter choices were better than the main courses in both terms of size and choice but on the whole it was good. We wouldn't normally go half board but were glad we did as Sardinia is very expensive to eat out; lunch of one main course, bread and a beer and soft drink, cost about £40; dinner with starter and main and wine and beer, about £45 - £60. Would thoroughly recommend Trattoria Dona Isabel for the fabulous service, atmosphere (finally some background music...why does no where else in Alghero seem to have it we wonder???) and great food. The old town is just amazing and the walk along the prom to it each evening was a delight, especially to see the groups of people all sitting on the benches chatting, young and old alike, having a great social time. There is a maze of cobbled streets and a great atmosphere; we only discovered more to it after taking the little shuttle bus tour that goes right in to the heart of the town and along the bastion ramparts on the far side. We saw no anti-social behaviour whatsoever...the UK could learn a lesson from the Sardinians we think! We took the bus to Bosa and also to Stintino both of which are worth a visit and the cost and punctuality of the buses was great. The only thing we missed out on by not having a car was a visit to the Sella & Mosca Vineyard as no buses appeared to go there but apart from that, Alghero is a place where you could quite easily do without a car and we would recommend it.