Rooms

A chic rustic style waits - nicely uncluttered, easy on the eye. During renovation the rooms were stripped back to their bare essentials, keeping them true to their old roots. Then vibrant colours and elegant materials were added, leaving little need for further embellishment. It’s all utterly lovely. You find wooden ceilings, beautiful beds, shuttered windows and smart fabrics. One room overlooks the courtyard and has a small chandelier, another has a well-upholstered armchair. Two stand at the top of the same staircase, so are good for families or friends. All have lovely big wardrobes, atmospheric lighting, crisp linen and flowers everywhere. Also: flat-screen TVs, air conditioning, and power showers in compact bathrooms where gilded mirrors hang above the basin.

Across the courtyard 2 Suites have been added since our visit. They are a little bigger and a little further from the small lane that runs to the front of the house, therefore nice and quiet, though the lane itself is much ignored and only the occasional scooter zooming past will remind you it's there. If the rooms in the main house are anything to go by, these will be absolutely lovely, but reports gratefully received.

Features include:

• Hairdryer
• WiFi

Eating

Breakfast will defeat the best intentions of dedicated weightwatchers. You eat in the dining room - golden stone walls, a pale blue wooden ceiling, fresh flowers all over the place. You’ll find bowls of rolls, fruit salad, jugs of juice and an array of cakes and pastries that will make you think you’ve woken up in a patisserie. There’s tea and coffee, too.

Guests can use a small kitchen off the sitting room to make tea and coffee during the day, perhaps even prepare light snacks - plates of cheese and ham, fresh bread, a glass of chilled wine. There are tables and chairs in the courtyard so you can eat in the sun. At night, if you don’t want to eat out, you can bring home a pizza and grab a drink from the honesty bar.

My Dream, the pizzeria, isn’t far either - 150m from the front door. It offers a good pizza and, like most pizzerias on Sardinia, it's cheap. Osteria La Forchetta is a hit with locals and hungry travellers alike, serving up classic Sardinian seafood. A few hundred metres south of the Old Town off a dusty road that leads into the country, there’s a good table at the best agriturismo in the area (Le Vigne Ducali), where you eat your host’s meat and vegetables and wash it all down with his wine - food metres, not food miles. Finally, 10km away in Siurgus Donigala you’ll find Il Vicoletto (the little street), where you eat fabulous traditional fare in tapas style, giving you the chance to taste lots of local delicacies. Ask the owners for directions.

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Honesty bar
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Take a cooking class led by a lady from the village. You'll learn typical hand-made Sardinian dishes, eg ravioli with ricotta
  
  
• Spin east 15km to Barúmini and the World Heritage site of Su Nuraxi, the finest and most complete Nuraghic settlement on the island. Built on a hill, it dates to 1500BC and gives big views across the plains
  
  
• Back in Mandas, check out the Old Town’s museums: the Ethnographic Museum, where you step back in time, and the Museum of the Sacred Heart with its glittering array of silver. There are 2 pretty churches and Roman ruins below the monastery colonnade
  
  
• If you like DH Lawrence, head up to the station, where he stayed when travelling through the interior - incredibly, his host was Barbara’s great grandfather. His book, Sea and Sardinia, recounts his trip and makes a good companion
  
  
• Ride the Trenino Verde, an old steam train that chugs over the mountains on its way to the east coast. It takes 5 hours to travel 160km and you’ll need an overnight stop at the other end. It does, however, carve its way through the most spectacular scenery
  
  
• Head north into the Trexenta hills - this fertile land has been Sardinia’s bread basket for millennia. You might spot wild horses on the plateau and if you want to ride there are stables, too. Lakes are dotted about, so take a picnic and go for a swim
  
  
• Visit Cagliari - a mere 45 minutes by car - not least for its 10km beach, handy in a city! Fine churches, delicious restaurants, Roman ruins and underground Phoenician chambers all wait. The National Archaeological Museum is a must
  
  
• Walk alongside the lakes, marshlands and ancient salt flats that circle Cagliari and draw in a large cast of migratory birds. Over 170 species pass through each year, including pink flamingos by the thousand from August to March

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Cooking classes
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Horse riding
• Museums / galleries
• Swimming

Kids

Children are very welcome and cots and extra beds can be provided. Note this is a small B&B in a country town and there’s not much for kids to do here other than the computer and DVDs in the snug.

Best for:

Babies (0-1 years), Children (4-12 years)

Family friendly accommodation:

All rooms can fit a baby cot, and 2 rooms can fit an extra bed (additional charge for either)

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The B&B is set in Mandas, a small town that lies 45 minutes north of Cagliari by car, in central Sardinia. It's 2.5 hours south of Alghero and 3 hours south of Olbia. If you arrive from Olbia and take the mountain road south at Nuoro, it’s more like 4 hours.

By Air:
Cagliari is the closest airport, though Alghero and Olbia receive more year-round flights. Click on the links below for further details.

From the Airport
Mandas is connected to Cagliari by bus and train, but we'd recommend hiring a car for your stay. Free public parking is possible close to the hotel.

By Ferry:
Sardinia is well-served by car ferries coming from elsewhere in Italy. You can arrive from Naples, Genoa, Fiumicino, Livorno, Palermo, Trapani and Civitavecchia. The quickest is Civitavecchia to Golfo Aranci (4 hours), the longest Naples to Cagliari (17 hours). They sail into Palau, Olbia, Porto Torres and Golfo Aranci in the north and Arbatax and Cagliari in the south. Car ferries also connect Sardinia with Corsica.

By Car:
See our car rental recommendations.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you confirm a booking through i-escape.com.

More on getting to Sardinia and getting around