Hotel Poetto in Cagliari

We stayed at a hotel Poetto in Cagliari, Sardinia over the holidays, and overall, it was just okay. For the price we paid, I expected a cleaner space—there was quite a bit of dust and even spiderwebs in the corners of the room. We stayed in Room 1, which is located right next to the main door, so it was fairly noisy at times. The shower door had a gap, so every time we took a shower, water would spill out onto the bathroom floor. That definitely needs fixing. On the bright side, the reception staff were great—very friendly and helpful. They offer beach towels for €2, though I only found out when I asked, so it would be nice if this was mentioned at check-in. A deep cleaning of the room would definitely improve the overall experience.

In terms of location, the hotel is about a 10–15 minute bus ride from the main city center of Cagliari. The PF and PQ bus lines stop right at the corner from the hotel, which is very convenient. I recommend downloading the local public transport app—you can buy a weekly pass for €12, which you validate once and then use freely. We did have one awkward moment when ticket inspectors boarded the bus and only asked us (tourists with luggage) to show our tickets, while ignoring the locals.

The beach is just a 3-minute walk from the hotel, which is definitely one of the highlights. It's a beautiful spot, but very windy, so I recommend renting a beach bed for comfort. Be prepared, though—it’s quite expensive at €28 per day.

As for getting to and from the airport, the hotel does offer a shuttle, but it’s pricey at €40–45 per hour. If you arrive or depart during public transport hours, I highly recommend skipping the shuttle. On our way back, we used our weekly bus pass to get to the city and then took a train to the airport—it took just 4 minutes and cost only €0.30 per person. Unfortunately, we arrived at 1:30 a.m. and had no other option but to take take a taxi