GET AN ARIEL VIEW
AND FAMILY SWIM IN THE SLIPSTREAM OF A
IF you’ve watched the new live action version of The Little Mermaid, you’ll know all about the ruggedly handsome attraction that greets Ariel as she surfaces from her underwater kingdom. And no, I don’t mean Prince Eric. The latest Disney blockbuster was filmed on the swoonsome northern coast of Sardinia, and it’s a place that really does look like a fairy tale brought to life.
With its spectacular rock formations, turquoise seas, golden beaches and quiet coves, it’s easy to fall in love at first sight.
I can confirm all this after spending a dreamy week on Italy’s second largest island. I was holidaying with my husband Ian, and our two children, Flotsam and Jetsam – sorry, Connor and Cara – to Sardinia’s scenic north, which has seen a huge spike in online searches – a whopping 216% – since the film came out in May last year.
It was an easy two-and-a-half hour flight from London to Olbia Airport, then an hour’s drive to our hotel, Resort Valle dell’Erica Thalasso & Spa.
This five-star Delphina resort is isolation at its most splendid, nestling in 70 acres of secluded Mediterranean parkland hugged by nearly a mile of pristine coastline.
Valle dell’Erica has recently been crowned Europe’s leading green resort for the fourth time and is actually two luxurious hotel villages in one, with the original, the more traditional Erica, merging into the newer La Licciola.
All the facilities are shared, meaning you have more grounds,
LYNNE HYLAND
coves and pools to explore.
At the centre, you’ll find the fabulous spa with new Little Mermaidinspired treatments (lots of seaweed and salt scrubs, naturally), and a thalassotherapy water circuit, with massage jets that are powerful enough to blast away your grumpy inner Sea Witch.
There’s also a kids’ club and a host of new Disney-themed entertainment, including spotting a real-life mermaid flipping her fins in the sea and evening games with “King Triton”.
We stayed at La Licciola, where
the reception and restaurant terrace are poised at the apex of the resort, with enticing views of the nearby islands of La Maddalena.
From there, the resort spreads out as a maze of fragrant, shrubbery-fringed paths which wind past the tasteful low-rise accommodation, and down to the sandy bays.
We stayed in two connected bungalows, beautifully decorated with local artwork and each with its own patio so that we could follow the sun throughout the day.
My husband and I called dibs on the one facing the sea. Like many rooms at La Licciola, the shower has a glass panel which lets you admire the scenery out through the patio doors while you lather up. We were reassured to learn the room’s exterior glazing has a one
way tint to preserve our modesty.
There are six restaurants to visit, and we began each morning with an al fresco breakfast at Les Bouches, gorging on buffet pastries and delicious cooked-toorder omelettes.
Lunches were taken either at the beach bar or the all-you-can-scoff Buffet Brunch Mediterraneo (quite a bargain at 36 euros per head, when a toastie by the sea was 18 euros and there’s no mini mart on site).
The gastronomic highlight, though, was dinner. One of our most memorable meals was at Li Ciusoni, which serves traditional Sardinian cuisine in a rustic hill-top setting. It was a feast for all the senses, from the panoramic sea views to the belt-busting courses of delicious local cheese, breads, pasta, steak, hog roast and dessert.
We even got a surprise guest: the wild boar that strayed into view then legged it, possibly after spotting what was sizzling on the spit.
For something truly romantic, it’s worth splashing out the supplement on Li Zini. It’s a tiny, tucked-away cove, with seafood served by candlelight on the beach. If Eric and Ariel had gone here, there would have been no delay on the “kiss of true love” moment, and the film could have wrapped up a whole hour earlier.
If you want the full, immersive Little Mermaid experience the hotel has just added a new full-day power boat excursion along the northern coastline which takes in the movie’s prettiest beaches, including Capo Testo, Monti Russu, La Balcaccia and Rena Majore where Ariel rescues Eric with her mermaid song.
The hotel also puts on a daily shuttle to the pretty seaside town of Santa Teresa Gallura, the base for the movie’s shoot. We visited on a Thursday, when the weekly market takes place, and also found time to admire the views from the 16th-century Torre de Longonstard, enjoy a pizza lunch in one of the town’s squares and check out the beach.
It’s a lovely, laid-back way of life here, and it was quite a wrench to resurface back in real life. As a certain Princess Ariel put it, “Wish I could be part of that world…”
This five-star Delphina resort is isolation at its most splendid