Review of Villa Las Tronas, by Daniel Scott

Despite being a five-star boutique hotel, there is a touch of Disney about the beautifully-set faux castle Las Villas Tronas, built in 1880 right on the rocky north-west coast of Sardinia, in the seaside town of Alghero. Maybe it's the crenellations on its roof, or the sandy-yellow and Etruscan red colouring of its exterior. Perhaps it is the fact that it stands alone on its own private promontory reaching out into the Med, behind big electric gates and tropical gardens. Or it could just be that its history has conferred a certain glitz and glamour upon the boutique Hotel Villa Las Tronas. It was once the Sardinian holiday home of Italian royalty and the bolthole of Madonna and former husband Guy Richie, who filmed the abysmal remake of the classic movie "Swept Away" on the island.

The advantage of the Hotel Villa Las Tronas is that, unlike most boutique hotels of its quality in Sardinia, it is open all year round. In fact, January is a good time to visit Las Tronas, when temperatures in Sardinia are a good ten degrees above those in Northern Europe and in any case all is eminently cosy inside.

The facilities

It is during the summer months when the boutique hotel's extensive grounds come into their own, with a large terrace for evening drinks and a lovely open-air seawater pool right on the rocks above the Mediterranean.

Whatever the time of year the Hotel Villa Las Tronas remains determinedly quiet and private in feel, conserving, as it says in their brochure: "the historic atmosphere of a buen retiro". This comfy ambience is mainly achieved in the hotel's public areas, from the small seating area in the lobby through the bar area with its collection of sofas, to the dining area set against the hotel's panoramic ground floor windows.

Sturdy dark wooden nineteenth century cabinets rest against the walls of the lounge below heavy-gilt framed period paintings while a number of imposing sculpted busts of (no-doubt notable) moustachioed men adorn the alcoves. A hefty marble fountain-piece sits in the middle of it all and there is one wink to Catalan style in the twisty modern standing lamps dotted around the dining room and lounge area. By contrast crystal-glass chandeliers hang heavily from the ceiling. Elsewhere on the ground floor there are a few similarly furnished drawing-rooms in which to relax with a book.

The on-site restaurant offers perfectly accomplished Mediterranean cuisine without being Michelin standard, the freshly-caught fish such as sea-bass or monkfish being the best bets. There is usually a Sardinian speciality on the menu too, such as "Gnochi Sardi in a lamb ragu" or fregula (a granular pasta similar to couscous) cooked in a variety of ways. Tangy Sardinian cheeses round off the meal and there is fair wine list including some earthy reds from nearby Santa Maria di Gallura. But the real attraction of dining at the Villa Las Tronas is the Albert-Hall standard pianist, who must surely be Sardinia's best. For a couple of hours most evenings this tousle-haired young musician tickles the ivories with an eclectic but always virtuoso style. His renditions of baroque and classical pieces draw particularly fulsome applause from diners.

The rooms

This is a small boutique hotel at just 25 rooms and service is suitably personal though respectful. If you have a room at the front you can open the shutters to the full glory of the frothy blue ocean bashing against the rocks below. The attractive skyline of Alghero's old town and behind the distant headland of Capo Caccio is off to the right and the wild west coast of Sardinia stretches off to the left.

Bedrooms at the Hotel Villa Las Tronas are square, high ceilinged and a good size, with dark emerald and black tiled floors. The centrepiece is a good firm king-sized bed on a metal frame and furnishings are elegant nineteenth century in style, including the original fixture for holding a lamp. There are charmingly rickety old-style shutters on both the inside and outside of the long tall windows and large mirrored floor-to-ceiling wardrobes add to the sense of space.

It's not exactly a 21st century boutique hotel in terms of technology: the in-room televisions are old and pick up only a few satellite channels and the phones in the room are eighties-style. But who cares? You're here for the views, the food and the beaches...those in dire need of some modern-world communication use the internet connection for guests sparrowed away under the stairs on the ground-floor.