Party in Porto Cervo by Devanshi Mody
Featured Hotel in Costa Smeralda/Porto Cervo
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The Aga Khan discovered Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, seeing in its brutally blue waters and untamed landscapes the potential for a jet-set destination.
Whilst the rest of Sardinia remains rustic and rugged, Porto Cervo sizzles with the hottest people during the July/August summer season. Yawning boats slumber in the port, whilst owners exhaust their energies and resources on clubs, bars, luxury hotels and private choppers. Porto Cervo is flash, fashionable and fun!
Hot Hotels in Porto Cervo
For those who come to see and be seen, there’s only one place to be: Cala di Volpe. Think the setting is very James Bond? The makers of the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me thought so too. The very first luxury hotel in Porto Cervo recreates a typical Sardinian village (albeit with swank boats lining its canals).
This is where you spot everyone from the bling bling boys and girls to Bruce Willis and Bill Gates, and where high-powered businessmen close earth-shattering deals amidst hip happenings. The presidential suite costs € 30,000/night and is always full - of course.
Harrison Ford prefers the more intimate and infinitely prettier Pitrizza. The hotel, whose delightfully summery, stone-walled villas are scattered around landscaped gardens courting a beguiling beach, is Porto Cervo’s most exclusive and romantic address. Climb atop the thatched terraces of any villa to succumb to mercilessly beautiful views of pristine white sands blending into swirls of blue-green.
The infinity pool is spectacular, seemingly flowing into vistas of water. Extraordinarily, the pool is constructed around a naturally rocky setting, with stones emerging from the water as if they were deliberately set there. The show-stopper is the amuse-bouche breakfast menu, including the surprise “egg” that contains not whites and yolks but a quirky strawberry concoction. Also check out breakfast’s dozen different Sardinian honeys.
Villa Armoni is the latest luxury hotel on the Costa Smeralda. Secluded, select, sublime, it’s a mesmerising miracle of interior and exterior décor. The hilltop villa with Costa Smeralda at your feet is very zen - expect privacy, a paradisical setting and a beautiful terraced pool. There’s plenty of exotica too, including Balinese-style thatched pavilions perched atop sea-facing cliffs, down which colossal carved crocodiles slither.
Exquisite Asian artefacts (like benches in the form of lizards and horses, and antique swings) flirt with Mediterranean motifs and coral. The setting is sensual, with a lovely dining area, oriental courtyard and to-die-for individually decorated suites.
Spa-Spangled
Aqua di Parma recently opened its very first spa operation. The ultra glam new spa is arguably the most sophisticated amongst “branded” spas, with a range of unique treatments and twenty new products launched exclusively for the spa, unavailable in boutiques elsewhere.
Choose from five different fragrances for your treatment, then luxuriate in a fifteen minute foot bath. While you sip exotic teas (which come in silk bags), the therapist treats your feet with an all-natural scrub made of Sardinian rock minerals, local salts and olive oil. The two-hour facial will have your skin glowing, and the massages are something else. Book with the very lovely Sara, who has magic hands.
Villa Armoni specialises in Indonesian massages done by “imported” Indonesia staff in traditional attire.
Loveliest Lunches: Top Restaurants in Porto Cervo by Day
Cala di Volpe’s poolside restaurant is the jet set lunch place, and does bountiful buffets, including an impressive range of Sardinian cheeses. The deserts might be too sweet for some palates, but are a favourite with most.
Maitre D’ Peppino’s humour, however, will suit all palates, even if his gallantry leaves gents in the cold: on a chilly day, he’ll smother ladies with hot towels but tell the men, “You must suffer in silence.” Nevertheless, the charismatic Peppino is the man to know - he’s served VIPs galore in his forty-year career.
Villa Armoni serves exquisite home-made ravioli in the most fabulous settings, be it the beautiful restaurant with sea views, or the terrace outside. The terrace integrates exotic Balinese carved wooden seating and pillared tents with Mediterranean views.
Brad Pitt and Naomi Campbell prefer homely ambiance and Sardinian specialities at The Grill, with a terrace overlooking the port. Aqua has a trendy waterfront terrace, and is best for evening drinks.
Super Suppers: Top Restaurants in Porto Cervo by Night
Gianni Pedrinelli is one of the top restaurants in Porto Cervo, and amongst the most famous restaurants in Sardinia, and the most charming in the world. Subtly stylish, with pale gold alcoves blended against grey walls and elegant white upholstery, the imaginatively converted Sardinian home retains a rustic feel despite the artwork, classy decorative items and marvellous floral arrangements.
The inimitable Mr Pedrinelli, whose delightfully quaint manners and sartorial sense cannot fail to impress, flits amongst his guests ensuring all is fine, while his sister supervises the kitchen. The restaurant is known for its exhaustive antipasti buffet (try especially the fennel and orange salad) and its desert buffet. Mr Pedrinelli will tell you he serves the best ice cream in the world. He certainly serves the best tiramisu.
The restaurant is always filled with the most glamorous people in town, who all seem to be regulars. If you want to know when Laxmi Mittal will be around, ask Mr Pedrinelli, who’s sure to have a reservation.
Pitrizza’s fine dining restaurant has an informal but deeply romantic setting, overlooking a beautifully lit pool and the sea. The crème de la crème come here for some of the finest food in Porto Cervo.
The new chef Andy, who has worked at the Fat Duck and Michelin-starred restaurants on the French Riviera, is revamping the menu. Expect adventurous innovations as well as traditional Sardinian cuisine with a Frenchified twist. Passionate about breaking the rules and creating new things, the chef spent a month unearthing a royal recipe for brown bread ice cream and another month perfecting it.
The chef offers sixteen ice cream flavours, but don’t forget to try the Sardinian desert speciality, a cheese-stuffed pastry topped with honey. It sounds heavy, but is actually very light and yummy. You will also be light in the head after the sommelier Antonello has splendidly matched superb Sardinian wines with every course.
Family-run Fratti Rossi is amongst Porto Cervo’s finest restaurants. The quiet, hilltop restaurant might not have a mega glamour quotient but is a favourite with the discrete elite and lovers of good food. This is the where you find the most delicious home-style food - try the spinach and ricotta balls, a local speciality.
Whilst the mother handles savouries, one of the two daughters does the deserts, all of which are fabulous (they’re proudest of her very original passion fruit and whisky parfait). Keep room for the gorgeous caramelised ricotta ice cream, or the richest ever pistachio ice cream.
The brand new first floor fine dining restaurant Café Prince is the place to be seen these days. The restaurant almost has a split personality, with an enchanting and softly lit terrace looking into very modern interiors with eclectic décor. Expect the very best wine list from the expert sommelier, who created the wine list at Cala di Volpe.
The chef (formerly at the Pitrizza) offers elegantly presented cuisine of such rarefied texture - try the grilled aubergine - that he cannot fail to titillate a Michelin palate. Besides Michelin stars, you can soon hope to spot other stars, as this new kid on the culinary scene is fast gaining a reputation for being the haunt of the elite.
If you fancy a forty minute drive, then La Gritta in Palau has lost its Michelin-star but not its sophisticated clientele.
Recently refurbished Oblo specialises in sea food, which the chef heads out every morning to fish for, while Tanit has a delightful terrace for aperitifs. Little-known and lovely Lorsetto is a favourite with football players, F1 drivers and Arabian princes; who rock up in glaringly gold cars for wonderful service and the best wood-fired pizzas in town.
Also check out their pastas and Sardinian dishes, especially the delicious stuffed cabbage. Of course, they say ladies turn up in hordes to check out Stephano, the playboy owner who’s fifty but going strong.
Star Bars in Porto Cervo
The Cala di Volpe Bar with its wonderful outdoor terrace is the most glamorous bar in town. Giuseppi, the Bond barman at the Pitrizza, serves you top-notch Bellinis in an exquisite al fresco setting, spiking the drinks with his piquant conversation.
The Cervo Bar is great for people-watching on the square. The best Bellinis in the world are served at Café Prince on the new Piazza de la Principe. The interiors are adorned with cool modern art, but most people prefer sitting on the square outside the café - this is where you get barman Stephan’s own original fresh lemonade. The dynamic young staff, with Cala di Volpe backgrounds, are all set to rope in their old clients and make this venue the hippest in town.
Party Places in Porto Cervo
One of the most famous night clubs in the world, fun-loving Flavio Briatore’s Billionaire has become synonymous with Porto Cervo. Everyone who’s anyone has partied here and, during the season, all the roads leading to this happening place are clogged with luxury cars. Porto Cervo is minuscule, but if you think you can leave the club at 4.00 am and get into bed immediately, forget it - you might be stuck in traffic for four hours. If you can’t get to or into the ultra exclusive Billionaire, settle for Sotto Vento.
Sport
The beautiful Pevero Golf Club, with lawns bordered by the sea at both ends, attracts Colin Montgommery. The Tennis Club is great for chic meetings over sushi, and The Yacht Club is another elegant address.
Best Buys in Porto Cervo
Esmeralda Bazaar is a lovely boutique fusing a rustic, typically Sardinian feel with contemporary chic - expect designer wear hanging from branches of trees. Piazza del Principe has some top designer boutiques, as well as Porto Cervo’s only exclusive wine shop, focusing on supplying private yachts and villas. Panegonda is the best place for super-sophisticated jewellery and, for a hair-raising experience, head to slick and sexy new Aldo Coppola.
Looking to live it up in Sardinia? See our stunning selection of luxury hotels on the Costa Smeralda and Porto Cervo. Alternatively check out our full collection of luxury hotels in Sardinia.