Date: Late september to mid october. weather was fantastic after the first two days of heavy rain. Cala Rosa is a pleasant some what dated hotel compex of basic one room accomodation set in terraces with in lawned gardens.
Every day the maids make the bed clean the room and bring clean towels. In the rooms there is a small fridge, BUT NO TEA OR COFFEE MAKING FACILITIES!. There is also a safe. the rest is standard eg bed wardrobes sideboard and telly. shower room was adequate although shower cubicle is very small. You can also hear your neighbours through the walls to each side and the back okay unless you have a screaming baby going all through the night as we heard on 4 nights.
The resteraunt was good even excellent some nights but was evened out by the occassional poor selection and service, but overall it was good and i looked forward to our dining at 7.45 pm each evening meeting many other holiday makers sharing similar views and generaly enjoying the pleasant surroundings at the cala rosa especially the dining when its at its best.
The photos on the internet mis lead you...there is a pool at the hotel but the one shown overlooking the sea is not in the close proximity to the hotel as the photos would have you believe. That pool overlooking the sea is a walk down the hill from the complex to the road. turn left and then left again straight after the traffic lights,theres also a sign saying scuba club. it is in walking distance but you can park your car, This private beach and sea salt pool redeem cala rosa of all the other negatives....maybe only if the sun is shining and its not to busy.
overview: we enjoyed it!: Cala rosa is probably good for a week ....2 weeks is probably too long because it is quite isolated being just about the only place open on the whole of the peinsular.....hard going if your not there on half board basis and you dont have a car. Try it if you get a good deal, hope you meet some good friends as we did. .....and if your lucky you might see the wild boars sniffing around in the evening.
S@Lfrom burton-on-trent

As a couple in our 50's young at heart I may say, we stayed here for a week and I must say the people who run the hotel could not have done enough for us. The rooms are very basic but clean (certainly not a 4 star) more like a 2 star we got moved to a nicer room on the second day as we were not happy with the first. Breakfast well it was geared up for italians certainly not for the british. You also require a car as it is very isolated from everywhere else, and there is only one taxi driver in the whole of Stintino area. Stintino itself is about 10mins in the car from the hotel and is very nice (Small but nice) with a few good restaurants. If you want the biz this is certainly not the place for you, not that we want biz either at our age, but we would have liked to have the choice of places outwith the hotel on our doorstep.

We just returned from 12 nights at the Cala Rosa. It turned out about as we had expected. Good food, music a little noisy at times, great location, clean, lovely grounds, friendly staff (especially Gianni who runs the place.) The rooms were very basic and this was disappointing as an American who's accustomed to luxurious accommodations. We were a family party of nine and so we probably would have enjoyed just about any vacation together. This is a great location. The pools are very nice with a separate one for kids and the shuttle will take you to the Ancona beach, a five-minute drive away. This beach we preferred to the very crowded, popular Pelaso (?) down the promenade. The food is good and the service at the buffet fine. We always sat at a big table along the window and Danilo was great and our main man. On leaving early on July 12 before the breakfast buffet opened, we were given packaged breakfasts each with four sandwiches, two apples, numerous croissants and cookies. Where else in Sardinia would you get two full meals and accommodation for 12 nights for about $2200 for two with extras included such as service of van, use of pools and beach, music? I suggest a little variation in the choice of music. Gianni is a workaholic and a nice guy. All of the staff were good and the cleaning ladies did a good job. The rooms need a complete overhaul.
Tom and Mary Ann from Chicago

We booked this hotel as a cheap weekend getaway.. sun and beach was all we wanted.

Cala Rosa was a pleasent hotel with clean and air conditioned rooms, friendly staff, great pool, well kept grounds and some evening entertainment that was amusing more than entertaining... primarily because it was all in italian and geared towards the itallian families on holiday there of which is its main market.. also slightly cheesy. It goes all day, stops for siesta.. and can go on till 11pm... dancing to the barbie girl song with the audience joining in to learn a few moves.. and singing along with 'C'mon Barbie - lets go party... oh oh oh yeah...' hence the amusement...

We had half board but only ate breakfast at the hotel and opted for a restaurant each night instead. The restaurant at the bottom of the street had nice food, was cheap but the service was appalling to the point where we refused to return... with our other option for the next evening closed upon arrival and nothing else within short walking distance... we had to try again but this time to get take away pizza... again.. appalling service - great pizza!

The private beach is not great... the second beach futher down where the courtesy van drops you off is better... but the more popular and stunning beach is a futher 5 min walk down the road from the drop point in La Palossa. 32 Euros for three beach loungers and 2 umbrellas... It is packed out and very popular...

I would stay again... but I would probably hire a care and take in more of the coast line. However over three days and two nights we got our fix of sun, beach and pool and left Sardinia much revived.

The taxi from airport to hotel is about an hour and cost 70 euro each way. There is a airport shuttle you can order but we did not enquire.