Hotel Cala di Volpe

Hotel Cala di Volpe is the founding legend of the Costa Smeralda, commissioned in the early 1960s under the Aga Khan's development of Sardinia's north-eastern coast and designed by French architect Jacques Couëlle as a fantasy of a Sardinian fishing village—hand-plastered walls, crooked archways, stained glass and porticoes in sun-baked colours, wrapped around a private bay of translucent water. Sixty years on, its silhouette remains among the most recognisable in the Mediterranean, with a James Bond credit in The Spy Who Loved Me sealing the mythology.

Rooms carry the hand-made spirit through juniper beams, local weaves and ceramics; suites in the original wings feel like artist's houses, and the presidential suite's private rooftop pool is one of Europe's storied hotel extravagances. The immense saltwater swimming pool, the manicured gardens and a pontoon-served beach across the bay set the daily rhythm, while the hotel's position makes it a natural harbour for the summer yachting circuit.

Dining ranges from the celebrated rooftop grill and its antipasti spread to Michelin-name pop-ups that rotate through summer seasons, with the Porto Cervo scene a short drive away. It is emphatically a high-season social stage: July and August bring peak glamour and peak pricing in equal measure. Those seeking hush choose June or September.