Colonna Beach Hotel Marinella

“Love this place”

Perfect view from allover the hotel. The staff was very welcoming. The facilities was perfect. The only small complaint is that there is music everywhere (large pool and beach), except for the small pool area.

“Lack of transport into Olbia, guest are kept captive with nowhere to go and total lack of excursions available.”

I recently returned from a week's holiday at the VOI Colonna Village Hotel in Sardinia. Following a flight delay and a lengthy arrival process of almost three hours due to issues with the Entry/Exit System (EES), including system failures, frozen kiosks and biometric verification problems, I eventu… more

I recently returned from a week's holiday at the VOI Colonna Village Hotel in Sardinia. Following a flight delay and a lengthy arrival process of almost three hours due to issues with the Entry/Exit System (EES), including system failures, frozen kiosks and biometric verification problems, I eventually arrived at the hotel. As a solo traveller, I specifically choose destinations where I can independently explore the local area using public transport. Prior to travelling, I had planned to visit various parts of Sardinia and take a trip to Corsica. However, upon arrival, I discovered that the hotel offered no shuttle service, either complimentary or paid, to Olbia, which is the nearest transport hub for accessing the island's public transport network. I spoke with Susanna, the Jet2 representative at the hotel, the following evening, but unfortunately, she appeared to have limited knowledge of local transport options and was unable to offer any practical advice on travelling around the island. Furthermore, I was disappointed to discover that there were virtually no excursions available during my stay, nor alternative organised trips available that would have enabled me to explore Sardinia's towns, cultural attractions or surrounding areas. The only excursion on offer was a boat trip, which did not meet my interests or the expectations I had when booking this holiday. As a result, independent travel was my only realistic option, despite the significant transport difficulties outlined above. As a solo female traveller, I do not hire cars abroad, as I prefer not to deal with the additional stress and anxiety of driving in unfamiliar locations. I therefore rely on public transport when choosing holiday destinations. Unfortunately, I then learned that public transport services serving the area do not operate until the local tourist season begins on 1 June. This crucial information was not made clear anywhere during the booking process or within the destination information provided by Jet2 Holidays or this hotel. Had I been aware that there would be no practical public transport access from the hotel during my stay, I would not have booked this holiday. As a result, I was forced to use Uber taxis to travel between the hotel and Olbia simply to access transport connections. Each journey cost approximately £50 one way, resulting in substantial and unexpected additional expenses throughout my holiday. I find it unreasonable that such a significant limitation affecting guests' ability to travel independently was not disclosed. Given that my holiday took place during the UK half-term period, when many travellers would reasonably expect transport services to be available, I believe Jet2 Holidays should have investigated and communicated these restrictions clearly as this limitation was not made clear on Jet2 Holidays' website at the time of booking. Had I known that excursion options would be so limited and that there would be no practical public transport links from the hotel, I would not have chosen this destination. The combination of a lack of excursions and the absence of accessible transport significantly restricted my ability to enjoy and experience the island as I had intended. The hotel itself is clean, albeit the main eating area much like a canteen, ambient lighting and better display of food would be beneficial. The hotel staff are quite cold and their English is lacking so they too are not particularly helpful.

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