Resort & SPA Le Dune

About 1 hour 30 from Olbia or Alghero airport
Moderate4 starHalf boardFull board

Resort & SPA Le Dune is not one hotel but five, a complex of five 4-star hotels run by the Sardinian group Delphina and sharing a 28-hectare park of dunes and juniper behind a long white-sand beach near Badesi, in the far north-west of Sardinia. Families come for the depth of its children's set-up, a free nursery and baby-food room for the youngest, clubs by age up to 17 and a Blue Flag beach, on a half-board or full-board stay.

Aerial view of a freeform children's pool with a timber surround and shade sails, set among sand dunes and juniper scrub, with a wooden cowboy fort to one side and the sea behind.
Five hotels in a dune park Resort & SPA Le Dune sits behind the beach at Li Junchi, on the Gulf of Asinara in north-west Sardinia.
On this page
  1. Is it worth it?
  2. Quick facts
  3. What it's like
  4. Every restaurant and bar
  5. Rooms and suites
  6. Pools
  7. The beach
  8. Babies and toddlers
  9. Things to do
  10. The area and days out
  11. Loves and gripes
  12. How it compares
  13. Getting there
  14. Weather
  15. Questions
  16. Photo gallery
The short version

Is it worth it?

The quick read before the detail: who Le Dune suits, what's in the price and the facts to weigh first.

Le Dune is unusual in being five separate 4-star hotels rather than one, run together by the Sardinian group Delphina and sharing a 28-hectare dune park behind an 8 km white-sand beach on the Gulf of Asinara, in the far north-west of Sardinia. What most sets it apart for a family is the depth of its provision for the very youngest: a free nursery and bottle-feeding room for babies up to 23 months, then children's clubs by age all the way to 17. It runs on half-board or full-board, with ten restaurants and six pools shared across the five hotels. The two things to weigh are cost, since several of the best restaurants, drinks and the spa carry a charge on top of your board, and location, since this is a rural stretch of coast where you will want a hire car to see much beyond the beach.

Best for

You have a baby or toddler and want a free nursery and baby-food room, clubs by age up to 17 and a wide sandy Blue Flag beach, on an easy transfer from Olbia or Alghero.

Maybe not for

You want to walk to shops, bars and sights or a lively resort strip. It is rural, and you will need a hire car to see much beyond the beach.

Best ages

Babies upwards. A free nursery from birth to 23 months, a paid service for two-year-olds, then clubs from 3 to 17.

What stands out

The free nursery and bottle-feeding room for the youngest, and the scale of the children's set-up across a self-contained dune village.

What to check

Which of the five hotels you book, since in-room Wi-Fi, beach rows and pool access differ, and whether the extra-charge restaurants and drinks suit your budget.

Where is it?

On the Gulf of Asinara in north-west Sardinia, near Badesi, about an hour and a half from Olbia or Alghero airport.

Quick facts for families

BoardHalf-board or full-board, with a Mediterranean lunch buffet as the standard midday meal. Ten restaurants and six bars, though several of the best carry an extra charge.
The siteFive separate 4-star hotels sharing a 28-hectare dune park and one set of facilities, with 496 rooms, two shops-and-services squares and electric buggies moving guests around.
BabiesA free nursery and bottle-feeding room for babies up to 23 months, stocked with baby food and refreshed daily, plus a free cot in every room.
ChildcareClubs by age from 3 to 17, six days a week but not Saturdays. A separate paid service covers two-year-olds, and babysitting runs from three months.
BeachLi Junchi, 5 miles (8 km) of white sand across the coast road, Blue Flag every year since 2016, reached by a free shuttle every day.
Getting thereOlbia or Alghero airport, both about an hour and a half by road. Cagliari is a full-island drive and not practical. A hire car is close to essential for days out.
Five hotels, one dune park

What the resort is like

How the five hotels sit together in the park, and what the size of the site means for getting around.

Le Dune is not a single hotel but five of them, run together by the Sardinian group Delphina Hotels & Resorts and sharing one 28-hectare park of sand dunes, old juniper and Mediterranean scrub behind the beach at Li Junchi, on the Gulf of Asinara. The five hotels share every restaurant, pool and children's facility between them, with 496 rooms in total, so booking one is really choosing which building and setting you sleep in rather than a separate holiday. For the island beyond the resort, see our Sardinia guide.

The two 4-star Superior hotels sit at the quieter, more expensive end. Hotel La Duna Bianca is the smallest and most exclusive, just 16 rooms closest to the sea, with its own private stretch of beach. Hotel & SPA Le Sabine has 94 rooms, sits next to the spa and faces its own pool, and leans towards a quieter, wellness-minded stay. The three 4-star hotels are larger. Hotel Le Rocce, 58 rooms, is set apart in its own quieter area around its own pool. Hotel I Ginepri, at 175 rooms the biggest, is the one Delphina frames as its family hotel, central, with a pool built around an island. Hotel Le Palme, 153 rooms and also central, is the one Delphina describes as designed for young people and couples with a child; it holds the most interconnecting family rooms of the five and sits next to a children's pool.

At the heart of the resort are two squares, Ginepri and Fichi, with shops, a hairdresser, a chemist, a jeweller, a newsagent, a photographer and a games arcade, so it works as a small self-contained village. Each hotel has its own reception, four in all.

The site is large and set among dunes, so there is some undulation to it. Staff move guests and luggage around in electric carts, the golf buggies you summon rather than push, and a free shuttle runs down to the beach. There is no published map of walking distances or step-free routes between the buildings, but the resort running its own internal transport is a fair sign that the walk from room to pool or beach with a pushchair and beach kit is more than a quick stroll. One reviewer mentioned buggies passing near a balcony as a noise. They are not a scheduled service, so staff run them on request.

Aerial view of enclosed blue courts, a red court and a green tennis court beside a green five-a-side football pitch, ringed by pine and juniper woodland.
The resort's tennis courts and its five-a-side football pitch
A fallen tree trunk painted in red, blue and cream patterns standing as a sculpture beside a sandy path among olive trees and scrub.
A painted tree sculpture on one of the paths through the dune park
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Ten restaurants, six bars

Every restaurant and bar

Each place to eat and drink, which need booking, which cost extra and how the family pricing works.

The resort runs on half-board or full-board. Lunch is the branded Brunch Mediterraneo buffet, or a packed lunch if you are out for the day. There are ten restaurants and six bars, plus a shop selling home-made gelato. Most restaurants need a table booked, and reviewers rate the food well, naming Lo Scorfano, Il Leccio and Li Junchi as particular favourites; the recurring gripe is cost rather than quality, since several of the best restaurants carry a charge on top of your board.

Nautilus is the main restaurant, an international and Mediterranean buffet with a show-cooking counter and themed evenings, open for lunch and dinner. Pomodoro serves Italian food as a buffet by the Le Palme pool and is one families use a lot. Alla Spiaggia is a terrace by the beach, with the Brunch buffet at lunch and a Mediterranean and fried-fish menu at sunset. Li Junchi is a relaxed pizzeria with wood-fired pizzas and table service, also popular with families. Carrimbanca is traditional Sardinian food, with suckling pig, porcetto, spit-roasted where you can watch it cook.

Peter Pan is the children's restaurant at Duneland, for Baby and Mini Club members only, cooking organic produce including vegetables the children grow themselves. It opens for lunch and dinner every day except Saturday.

Four restaurants carry an extra charge on top of your board. Lo Scorfano is the seafood specialist, and it is free for La Duna Bianca guests. Il Leccio is a show-cooking buffet dinner over the illuminated Le Sabine pool, free for Le Sabine and La Duna Bianca guests. Romantico is a candlelit table-service dinner by the Le Rocce pool, and Il Tramonto is a spaghetteria by the beach in the day that turns into a couples' dinner after sunset. If you stay at La Duna Bianca, half-board dinner is free at any restaurant except Il Tramonto and Romantico, which softens the cost of extras considerably for that one hotel.

Six bars are dotted across the resort, along with the gelato shop. There is also a Brunch Around scheme: you can swap your included lunch for a day out at one of Delphina's sister hotels in north Sardinia, Hotel Marinedda Thalasso & SPA at Isola Rossa or Park Hotel & SPA Cala di Lepre at Palau, or at Resort Valle dell'Erica Thalasso & SPA near Santa Teresa Gallura for a small charge. It does not run in August, and transfers and drinks are not included.

Every restaurant offers gluten-free and lactose-free dishes if you ask when you book, and the kitchens train each year for coeliac-safe service, something guests with the condition confirm in reviews. At the restaurants that carry an extra charge, children 2 to 12 pay half and babies under two eat free. That half-price meal is a separate thing from the discount on the stay itself, which is in the getting-there section below.

A chef's hands spooning green sauce over a plate of stuffed pasta on a square white plate.
A stuffed pasta dish from one of the resort's ten restaurants
Child-height picnic tables with green and blue benches and bright plastic plates on a shaded terrace beside a white building, under an olive tree.
The Peter Pan children's restaurant, for Baby and Mini Club members
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Where you sleep and swim

Rooms and suites

Every room across the five hotels, then the six pools and the Blue Flag beach.

Every room across the five hotels has a veranda or terrace, air conditioning, a safe, a TV, a phone, a minibar, beach towels, daily housekeeping and a free cot on request. Room sizes are not published, with one exception, so the table below gives the layout, who each room sleeps and the view rather than a floor area. The one official size is the President Sea View suite at La Duna Bianca, at 60 m².

Resort & SPA Le Dune room categories across the five hotels, with who they sleep and their layout
RoomHotelSleepsSizeLayout and outlook
Royal 2La Duna Bianca2 + cotNot statedBedroom and living space combined
Royal 4 Sea ViewLa Duna BiancaUp to 4Not statedMini-loft, sea view, sofa bed
President Sea ViewLa Duna BiancaUp to 460 m²180-degree sea view
DeluxeLe Sabine2, or 1 childNot statedDouble or twin
SuiteLe SabineUp to 4 + cotNot statedSeparate living room, two TVs
SuperiorLe Rocce3 + cotNot statedDouble or twin, sofa bed to 14
Superior Family SuiteLe RocceUp to 6Not statedTwo interconnecting rooms, two en-suites
SuperiorI Ginepri3 + cotNot statedDouble or twin, sofa bed to 14
Superior Family SuiteI GinepriUp to 6Not statedTwo interconnecting rooms
SuiteI GinepriUp to 4 + cotNot statedSeparate living room, two TVs
Senior SuiteI GinepriUp to 6 + cotNot statedThree rooms, separate living room
StandardLe Palme3Not statedDouble or twin, sofa bed to 6
Standard Family SuiteLe PalmeUp to 6Not statedTwo interconnecting rooms, children to 6
SuperiorLe Palme3 + cotNot statedDouble or twin, sofa bed to 14
Superior Family SuiteLe PalmeUp to 6Not statedTwo interconnecting rooms

For a baby or toddler the question is really about a separate space for naps. The Superior Family Suites at Le Rocce, I Ginepri and Le Palme are two interconnecting rooms, so a baby can have a room to sleep in without the family splitting up; at Le Rocce each of the two rooms has its own bathroom. The Le Sabine Suite and the I Ginepri Suite and Senior Suite go further, with a proper separate living room rather than an open-plan studio. The President Sea View is the one room with a confirmed size and the calmest, most beach-side spot, though it is a four-guest room for a couple with up to two children on a sofa bed or in a cot, not a two-bedroom suite. Every category takes a free cot for a child up to 23 months.

One thing to check by hotel is in-room Wi-Fi. It reaches the rooms at La Duna Bianca and Le Sabine, and every hotel's public areas, receptions, bars, restaurants, pools and the two squares are covered, but in-room Wi-Fi is not confirmed at Le Rocce, I Ginepri or Le Palme. If you need to video-call home from the room, it is worth asking before you book.

La Duna Bianca guests can also have breakfast on their own veranda at no extra charge, which helps around a baby's morning routine, and a front-row spot on its private beach is included. A sea view is a paid extra only on its Royal 2 room; the Royal 4 Sea View and President Sea View already include it.

Guest room with a double bed, two pale armchairs and a small round table on a tiled floor, with open doors onto a furnished terrace and the sea behind.
A sea-view room, with the bedroom and sitting area in one space
Corner of a guest room with green and blue armchairs and a low wooden table, and sliding doors onto a tiled terrace with a hammock and a dining table above the sea.
A sea-view room at La Duna Bianca, where breakfast can be served on the terrace at no extra charge
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Six pools, two for children

Pools and water features

There are six pools, two of them just for children, each with a lifeguard and a bar. The I Ginepri pool is open to everyone and has a central island and natural shade. Le Palme has the larger adult pool, also open to all, with a smaller children's pool joined to it so a parent at the main pool can watch. The Le Rocce pool sits in its own quieter, screened area. The pool shared by Le Sabine and La Duna Bianca is kept for those two hotels' guests. The sixth is a shallow children's pool inside the Villaggio Fantasia play area, built shallow for safety. Official copy also mentions a further water-play area near the Li Junchi restaurant by Le Palme; the resort is not clear whether that is the same feature or a separate one, so picture some extra water play there rather than a seventh pool. No pool has a published depth, size or heated status, which is worth a question if you are booking the cooler ends of the season in May or September.

Aerial view of a large freeform pool with a small round shallow pool joined to one end, ringed by white parasols and sun loungers on pink paving.
The Le Palme pool, with the smaller children's pool joined to it
A wide pool with a raised planted island in the middle, blue sun loungers along the paved edge and juniper trees behind.
The I Ginepri pool, built around a planted island
Aerial view of a horseshoe-shaped pool wrapped around a stone sun terrace, with starfish mosaics in the paving and green loungers and parasols around it.
A pool with starfish mosaics in its floor
Two young girls in swimsuits splashing each other in shallow pool water, with tall grasses and shrubs behind them.
One of the resort's pools
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A long white-sand beach

The beach

Li Junchi beach runs for 5 miles (8 km) of fine white sand backed by dunes and juniper, right in front of the resort. It has held a Blue Flag every year since 2016, an eleven-year run to 2026. The beach sits across the coast road from the resort, not straight off it, so a free shuttle runs from the central square down to the sand, about 100 m away, every day from 8.30am to 11pm, which saves carrying beach kit and children's things across the road.

Standard-row loungers and parasols are included, one parasol and two loungers per room. La Duna Bianca guests get a free front-row spot in their private area, while the other hotels pay a seasonal supplement for a better row. Alla Spiaggia and Il Tramonto sit right by the sand, and La Duna Bianca's private beach has its own bar, restaurant, play area and a second nursery. Water sports, sailing, windsurfing, kayak, paddleboard, surf and kitesurf lessons and diving, run mostly as paid outside concessions, and the beach hosts a longboard surf contest at the end of summer. Reviewers rate the beach well without calling it Sardinia's most beautiful, a good beach rather than the island's best, with the sunsets and the free shuttle singled out for praise.

Aerial view of clear turquoise shallows breaking onto a wide strip of pale sand, with two people walking at the water's edge.
Li Junchi beach
Aerial view of three neat rows of blue parasols and loungers on pale sand, with clear turquoise water and a kitesurfer offshore.
Loungers and parasols on Li Junchi beach, where a standard-row place is included with the room
Small catamarans with their sails up, drawn up on white sand at the edge of a turquoise sea.
Catamarans on Li Junchi beach, where the water sports are mostly paid extras
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For the little ones

Babies and toddlers

The free nursery, the clubs by age and the gap in between, then everything else that fills a family day and the days out beyond the gate.

The reason many families choose Le Dune is its provision for the very youngest. Duneland, which the resort calls the Little Ones' Castle, holds a free nursery and bottle-feeding room for babies up to 23 months. It has high chairs, sterilisers, bottle warmers, changing tables, microwaves and pots for making up baby meals, and a stock of biscuits, yoghurt, milk, water, fruit juice, vegetable soups and pureed veg that is topped up every day. Some guests describe the baby food as available around the clock, which is their own account rather than a stated opening time.

There is a second nursery within La Duna Bianca's private beach area. It sits within that hotel's guest-only section, so if you are staying elsewhere confirm whether you can use it.

The clubs are split by age and run six days a week. The Baby Club takes 3 and 4 year olds from 9.30am to 6.30pm, with evening care from 7.30 to 10pm if you book it; a parent fills in a short form confirming the child is well enough to join, and a paediatrician can be called for an extra charge. The Mini Club, 5 to 8, runs the same daytime hours plus evening care and an after-dinner Baby Dance. The Junior Club, 9 to 13, runs from 9.30am to 6.30pm with archery, five-a-side, beach volleyball, mini basketball, tennis and mini tournaments. The Teen Club, 14 to 17, is daytime outdoor sport, with a sailing school for an extra cost.

There is a gap the clubs do not cover between the free nursery and the Baby Club. For two-year-olds, 24 to 35 months, a separate childcare service is available by reservation and paid on site. It is not the free nursery and it is not the Baby Club, which starts at 3. Private babysitting is available from three months, for a fee, arranged through the resort.

In the evening, children aged 3 to 8 can be looked after from 7.30 to 10pm, with dinner at the Peter Pan restaurant, so parents can eat elsewhere. You book lunch by 10am and dinner by 3pm, and a supplement applies if meals are not already part of your board. One thing to plan around: the children's clubs, the Peter Pan restaurant and the children's services do not run on Saturdays, and are otherwise at the management's discretion. Plan Saturday as a day you will be looking after your own children.

Beyond the clubs there is a lot for children to do. Villaggio Fantasia is a themed play area of 10,000 m² among the dunes, with the shallow children's pool, an Indian camp and a cowboy fort. A central playground has an inflatable pirate galleon with a slide, a helter-skelter called the Fantacastello, a supervised climbing wall and water play nearby, and the entertainment team keeps it going into the evening, as late as 11pm according to one official post, worth knowing if you keep an early bedtime, since it sits centrally. At the Peperone vegetable garden and the Puddaggiju aviary children grow and pick the veg used in the Peter Pan kitchen, and watch peacocks, ducks and hens and collect eggs.

A cot is free in any room on request. Pushchair hire is available for the stay, with a deposit, if you ask when you book. The resort does not name a cot or high-chair brand; the strength here is the nursery and feeding set-up rather than branded equipment. The provision for the under-twos is the thread that runs through the reviews most strongly, with families calling the baby club a blessing and singling out staff support for very young babies. The friction some mention is the Baby Club's self-certification form, and the odd language barrier with younger staff if you do not speak Italian.

A wooden cowboy fort with a Fort Crok sign, a sheriff's hut, a slide and carved wooden figures, with children playing on the sand around it.
Fort Crok, the cowboy fort in the Villaggio Fantasia play area
A painted teepee among juniper bushes on a sandy path, with a girl running out of it towards the camera and a younger child crouching in the entrance.
The Indian camp in the Villaggio Fantasia play area
A brightly painted inflatable pirate galleon with a yellow slide, children climbing on it in the sunshine.
The inflatable pirate galleon and its slide in the central playground
A family sitting on sandy ground inside a wired aviary, watching a peacock trail its long tail feathers past them.
The Puddaggiju aviary, home to peacocks, ducks and free-range hens
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Sport, water and spa

Things to do

On land, sport is mostly free and run by the resort: four synthetic-grass tennis courts with free group courses, and the Sunball tennis school for paid individual and children's lessons and racket hire; two padel courts, paid, with lessons and hire; a floodlit five-a-side football pitch with free lessons and children's tournaments; beach volleyball, mini basketball and archery, all free and instructor-led for adults and children; and yoga and an outdoor fitness trail among the junipers.

Water sports run from the beach, mostly as paid outside concessions: sailing and catamarans, windsurfing, canoe, kayak and paddleboard, and diving, with Isola Rossa, Costa Paradiso and the Secca di Badesi as local dive sites, plus surf and kitesurf lessons. You can also book boat trips through the resort, to the La Maddalena archipelago and across to Corsica aboard a traditional sailing ship called the Pulcinella, departing from Cala Capra marina in Palau, from age 3, a private RIB with a skipper, or deep-sea fishing.

The Le Sabine spa has three outdoor freshwater pools kept at different temperatures, a jacuzzi, water-jet pools, a Turkish bath and a cardio gym. It is for ages 14 and up, or younger only with a parent's written permission, so it is not a children's facility; for children in the water the six family pools are the answer. The wellness circuit is a paid extra, priced per person for around two hours' access rather than the whole day, and it isn't a cheap add-on if you'd want more than one session during your stay; treatments cost on top of that, among them a Californian relaxation massage, an essential-oil relaxation massage and an energising Ayurvedic massage. A bundled Spa Discovery package pairs the circuit with a marine massage and a hydro-massage bath at a fixed price, with 10% off any extra treatment booked alongside it. Pregnant guests are told which treatments to avoid. In the evening a resident team runs themed nights, shows and live music, which the resort describes as high quality but never intrusive. The resort also runs a conference centre for up to 450, so at quieter times of the season it takes some business trade alongside the families.

Aerial view of two rectangular spa pools and a round bubbling jacuzzi set in a stone-paved terrace among green shrubs, with sun loungers alongside.
The Le Sabine spa pools, which are kept at different temperatures
A couple in a spa pool beneath a wide sheet of falling water, with reeds and rocks behind them.
A water-jet pool at the Le Sabine spa
A gym with treadmills, cross-trainers and exercise bikes under a beamed wooden ceiling, with dumbbells and mats on the floor and open doors onto greenery.
The cardio gym at the Le Sabine spa
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Beyond the resort

The area and days out

Map of the area around Resort & SPA Le Dune, showing the resort, the nearest airport and the main family days out

The resort sits in a rural, dune-and-juniper stretch of coast, and several reviews note that there is little within walking distance and that most of the island's well-known sights are an hour to an hour and a half away by road. A hire car is close to essential if you want to leave the resort more than occasionally.

The nearest real town is Badesi, about a mile (2 km) away, with a supermarket, a pharmacy, banks and a cash machine, reached by the resort shuttle. Castelsardo, about 12 miles (20 km) east, is a medieval hilltop town with a Doria castle and a basket-weaving tradition. Isola Rossa, about 9 miles (15 km) away, is a red-rock harbour village, with the Aquafantasy water park on the hill above it, which has a toddler zone; check its current prices before you promise a day there. Costa Paradiso, nearby, is known for its granite coves and diving. Santa Teresa Gallura and the La Maddalena archipelago national park are reachable by the resort's boat trips from Palau or by car. For walkers, the resort points to trails in Gallura, at Baia delle Mimose and the wild beaches of Li Mindi and Poltu Biancu, and the red cliffs of Costa Rossa. Our Sardinia guide covers the island's family highlights; note that Asinara's albino donkeys and the Molentargius flamingos it mentions are on the far side of the island and not realistic day trips from Badesi.

On site, the two squares have a chemist for over-the-counter medicine and baby supplies without leaving the grounds, along with boutiques, a jeweller, a hairdresser, a photographer, a newsagent and a games arcade. There is free medical help at set times, and a doctor's appointment or certificate for an extra charge. The nearest hospital is at Tempio Pausania, about 12 to 22 miles (20 to 35 km) away. Italy's emergency number is 112, the equivalent of 999, with 118 as the dedicated ambulance line, and a GHIC or EHIC covers emergency state healthcare in Italy.

The verdict in detail

Loves and gripes

What guests rate and what frustrates them, how it compares in Sardinia, the journey in and the weather by month.

Le Dune has won Italy's Leading Beach Resort at the World Travel Awards for six years running, from 2020 to 2025, is nominated again for 2026, and has been nominated before for Europe's Leading Family and Wellness Resort. TripAdvisor rates it around 4 out of 5 from roughly 2,800 reviews, among the top-10 places to stay in the Badesi area, and Booking.com puts it in the high 8s out of 10, both as of July 2026 and best taken as a rough steer.

What guests rate

  • The nursery and the depth of provision for the under-twos, singled out even by families who have compared other resorts.
  • Staff warmth, which several reviews describe as a family-run feel despite the scale.
  • The sheer scale of the children's set-up, from Duneland to Villaggio Fantasia and the Peter Pan restaurant.
  • Food quality across the restaurants, and the allergy and gluten-free handling.
  • Cleanliness and the green, dune-and-juniper setting.
  • The Blue Flag beach and its free shuttle down to the sand.

Common gripes

  • The cost of extras: drinks, several of the better restaurants and the spa all charge on top of half-board.
  • The rural setting and the need for a hire car, with the island's better-known sights over an hour away.
  • An occasional language barrier with younger staff, though most reviews praise multilingual staff.
  • The Baby Club's self-certification form, which one family found unexpected.
  • A minority of rooms described as spartan, with older bathrooms or thin walls, which varies by hotel and room type rather than being the general view.
  • A good beach that some feel is not the island's most beautiful.
Against the Sardinia alternatives

How it compares

Le Dune's nearest comparison is Valle dell'Erica, near Santa Teresa Gallura, run by the same group. Valle dell'Erica is the more premium, adult and wellness-minded of the two, while Le Dune is the more purpose-built family resort, with the deeper provision for the very youngest, four clubs up to age 17 and ten restaurants. Against the big south-coast resorts near Cagliari, Forte Village and Chia Laguna, Le Dune is smaller, but its free nursery for babies under two goes further than their published family offer, and it is far easier to reach from Olbia or Alghero; the trade-off is that a Cagliari transfer costs roughly three and a half times an Olbia one. The Villasimius resorts and Arbatax Park sit near Cagliari too, a poor fit if you are flying into the north. The short version is that Le Dune's practical edge is northern-airport access plus the deepest published set-up for babies, and its trade-off is a rural spot that needs a hire car.

Airports, season and booking

Getting there and when to go

Fly into Olbia or Alghero, both about an hour and a half by road, roughly 50 miles (81 km) from Olbia and 55 miles (85 to 90 km) from Alghero. Cagliari, the south's main airport, is a full-island drive and not worth it; the resort's own transfer list charges around three and a half times more for it. The ferry ports at Golfo Aranci, Porto Torres and Santa Teresa are also options if you are bringing a car. Delphina runs its own transfers, Monday to Saturday, with a discount if you book the return within a few days of the room, and surcharges at night and for a premium vehicle. A hire car still makes the difference for days out.

On the stay itself, babies up to 23 months go free, children 2 to 12 get 60% off and teenagers 13 to 17 get 50% off, with a free cot on request. That is a different discount from the half-price children's meals at the extra-charge restaurants noted above.

The resort opens in mid-May and closes in late September; for 2026 that is 15 May to 27 September. Individual hotels and services can open or close on a staggered basis in the first and last weeks, so do not assume every hotel and restaurant is running on the exact first or last day; if your room category is not yet open, the resort may move you into a different room for those nights instead. No minimum stay is published, only long-stay discounts that start at eight nights. The most comfortable months with young children are June and September, warm with a sea that has warmed up for swimming and lighter crowds than the peak; July and August are hot, busy and priced highest, and May is mild on land but the sea is still cool for paddling.

One booking note: there is an unrelated Le Dune Suite Hotel in Porto Cesareo in Puglia, on the Italian mainland. It is a different company in a different region, so check you are booking Resort & SPA Le Dune in Badesi, Sardinia.

Month by month

Weather

Badesi is on Sardinia's north-west coast. The nearest long-term weather station is Olbia, on the north-east coast, whose figures are the closest verified match, though there is one real local difference: this north-west coast takes the maestrale, the north-westerly wind, more directly than the sheltered east coast, so a windy, choppier beach day is more likely here and can happen at any time of year, even though the wind is strongest from autumn to spring. The resort is open from mid-May to late September, so the table stops in September rather than running into the wetter autumn.

Typical monthly weather for Sardinia
MonthDaytime highOvernight lowRainWet daysSea temp
May24.5°13.5°23 mm418°
June29°17.5°10 mm222°
July32°20°2 mm025°
August32°20.5°13 mm127°
September28°17.5°38 mm425°

Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The resort is open from mid-May to late September.

The questions parents ask

Questions

The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.

Is the beach a walk from the resort, or do you cross a road?

It is across the coast road, not straight off the resort, so plan to use the free beach shuttle from the central square rather than push a pram across. It runs every day from 8.30am to 11pm, which covers a nap-timed trip down and back with beach kit and children in tow.

Do all five hotels have the same facilities?

They share the restaurants, five of the six pools and all the children's facilities. Two things do differ by hotel: in-room Wi-Fi, confirmed only at La Duna Bianca and Le Sabine, and your beach row and included perks. Choose the hotel on those and on how central or quiet you want to be, not on a different set of activities.

What happens with childcare on a Saturday?

The clubs, the Peter Pan children's restaurant and the general children's services close on Saturdays. If you need childcare every day, either time the week so Saturday is a family day out or arrange private babysitting, which runs separately.

Which room suits a family with a baby best?

Look at a Superior Family Suite at Le Rocce, I Ginepri or Le Palme, which is two interconnecting rooms, so a baby has a room to nap in without the family splitting up. If you would rather a separate living room than interconnecting bedrooms, the Le Sabine or I Ginepri Suite does that. Book the free cot at the same time.

Can we use the spa with the children?

No. The Le Sabine spa is for ages 14 and up, or younger only with written parental permission, so it is not a family facility. For children in the water the resort has six pools, two of them kept just for children.

Which airport should we fly into, and does it matter?

Olbia or Alghero, both about an hour and a half away, work well. Cagliari does not: it is a full-island drive and the resort's own transfer costs roughly three and a half times as much, so avoid pairing this resort with a Cagliari flight.

Is there anything to do without a hire car?

Not much beyond the resort and its beach. Badesi town, about a mile away, has a supermarket and a pharmacy and a resort shuttle, but the island's better-known towns and sights are an hour or more away, so most families hire a car for the days they want to explore.

Does the resort provide baby food, or do we bring our own?

There is a free nursery and bottle-feeding room for babies up to 23 months, with sterilisers, bottle warmers and microwaves and a daily-refreshed stock of milk, yoghurt, fruit juice, vegetable soups and pureed veg, so you can make up meals there. For an older toddler the restaurants have high chairs and the buffet's plainer options.

Last updated 15 July 2026. Opening dates, activity seasons and prices change, so check the current position before you book.