PORTO CERVO – A lengthy recent sojourn by members of the Saudi Arabian royal family in one of Sardinia’s most exclusive hotels just a stone’s throw from the hallowed Billionaire Club has reaffirmed the enduring  attraction of the Costa Smeralda  resort area for international jetsetters.

 “The royal guests had separate suites for male and female family members,” a member of staff at the Colonna Pevero Hotel recalls. “In all they occupied about 20 rooms including the Royal Suite. The Saudi princes tend to keep late hours so there was a lot of room service work late into the evening.” Nevertheless the gargantuan tips handed out helped ensure the VIP visitors’ popularity, he added.

 Regular guests in the Colonna Pevero’s 102 rooms perched on the rolling hills facing the dazzling Pevero  Bay receive personal attention from Paola Mancini, the hotel manager herself from Sardinia who goes out of her way to ensure she welcomes you with a drink and some helpful advice in the comfortable Gerani bar.

 In addition to access to a tranquil private beach area and a complex of five swimming pools nestling in the perfumed macchia mediteranea, the hotel has a fitness and wellness centre, two restaurants, a business centre and can arrange for golfers to play at the 18 hole Pevero Golf club.

 Yacht charter also is available through the Charter costasmeralda company. As a sailing enthusiast I normally find luxury yachts flashy and boring but have to confess I much enjoyed a lazy day at sea aboard Charter’s stunning Tornado 38 sport.

 This streamlined 11.8 metre motoscafo with its powerful twin 200 HP Volvo Penta turbodiesel engines made short work of ferrying a group of deadline-ravaged reporters and publishers to a picturesque bay on the island of Caprera where Italian national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi spent his well-deserved retirement after welding the country together in the 19^th century. After a long swim to the shore we were virtually the only visitors on a pristine white sand beach that was a reminder that Sardinia and the nearby smaller islands offer some of the most unspoiled and idyylic flora in Italy.

 Snorkelling equipment is available on board and Charter has a selection of the newest water toys including a banana boat, water skiing and a Stand Up paddle (SUP).

 After a day in the sea the Zafferano restaurant offers a constellation of Sardinian specialities.  I enjoyed Seppiole nostrane alla Griglia, a cuttlefish dish, and Fiore Sardo giovane su Zucchine in Scapece e profumo di Bottarga di Cabras, followed by Tempur di Alici and Baccalà with Mozzarella.

 This was followed by Culurgiones of Calamari and Seppiole with fillets of Cefalo and the meal climaxed with a terrific Mediterranean shellfish soup.

 On offer for wine drinkers to wash all this down was Ruinas, a DOCG Vermentino di Gallura from the Cantina Depperu at Luras, and Keramos, a Sardinian DOC Cannonau from the Tenuta Soletta at Codrongianus.

 The Pevero bay is reached easily from Olbia Airport with regular schedule flights by Meridiana from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Milan’s Linate airport and many other cities around Europe.