Its vacation time. Time to give your family a treat

Its incentive time. Time to gift your well deserved employees

Its conference time. Time to bring together your fraternity

If you are looking for a mix of sea, sun, sand, good food (including Indian special-

ties), conference facilities, luxurious rooms, expansive spa, thalassotherapy, sports

including cricket then Forte Village Resort in Sardinia would be an ideal option for

leisure, luxury, corporate and MICE.

Voted the World’s Leading Resort at the World Travel Awards for the 15th time,

World’s Leading Green Resort (2010 and 2011), and World’s Leading Villa (2012),

Forte Village, located in Southern Sardinia is set in 47 hectares of lush vegetation with

2,000 tropical plants, home to 8 hotels and 21 restaurants across the beach is a perfect

destination.

In April I had been to the resort for a consumer electronics event and was amazed by

their MICE capabilities. In May again I visited as a tourist and enjoyed all the luxury

that is meted out to their guests. Even in May when I visited they had a group of 1200

people attending a 4 day residential conference. “This will just give you an idea of how

large our resort is and we are capable of handling groups exceeding 1500 people including comfortable accommodation and F&B. We

have recently built a new hall having a capacity to accommodate up to 2000 guests,” said Lorenzo Giannuzzi, Managing Director, Ele-

ganzia Hotels & Spas.

Luxury Accommodation

Choosing where to stay in the village is a difficult choice, as there are eight hotels and two spacious villas to choose from. Hotel

rooms offer different fantastic facilities from sea views, terrace’s, balconies, garden patios or views of the tropical gardens.

The luxurious Castello hotel is the best as its just a few metres from the Sardinian sea and the rooms and suites offering spectacu-

lar views – either the sea or pine forest from ones balcony or terrace. The rooms are divided into Superior, Superior Garden, Superi-

or Mare, Executive Mare, Deluxe Patio, Prestige and Prestige Plus categories. On the Executive floor (the hotel’s fourth and fifth

floors) are the Executive Deluxe Mare rooms, Junior Suites and Suites. The hotel lounge opens onto the welcoming Bandiere Bar.

Castello guest have breakfast and dinner at Cavalieri restaurant and they can also dine without a reservation at Torre Grill and La Pine-

ta restaurants.

The IL Villagio, IL Borgo and Le Palme are a large group of bungalows ideal for families or a group of friends as they have multi-

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Global Destinations July - Aug 20136

A Mediterranean ParadiseIt was a pleasure staying at Forte Village Resort that has been named The World's Leading Resort for the

last 15 consecutive years, twice within a span of 45 days says Chandragupta Amritkar

Lorenzo Giannuzzi

ple rooms. The Royal Pinetta rooms are built in a horseshoe with

patios and balconies looking out to sea. Le Dune is located right

by the shore. The Villa Del Parco, hidden by greenery, is located

right next door to the spa with its own top-floor restaurant.

The suites offer privacy and peace and offer extra services such

as a British-style Butler, Chef or Chauffeur. There are five types

of suites - Castello Suites, Le Dune Suites, Cala Del Forte Suites,

Boat House Suites and Beachcomber Suites.

For the cash rich there are two very spacious villas - Villa Forte

and Villa Lidia are also located on the estate – providing extra

space and privacy. Apartments and suites within the Villas can be

connected or separated to create larger or more compact accom-

modation as required.

Gastronomy

Another highlight at the resort is the food. A team of chefs cre-

ate almost 180 different international dishes every day spread

across 21 restaurants from romantic waterfront spots to typical

eateries with regional flavours and the world’s greatest cuisines –

from Japanese to Indian to Brazilian. The three Michelin-starred

chefs - Gordon Ramsay, Rocco Iannone and Giancarlo Per-

bellini present award-winning exponents of Italian haute cui-

sine. The resort has a wonderful organic kitchen garden - home

to over 6,000 plants – fruit, vegetables and headily-perfumed

herbs. With exclusive courses the resorts Cookery School is a

success. Exceptional tuition comes in the form of the Michelin-

starred chefs, who help guests discover the best of Italian cuisine.

There’s also an Indian Restaurant offering authentic Indian cui-

sine, prepared by Indian chefs. It serves both vegetarian and non-

vegetarian dishes. For wine drinkers the cellars boast a selection

of the very finest Italian and international wines from 250 differ-

ent producers.

Wellness

In today’s stressful world relaxation is something that’s pretty

high on the agenda for many guests. Everyone needs to regener-

ate their body and soul and Forte Village Resort provides an ideal

setting with its “Thaermae del Forte” Thalasso & Spa. Already

listed as member of The Leading Spas of the World, Thermae del

Forte after years of research has launched a thalassotherapy cen-

tre, comprising a of six seawater spa baths, with various concen-

trations of salt and different temperatures (from 25° to 35° C).

Thalassotherapy is a treatment that uses the combined action of

climatic and marine elements (seawater, sand, seaweed). The sea

becomes a completely natural source of treatment to restore our

bodies’ wellbeing and inner peace. This is the secret of Thalas-

sotherapy, an ancient science born on Mediterranean shores. One

can combine these thalassotherapy therapies with massages and

treatments, sauna, Turkish bath. There’s also a large gym center.

Those who are extremely health conscious can opt for daily

lunches with dietetic menu at the “Thaermae del Forte” Thalasso

& Spa restaurant.

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Global DestinationsJuly - Aug 2013 7

Kids and Teenagers

Forte Village Resort is a child friendly resort in which the

whole family can enjoy a holiday. It is also designed for kids,

from toddlers to teenagers - a place where kids can romp around

the huge resort as no vehicles are allowed on the premises. The

kids can enjoy in the Kids’ City - a safe and secure environment

complete with a spectacular pool exclusively for them. With

activities carefully tailor-made to different age groups, the city is

the place to play, perform and create. Modeling clay, cooking a

pizza, baking a cake, playing a musical instrument, singing and

dancing, making mosaics, painting pictures, putting on a puppet

show and creating sculpture are just some of the choices. The

sporty minded can practice acrobatics or pick up football tips

from coaches at Chelsea FC, while studious types can improve

their English or Italian. The more ups can have fun the all night

long in an appointed area called the Leisureland with disco, go

kart, a spot of free-climbing and bowling.

There’s also a kids' restaurant. Aquarium serves child-friendly

dishes such as pizza, pasta and chips - with healthy fish and salad

options - for lunch and dinner. For both adults and kids a doctor

is available around the clock.

MICE

Forte Village Resort has been a successful MICE center for

many global companies, NGOs, clubs etc. The resort recently

launched a new and versatile tent structure catering exclusively to

MICE clientele. The new tent structure is modern and high-tec-

hand an excellent venue for a magnificent convention, product

launch or even a wedding. The Pala Forte is customizable in from

its cover (white, black or transparent), measuring more than 2000

square meters and equipped with air conditioning and the most

sophisticated technology and can accommodate up to 2000 peo-

ple in setting (theatre shape), and up to 1500 for a dinner.

Apart from this the resort has 18 meetings rooms for 10 to 1000

delegates with latest audio visual equipment and dedicated staff

catering for all types of events. Add to this 8 hotels offering 750

Rooms and bungalows including 44 suites of the highest level

and 21 restaurants serving Mediterranean and international cui-

sine some with sea front location. Numerous solutions are also

available for excursions and team building activities.

Forte Village offers a huge selection of evening entertainment.

Live evening shows at Forte Village are very lively with many

international artists using its open-air stage.

Sports

One of the few resorts in the world to have a regular full-size

football pitch on their premises makes Forte Village an ideal loca-

tion for soccer teams training camps. The resort allows guests to

choose from an impressive range of activities – cricket, tennis,

soccer, rugby, basketball, golf (Wentworth Golf Academy) etc.

There are cricket, tennis and football academies, and from time to

time international sports stars come to Forte Village to coach

youngsters. Unique to Forte Village, they give sports fanatics the

chance to improve their technique with coaching tips from the

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Global Destinations July - Aug 20138

professionals. There is also go-karting and bowling alleys. The

beach is an integral part of the resort: it mirrors the beauty of each

hotel, offering guests endless opportunities for sports and relax-

ation. Forte Village has its own scuba diving centre and plenty of

boats. The hotel even has its own yacht.

Environment Friendly

Among the many awards Forte Village Resort has also won the

title of World’s Leading Green Resort, thanks to the green spaces

spread across the grounds including large areas of seasonal flow-

ering plants, a vast pine grove and extensive Mediterranean

maquis. The maquis is home to a surprising number of plants

some 120,000 shrubs and 15,000 tall trees. Native plants include

the cane apple, myrtle, heather, juniper, bilberry and cork-oak.

These plants have adapted and blended in with the native vari-

eties, fitting in seamlessly with the rest of the vegetation at the

Resort. Year-round care is provided by 25 gardeners.

The Resort uses 100% green modes of transport. Only bicycles

and electric vehicles can be found on the avenues and roads at

Forte Village, not only benefiting the natural surroundings but

helping keep the air clean too and providing guests with a healthy

environment far away from the hustle bustle of the city. The

Resort is also well known for its water conservation project. To

provide itself with sufficient water, Forte Village Resort built a

350,000 m³ rainwater reservoir back in the 1970s. The reservoir

is used to irrigate the Resort’s lush grounds as well as supplying

drinking water.

When queried on the new emerging markets that they are tar-

geting Lorenzo Giannuzzi said, “India, China and Brazil are the

new markets towards which we are directing our efforts, in order

to gain new substantial market shares. Our strength has been to

maintain a high percentage of repeat guests.

It may be a bit pricey but is really worth the price. The service

is first class and you, your family, friends, colleagues and cus-

tomers are bound to have a great experience. The Resort can be a

good option for those living in the city and in search of peace

away from work stress, vehicular pollution, noise pollution etc.

How to reach: From Mumbai one can fly to London or Rome

and take a connecting flight to Cagliari. A 45 minute drive will

take you to the Forte Village Resort.

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Global Destinations July - Aug 201310

For sightseeing there are two beautiful locations from ForteVillage – Cagliari and Nora. It will take you around 4-5 hoursto see both the places. I left the hotel with an English speak-ing guide. Our first stop was Nora an ancient Roman and pre-Roman town placed on a peninsula near Pula. Nora is anarchaeological site with Roman, Phoenician, and Punicremains. The town was founded in the 8th century BC by thePhoenicians but the area may have been inhabited prehistor-ically by the Nuraghic people. Much of the original Nora isunder the Mediterranean; the archaeological site is slowlybeing uncovered. The uncovered zone includes remains offour thermal baths, an amphitheater, where performances areheld in summer, as well as a few houses and villas. Much ofNora has not been excavated because part of it is in a militaryarea and some is under the sea. Theres also a fine cathedral

and archaeological museum close by. Nora Archaeological Zone is open daily at 9am.From here we went to Cagliari the capital of Sardinia since Roman times. We drove up to the old Castello (castle)

district, which sits atop one of the hills (the town was built on seven hills), overlooking the port. The castello or cas-tle district is the oldest and highest part of the city. From here one can view the 13th-century towers that still guardthe medieval city walls. These limestone towers are known today as the St. Pancras Tower and the Elephant Tower.While the city was heavily bombed during the Second World War by the Allies in 1943, efforts to repair and the cityhave been extremely successful.

The Roman Amphitheatre at the edge of town was constructed of the same limestone that built the rest of the city,and as a result it is extremely well preserved today. So much so that it sill is used for open-air performances through-out the summer. The Sardinian Archaeological Museum is home to several collections of pre-Classical art and artifacts,including those dating to the prehistoric Nuragic civilization.

The Marina district, near the port, has an arcaded street with cafes and shops, the town hall, and several church-es. The train and bus stations are right in town. On our return we spotted a lot of e pink flamingos in the poundsaround the city.