Hotel Cualbu

A mountain hotel in the highest village

Hotel Cualbu is in Fonni, at about 1,000 metres, in the Barbagia di Ollolai, at the foot of the Gennargentu. It is a family three-star, that of Giuseppe Cualbu, which has received travellers since the late 1970s and has been refurbished in a classic-modern style. It is the practical base for the upper part of the Barbagia: the Bruncu Spina station is about 15 km away, and Mamoiada, with its mask museum, about 20 minutes.

The rooms

There are two types. The Standard rooms have a bathroom with shower, satellite television and telephone. The Superior add a safe, minibar, whirlpool bath and heating. Wifi is free throughout the hotel. The website does not say how many rooms there are or publish prices: you book from its booking engine or by phone.

Pool, sauna and restaurant

It has a pool and a children's pool, a small gym and a wellness centre with a Finnish sauna, at 80–90 °C, and a Turkish bath, good after a day in the mountains. There is a garden for the aperitivo and a dance hall.

The restaurant, Su Barracu, is in the garden, in a building of wood and stone that imitates the mountain houses of Fonni's shepherds. It serves Barbagia cooking: wild boar ham and sausages, pecorino and Barbagia reds. Some evenings there are dances and songs in the traditional dress of Fonni during dinner.

Getting there

Fonni is about two hours from Olbia and about two and a half hours from Cagliari by car (estimated). It is the side of the Barbagia closest to Cagliari: if you arrive from the south, start here. The hotel is on Via del Lavoro, in the village. The hotel also organises excursions in the Gennargentu and the Supramonte.