Sant'Efis Hotel

We stayed here for 11 nights in mid-June. This hotel is stunningly gorgeous, one of the most beautiful we’ve ever stayed at. The hotel, the gardens (wow!), the pools, the restaurant, the beach. It really and truly is a feast for the eye. Thoughtful and expensive design is apparent everywhere. Simply turn your head and you are greeted with another visual treat. Corners are rounded out and natural materials are evident throughout. Wood is carefully and sensitively used to complement the white walls, the floors are all flagstones tiles of a lovely cream stone which I think might be limestone. Pillars are stunning columns of granite. The walls everywhere are stressed and then painted. The effect is of whitewashed stone but so very cleverly done. The gardens are another level entirely. I’m unsure if it was at its peak whilst we’re were there but it sure looked like it. The walk from the main pool through to the beach pool wanders through a blissful garden where you brush through flowering Beeblossom lining the path. Hibiscus, Oleander, sea lavender, agapanthus, palm trees, golden rain trees and many others are everywhere. It’s enchanting. There’s this amazing creeping plant around the blue pool. It softens the outline and brings the garden to the pool. Bougainvillea is everywhere. It’s all just absolutely lovely. Wildlife is everywhere, - lizards, big black carpenter bees, bumble bees, wasps, pigeons, seagulls, birds and more birds. The main block of the hotel is an inverted U shape with a stunning garden & carp pond in the centre. It’s all very serene, tropical and lush. The block encompasses the Comfort, Superior, Deluxe and Prestige rooms. Next along towards the pools and beach is the reception followed by the bar & suite block. On the ground floor is the bar and a reading lounge leading out towards the blue pool Bu the side of the pool is the Hibiscus restaurant. Above the bar and lounge are the 4 suites. The Junior Suite Relax is above the bar, the Presidential suites in the centre (I think) followed by the King Suite Levant on the right (as you look from the pool). I’m not sure where the Queen suite is, I think it’s behind the Junior Suite. In the main block all the comfort rooms face outwards and all seem to have a small terrace or balcony. There’s extensive planting all around the building screening the rooms from the car park, especially the ground floor ones. We had a Superior room on the first floor overlooking the courtyard garden. It’s a very comfortable room and beautifully laid out. Not large by any means but it’s plenty big for anyone worrying about that. The bed is not a double as stated in the description but a king and there’s easily a metre+ of space all around the bed. There oodles of space to store stuff. We emptied 2 large suitcases into the wardrobe (plenty of hangers), shelf and 6 x drawers. We found the bed quite firm, but that seems to be the norm for Italy. Ours was an ottoman bed so we could have stored our suitcases in there but didn’t bother. Air-conditioning is a set temperature. I’m not sure what it’s set to but it seems cooler during the day than the night. Perhaps 22C during the day and 24C at night. I think we’d have preferred a slightly lower temperature at night especially during the heatwave. There are air-conditioning units on the roof above the Superior rooms. They’re fine for the most part, white noise helps us sleep actually. However during the day (+5am?) they occasionally cranked up to a whiney drone that reverberated through the building. We managed to sleep through most of it but afternoon naps were challenging. The bathroom is well appointed with Villeroy & Boch fittings, a really nice rain shower and some nice toiletries. Loved the beautiful red tiles in the shower. Lighting is very sympathetic. There’s a a very clever door system. When you’re in the room the light outside the door is purple, when you remove your key from the activation socket inside the room to leave it goes blue. Press and hold the socket and it goes red for do not disturb. This is a cool design. You get 2 x cans of water (33cl) when you arrive and no further complementary water. The restaurant sells 75cl bottles of water for €4. This is okay if you have a car as there’s plenty of supermarkets a 10 minute drive away. We had no car. Marco, a local taxi man came to our rescue. He speaks excellent English and was happy to pick me up and drive me around Pula to various shops. We had some terrific chats. He’s a really nice guy. A quick text message to organise the time was all it took. A life saver. We sent out some laundry. It takes 2 days plus collection & drop off days and there’s no Sunday delivery. So drop off Monday before 19:00, back Thursday evening. Breakfast is at the Hibiscus restaurant beside the blue pool and is terrific, - everything one could imagine at a hotel of this quality. Marvellous coffee. There’s 2 pools, the blue pool and the lux pool nearer the sea. The lux pool is lovely but we don’t like canopy beds. You can’t move them and they get a lot of sun. There’s only 8 of them so 16 people max can realistically use it. Mostly less. The blue or Azure pool is the one we used. It’s pretty mush deserted until mid morning so we had our pick of beds. None of that silly reserving beds here thankfully. The pool is an absolutely delight and we spent quite a lot of time there, especially in the mornings and occasionally in the evenings. There are 14 umbrellas, each with 2 beds. The only thing I’d say about the blue pool is that shade is at a premium and you have to keep moving your bed under the umbrellas to optimise it. I think the umbrellas could be a bit bigger, some of them at least. There are also 4 big umbrellas in the gardens with 2 beds each. Some of them are in the shade all day and are very popular. One couple decided that one of them was theirs and did that bed reserving thing. There’s also 4 hammocks. We didn’t use them but we saw some people having afternoon naps there. The beach is lovely, - soft white sand and clear blue water. We’re not really beach people. I used to be when I was younger but I lost patience with the sand years ago. I do however love swimming in the sea so we’re went down to the occasionally for a walk and a dip. The water is cool initially but you soon warm up to it. There are 30 umbrellas with 2 beds each. The best 4 in the front row are reserved for the suites. Beach showers are on the Don Carlo terrace if you’re looking for them. Given that there’s only 45 rooms in this hotel there is no shortage of places to setup for the day. No rush for beds and almost no undignified reserving. We were on half-board so we ate at Don Carlo for dinner (and a light lunch) every day. We kept meaning to eat somewhere else but couldn’t seem to work up the enthusiasm. There’s a separate HB menu with three options for each for anti-pasti, primi & secondi. Desert is typically a frozen cake or ice cream of some sort. There’s an extensive wine list but I’ve zero experience of Sardinian wines so we relied on guess work or staff recommendations. We had a peek at the à la carte menu and it all looked delicious. People travel specifically to eat here. Especially for the suckling pig evenings. The food and wine were all very good, some of it excellent and we enjoyed our leisurely evenings overlooking the sea from the terrace. The coming and goings of various gin palaces was entertaining. You can lookup the names and registry of boats and ships online. Everyone at the Don Carlo was terrific. Very welcoming, super efficient and fun. We didn’t catch any names but thank you all for looking after us so well. Other residents are split 50/50 Italian and North European plus a sprinkle of Americans. Age groups tend to the 50+ but there were some young couple and children. One young couple had a baby and we saw several children under 10. A social media butterfly aka an influencer graced us with her presence for a couple of days. Multiple costume changes, posing here and there. It was all very entertaining but I wouldn’t want to do it. It looked exhausting, especially in the heat. We had a very enjoyable stay at the Sant’Efis Hotel. We felt very comfortable and welcomed by everyone. A special mention to Davide who whipped up the most marvellous Negronis and Hadir in reception who was just so lovely all the time. I wholeheartedly recommend this hotel and we would definitely stay here again.

One of the best hotels and i've been to a lot to compare to! The setting of main pool, gardens, garden pool, restaurant and beach is just idyllic. We had two suites, they are amazing, views over the pool and gardens, huge rooms, great standard and high quality. Cleanness of this hotel is the best i've never seen. The breakfast is great, all staff are friendly and really helpful. The manager is round daily to chat to and she runs a great hotel. Although the hotel was full, you can always get a sun bed and feel the openness of space. It's so quiet in the day and evening, total relaxation. Don Carlo restaurant is lovely, great views, super food. You must do the speciality night, good atmosphere and very high quality food, plus cheese making/tasting. Location is great to pop to some location restaurants at lunch time by a 10 minute beach walk and into Pula town in the evening by car hire, lots of restaurants to choose form and 6 minute drive. Will definitely return, and highly recommended!

Our stay at Sant'Efis exceeded all our expectations. The beautiful gardens, stunning swimming pools, and private beach with complimentary sunbeds, umbrellas, and beach towels made for a perfect holiday. Everything was impeccably clean, and the attention, care, and genuine hospitality of the staff made our stay truly special. The hotel is also surrounded by fascinating historical sites worth exploring. The only thing to keep in mind is that, due to its secluded location, a car is highly recommended for anyone planning to explore the island. We are already looking forward to coming back next year!

This is the true definition of a discreet boutique hotel and it is wonderful. The grounds are beautiful and so peaceful and the staff are extremely efficient and helpful, whilst not intruding on your relaxation. Our Prestige Room was very large with a big sofa as well as a King bed and a sizeable bathroom with a superb shower and a pretty terrace to sit in the early morning or evening with a drink. The rooms are very tastefully furnished with lots of white and small authentic touches. The two pools and the quiet relaxation garden are beautifully maintained and were delightful, as well as being quiet. The beach is a good size with sufficient sunbeds and umbrellas, but the crystal clear sea is the highlight. Perfect for swimming or cooling off. Breakfast was one of the best we’ve had in Italy with high quality produce and a wide variety of choice. Service was also efficient and friendly. We opted for half-board and very much enjoyed the dinners each night overlooking the sea. The only minor criticism would be the lack of choice for dessert (all other courses have 3 choices) and also the rather out-of-date wine list: several wines weren’t available or had the wrong alcohol % information. But these were only tiny issues and otherwise we had a marvellous time and will definitely return!

Great stay, very sophisticated and relaxing hotel. Davide the bar manager made our last day very special, thank you!