Hotel Marinedda and Hotel Relax Torreruja are benefiting from demand for quieter coastal stays, with new British Airways flights linking London Stansted and Olbia this summer.
Costa Rossa in north-west Sardinia, where Delphina hotels & resorts says UK booking interest has strengthened in 2026.
- Delphina hotels & resorts says 2026 booking trends at Hotel Marinedda and Hotel Relax Torreruja are ahead of the same period last year, although it has not disclosed percentage growth.
- British Airways added a twice-weekly London Stansted–Olbia service for summer 2026, improving UK access to northern Sardinia.
- La Marinedda, Cala Sarraina and Spiaggia Lunga Isola Rossa all appear on Italy’s official 2026 Blue Flag list for Trinità d’Agultu e Vignola.
- Both Delphina properties at Isola Rossa are scheduled to remain open until 11 October 2026, extending the window for late-season coastal and wellness stays.
(NEWS) ISOLA ROSSA, Sardinia, Italy, 2026-Sep-16 — /Travel PR News/ — North-west Sardinia is attracting greater attention from British holidaymakers looking beyond the island’s best-known resort areas, with Delphina hotels & resorts reporting stronger 2026 booking trends at two of its Isola Rossa properties on the Costa Rossa.
The family-owned Sardinian group says bookings at the five-star Hotel Marinedda Thalasso & SPA and four-star superior Hotel Relax Torreruja Thalasso & SPA are running ahead of the same period last year. Delphina has not disclosed percentage growth, so the increase is best read as an operator-level signal rather than a market-wide measure of British demand.
What the trend does reflect is a familiar Mediterranean travel pattern: some visitors are seeking smaller coastal bases, outdoor experiences and a stronger sense of place rather than concentrating only on the most established resort enclaves. On Sardinia, that creates room for the Costa Rossa to position itself as a quieter counterpart to the higher-profile Costa Smeralda on the island’s north-east coast.
New UK air access strengthens the case for north Sardinia
Air access is also improving. British Airways added a London Stansted–Olbia service for summer 2026, operated by BA Cityflyer twice weekly on Saturdays and Sundays between 23 May and 27 September. The route supplements the airline’s other Olbia connections and gives UK travellers another option for reaching northern Sardinia without routing through the island’s southern gateways.
Hotel Marinedda is around 79 kilometres from Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport and sits close to the fishing village of Isola Rossa, overlooking La Marinedda Bay and the Gulf of Asinara. Hotel Torreruja is also based at Isola Rossa, giving both properties access to the same stretch of red-granite coastline, small coves and beaches that give the Costa Rossa its name.
Three local beaches — La Marinedda, Cala Sarraina and Spiaggia Lunga Isola Rossa — are included in Italy’s official 2026 Blue Flag programme for the municipality of Trinità d’Agultu e Vignola. For travellers choosing the area specifically for sea and nature, that recognition adds a concrete quality marker to the destination’s quieter-coast positioning.
Film tourism and wellness broaden the appeal
The Costa Rossa is also being marketed through its screen connections. Delphina notes that marine scenes for Disney’s The Little Mermaid were filmed on nearby beaches, while the hotel group says the coast has also hosted filming connected with Star Wars: Starfighter, due for release in 2027. That gives the region a set-jetting angle alongside its more traditional beach, walking and boating appeal.
Wellness is another important part of the offer. Hotel Marinedda’s L’Elicriso Thalasso & SPA spans 2,500 square metres and uses heated seawater pools alongside treatments inspired by Sardinian botanicals. At Hotel Torreruja, guests can use the Venere Thalasso & SPA Centre, while the property’s villas offer a more private accommodation option close to the hotel’s restaurants, seawater pool and other facilities.
Sardinia’s wider wellness narrative is often linked to the island’s longevity reputation. Research into the original Sardinian “Blue Zone” identified an area of exceptional longevity in the mountainous Ogliastra and Barbagia districts of central-eastern Sardinia, rather than on the Costa Rossa itself. The link for travellers is therefore broader and lifestyle-led — Mediterranean food, daily movement, strong community ties and slower routines — rather than a claim that Isola Rossa sits inside the scientifically identified longevity zone.
A late-season option for travellers avoiding peak summer
For travellers who prefer to avoid July and August, the two Delphina properties also extend the Costa Rossa season into autumn. Hotel Marinedda and Hotel Relax Torreruja are scheduled to remain open until 11 October 2026, creating a late-season window for beach walks, coastal touring and thalassotherapy after the busiest summer weeks.
That timing may be especially relevant as travellers continue to spread Mediterranean trips beyond traditional peak months. Northern Sardinia still depends heavily on seasonal air capacity, but additional UK routes and growing awareness of lesser-known coastal areas are making places such as Isola Rossa easier to consider for travellers who want Sardinia without necessarily following its most familiar resort map.
