How LVMH Will Give You Another Reason To Visit Sardinia This Summer

13.02.2024 - 14:23 / forbes.com / Bill Gates / Grace Kelly / Bernard Arnault / Emerald Coast / Larry Ellison

With its crystalline waters and sublime beaches, Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, a 20- kilometer tranche of seaside running along the island’s northeast coast, has been a go-to for the world’s elite for decades. When Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, who led a consortium that developed the area in the 1960s, first surveyed a then barren landscape he reportedly said, “There is a multitude of fine sandy beaches and no one to walk on them.” But once the posh retreat—sustainably planned and created by top architects of the day—opened for business it drew a rarified crowd, including Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly and Gianni Agnelli, who came to experience the unique beaches, or at least gaze at them with admiration from their nearby yachts.

The mix of visitors to the Emerald Coast remains high wattage, with billionaires like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison putting in appearances. But even with a nightclub boldly named Billionaire Porto Cervo, the area is welcoming for those without stratospheric net worth, although healthy travel budgets certainly help for a vacation at certain resorts. When I lived in Milan, Sardinia was considered the prime weekend destination, a Hamptons with palm trees and tranquil aqua seas. The merely affluent, without private jet, had to deal with fierce competition to book Friday afternoon flights to Olbia well before temperatures began to soar.

While many have come to and continue to visit the Costa Smeralda on a yacht, plenty of VIPs have opted for land-based stays at one of the historic hotels like the Cala di Volpe, Romazzino and Pitrizza near Porto Cervo, the thriving “capital” of the Emerald Coast. (Or they retreat to an area villa, which typically sells from 5000 to 10,000 euros per square meter, according to Investropa,)

Now divisions of LVMH, helmed by Bernard Arnault, who often tops the list of the world’s richest people, and whose yacht Symphony has been spotted off Sardinian coasts, are taking over the management of two of the island’s legendary properties, the Romazzino and Pitrizza. (Both initiatives are collaborations with Sardegna Resorts, owned by the Qatar Investment Authority.)

The Romazzino, which debuted in 1965, will re-open as a Belmond property in May of this year. (LVMH purchased the luxury hospitality group in 2019.) The company describes the hotel as an “ode to historical glamour”—think Slim Aarons photo come to life, and a Negroni at the ready to take in the sunset or (with a caffè macchiato) sunrise views.

Belmond has great “historic” assets to work with—a location on a private white sand beach fronting a sweeping bay with dazzling emerald and sapphire waters; spacious pools (fresh and sea water); and sea-facing restaurants. Designed a little more than sixty years ago by