Villa Roberta is one of three villas that the owner, an inspired local developer called Michele Posadinu, constructed on a hilltop overlooking Castelsardo and Lu Bagnu, in northern Sardinia.

This little group was named "Villagio Bellavista" for obvious reasons. Roberta is a well-equipped and well-maintained two-bedroom villa enjoying a direct view over its own kidney-shaped 15m pool, the shared tennis court and then the 12th century Castelsardo on the sea 5km away. The drive from sea to villa is about 7 minutes unless you think you're Ayrton Senna.

For the last few years, Villa Roberta has been used as a reception for the other two villas in the little village. This explains the lack of historical reviews which we found a little odd before coming here.

We flew into Olbia, collected a hire car and drove to the sea-side town of Lu Bagnu, 2km west of Castelsardo, where we met Michele outside the recently re-named Hotel Mintz. The drive is quickest via Sassari, with a good highway running straight across the north of the island. The drive took probably 2 hours plus time to get some provisions. The airport at Alghero is close to Sassari but we found the best flights were to Olbia with easyJet.

The reason Michele meets you in town is because the last 2km of the journey is along a steep private road off the highway to Tergu and, frankly, you'd never find it unless you were shown it. We were also a bit perplexed at why google's satellite images of this part of Sardinia are so old that they don't show the villas. You can triangulate where Roberts is, roughly, from the photos, but you do need to be shown how to get here and in the end this just adds to making the place feel secret and even more special.

Michele is very concerned with making sure you have everything you need, and he is on hand in Lu Bagnu to resolve any issues immediately. We found the place spotlessly clean, and his extra touches like local cheeses help you melt into the Sardinian scene.

The villa is just how it appears on the website and the views are just breathtaking. Up here you feel very privileged to have the space and the quiet, and the lack of biting insects, just a short drive from the beach.

This villa is a gem. It's not on the Costa Smeralda, and it's not on the sea, but it has it's own lovely pool plus there's the tennis, and all the space and light and air, overlooking the coast and (as we saw today) a view all the way to Corsica. This is a special place.