Between April, May, late September, and October, discerning guests not only collect sunsets, but also understand where they come from, amid nature to explore and authentic gastronomic experiences. Here are the secrets of 7Pines for travelers to discover the island even beyond the summer season!
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The resort
Sardinian nature toasts to a new concept, tailor-made for you, made more of silence than selfies, more of reading than DJ sets, more of flavors than strobe lights. While summer is the season when the island is inundated with requests and tourists, there are those who care about its true essence and showcase it for what it has always been: culture, craftsmanship, agriculture, trades, patience. In this, 7Pines Resort Sardinia seems to have observed it in its truest form, showing it without haste, with the same devotion of those who love it and understand it, not those who consume it.
Yet, even with this formula, “the season was a success,” director Vito Spalluto immediately makes clear. "An economic success, of course, but also in terms of the quality of the resort, our outlets, what we offer, and guest satisfaction. There's no need to show off here: people appreciate the authenticity of what we produce. We pay the utmost attention to detail, yes, but also to the local area. People and environmental sustainability, always.“ Meanwhile, the guest profile is shifting upwards: more foreigners than Italians, ideal age 30-60, and a public that chooses ”relaxed but cultural" vacations: sports, sea in the warm months, exploration of the most authentic Arzachena. “This year, the area has become a Blue Zone,” recalls Spalluto. “It's not our main target, but we've also seen an increase in older tourists: the quality of life speaks for itself.”
The off-season as a cultural choice
The off-season here is not a discount: it is a learning curve. Between April, May, late September, and October, the discerning guest does not collect sunsets: they understand where they come from. They take a boat to the Maddalena Archipelago, then return for a day as a shepherd: no rural-chic fiction, but the reality of those who work with milk and transform it, of those who know the sheep's calendar better than the digital one. “It's a very real experience,” confirms Spalluto. “In the less torrid months, it works very well: nature, lifestyle, dialogue. The same reason why Blue Zone areas exist.”
Alongside the slow-paced landscape, there is the sleek speed of supercars: yes, Pagani, Bugatti, and Ferrari collectors' cars gather here. Beautiful roads to drive on, curves and horizons like a storyboard: another paradoxical but coherent way of measuring the scenery. And weddings, product launches, team building: the resort lends itself to this, “and in the near future even better,” promises the director.
Three kitchens, one voice: Pasquale D'Ambrosio
If hospitality is a musical score, Pasquale D'Ambrosio is the first violin. An executive chef with a recognizable personal style, he has harmonized three gastronomic projects into a single grammar: Capogiro (fine dining in the 2025 Michelin Guide), Spazio by Franco Pepe (where the master's dough dialogues with Sardinian ingredients), and Cone Club, the beach club that cooks the sea without clichés.
“The season went really well,” he says. "We opened in April and it's been growing ever since. Occupancy was 85-95%, restaurants were full and—crucially—60-70% of customers were from outside the resort. In Costa Smeralda, it's a small business: there's a world of strong alternatives out there. The fact that they choose us is a victory.“ The three outlets opened in three stages: Spazio by Franco Pepe (with an adjoining trattoria) in April, Capogiro in May (which has just been awarded two forks in the Gambero Rosso guide), and Cone Club in June. ”Capogiro was overbooked from May to October," he points out. “We even extended the opening until October 18, together with the hotel.”
The machine never stops: laboratories, yeasts, preservation
“In our conceptual framework, seasonality does not exist,” says D'Ambrosio. "We close to the public, but inside we continue to work: developing products, yeasts, flours, doughs for pasta and pizza; fermentation and storage to bring us what winter offers in spring and summer; research on seasonal products. We are not ‘seasonal’ in our thinking." The scope of the work is a local network built up over three years: a mill for ancient grains (Arzachena area), Isola Rossa fishermen's cooperative (“fish caught in the Asinara-Asinosa area, nowhere else”), nearby farmers, artisans who make custom ceramics, village women who still weave traditions: culurgiones, biscuits, fresh pasta.
The oil? Bosana from the Berchida cooperative, in various extractions. The flour? Senatore Cappelli from the area, which is used to make bread, fresh pasta, and special shapes: “We have fusillone produced in Gragnano with our Sardinian wheat; the same goes for mixed pasta and spaghetti. It's our way of combining supply chains: Sardinian territory + Campania craftsmanship.” The most insidious question: “How do you combine Sardinian tradition?” D'Ambrosio politely turns it around: “I don't reproduce Sardinian recipes. I respect them. My starting point is Sardinian produce, which I share with my vision: a free and inclusive cuisine, influenced by my background (Campania, England, France, many Italian regions). I bring the ingredients from here with me.”
Concrete examples. In fine dining pastry shops, you won't find Seada “as it is”: that lives in other outlets. At Capogiro, personal memories come into play discreetly: the “Pasta mixed with 12 tomatoes” — “a tribute to the cities and regions where I have worked: I talk about others to express myself discreetly.” The result is cuisine that is neither folkloric nor didactic, but deeply rooted in the territory in terms of ingredients, intelligent in form, and contemporary in thought.
The signature dishes of 2025
The dishes from this season that has just ended deserve a separate chapter. Why? Because they have shown that even the most carefully crafted dish can surprise even its creator. This is because chef D'Ambrosio told us that the dish most loved by the public was Il riccio che non ti aspetti (The sea urchin you don't expect).
Served in a ceramic dish designed by an artisan (“Leoni”), it combines sea urchin, Caboi potato, sea fennel, and seafood coral. “I didn't expect such a huge success,” admits the chef. “It blew up.”
Those that most satisfied the chef, however, were two different loves. L'Orto in fiore (The Flowering Garden) – 100% vegan. “Created years ago, it has found its rightful home here. We recreate it every day with the resort's vegetable garden: from spring to autumn, right up to the final persimmons. A dish that I thought was niche has become popular. It is my measure of ‘authenticity’.” On the other hand, Risotto al burro di erbe di macchia (Sartoriale) – a signature dish. “We select 24 herbs from our park with a local expert: myrtle, thyme, mastic... We dress them with herb butter and cook the risotto like a tailor-made suit. It is the Mediterranean scrub that becomes texture.” The creaming is enriched with an extra fragrance called Metamorfosi: a gin created by D'Ambrosio and distilled in Lombardy by Cillario&Marazzi SpiritsCo with herbs from the resort's scrubland (bay leaf, rosemary, juniper berries, lemon balm, basil). “I called it that because it's the word I feel inside me: I live here, I see everything taking shape. I designed the label myself: lines that blend together, and together extraordinary things are born.” Metamorfosi enters the tailor-made risotto like an invisible signature, and is an elegant way of saying that mixology, if it wants to, can become a liquid landscape.
Then there is always the classic signature dish: Fusillone pasta glazed with black lemon, mussel water, and spirulina caviar. “The Michelin Guide described it as excellent for its adaptability. This is not surprising: it is a dish that has been carefully designed over a long period of time. The risotto, on the other hand, was a love at first sight that came about along the way: now it is timeless.” And then there is Spazio by Franco Pepe: pizza as a bridge between Campania and Sardinia. The “Senti-Menti di Gallura” tells the story of the island with smoked fior di latte, spiny artichoke, red beef carpaccio, scabecciu olives, sea fennel oil, and Pecorino DOP air; the “Essenza” combines stracciatella, lemon zest, and fresh aromas from the garden: bites that speak softly but say a lot.
Who visits 7Pines today (and why)
D'Ambrosio observes a new diversity: the resort has welcomed “everyone: soccer players, artists, entrepreneurs, young couples.” But what has really changed is the intention. "At fine dining, I've seen many young people come specifically for the experience. They ask questions: about the ceramics, the origin of the meat, the names of the producers. They say: instead of four random dinners, let's have one well-made dinner. It's wonderful.“ Beyond the clichés of ”Hollywood on the Costa Smeralda,“ there is a curiosity about the real Sardinia. ”I'm just the helmsman: the team is bigger than that. Talking about others also means talking about yourself—with discretion."
The resort closed on October 18 (hotel, Capogiro, Spazio: everything) and will reopen on April 20. In the meantime, there will be no hibernation: research, development, and maintenance of relationships with the supply chain. “When we reopen, the machine will be ready to go,” D'Ambrosio assures us. Menus already planned, processes calibrated, supply chains warm. Not a “new” season: a subsequent metamorphosis. In the end, this image remains: the island blushes, stops sweating, and learns to speak softly; the resort does not exploit the silence—it guards it. And in that more human register, where patience is an ingredient and care a technique, luxury rediscovers its more mature definition: giving value to the time you choose. Here they do it with discretion, proper names, and cuisine that is not folklore—it is memory.
