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Puglia hotels
Once a region dominated by uninspiring three-stars, family beach resorts, and one or two stuffy grandes dames, Puglia has built a more happening accommodation scene over the last decade, particularly in the fertile Valle d'Itria and the Salento peninsula to the far south. Some of this has to do with the conversion of the area's characteristic fortified farmhouses, or masserie, into luxurious rural resort hotels (soon there will be no working farm estates left, as three or four new masseria hotels seem to open each season). The other novelty is the arrival of boutique hotels in historic towns like Ostuni, Gallipoli, and Lecce: These range from swish, ultra-design refuges for Milanese fashion victims, such as La Sommitą Relais Culti, to whitewashed neo-bohemian warrens for modern-day Beat poets, such as Relais Corte Palmieri. Note that although some of the masserie and many seaside hotels are open only from Easter to around the end of October, Puglia is much more of a year-round destination than Capri or the Amalfi Coast.
Despite a late start in tourism, Puglia has jumped ahead of other regions in Italy with its abundance of stylish hotels, yet even in this high-design market,...more
Built by the Knights of Malta in the 15th century and now owned by a family of olive oil producers, this good-value masseria's dozen rooms (mostly suites) are...more
Greek-born Athena McAlpine and her husband, Lord Alistair, the (very) British Conservative Party treasurer during the Thatcher era, made a highly unpredictable...more
The pioneer of all today's posh masserie, this great village of a 17th-century Magna Graecia-looking fortified farmhouse, opened way before Puglia got hip:...more
Puglia's ultimate design hotel, La Sommità Relais Culti, is one of those places that require a certain effort—unless you are a Milanese model or a...more
Without a doubt the most polished of all the masseria hotels is the huge 15th-century San Domenico, surrounded by olive groves on the coast near Fasano and...more
A resort hotel with a real sense of rustic-elegant style was carved out of this 16th-century farmhouse in 2002. Here you'll find slipcovered or button-backed...more
Surrounded by ancient olive trees and an immaculate nine-hole golf course, this 28-room sister property to the fabulous Masseria Torre Coccaro in Puglia serves...more
Starwood, bless its corporate vastness, hasn't ruined this 17th-century palace, though a little bit of soul was lost in the renovation. Still, the 67 rooms,...more
Discovered long ago by northern Italian tourists but still relatively unknown outside the country, historic Gallipoli is one of southern Puglia's most...more
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