What People are saying

Great setting and beautiful location

Jasmine101Surreyon 14/05/2017 22:31

We stayed here for a week as a timeshare exchange week commencing 29 April 2017. The location is lovely and in a very peaceful countrysie setting surrounded by olive trees and wildflowers. Great views down to the sea and the village of Torre Mozza, which has a great beach and is walkable in about 15 minutes. It was very quiet as the season apparantly doesn't really get started until end May and there were only half a dozen rooms or so occupied.This had both advantages and disadvantages.

We were fortunate to have almost perfect weather of around 22/23 degrees and we had the pool to ourselves on the several afternoons we sat out.but the hotel, was rather lacking in atmosphere and it meant that events (there were two conferences during our stay) took preference in the restaurant in the evening. Nevertheless, the food was very good and I would recommend eating here, although the breakfast buffet was more limited than in high season because there were so few of us - it was great though that individually made lattes were available on demand.

The restaurant manager, Vito, who was one of the only members of staff to speak reasonable english and very friendly and helpful, really looked after us and assisted with information on the area, available external restaurants, etc., (the majority had not yet opened) and helped to make a difference to our overall experience.

The room we stayed in, at the top of the hotel by the car park, was OK and rather on the small side, as was the bathroom and I wouldn't class it as four star. It had a fridge but no tea or coffeemaking facilities. We also received only a cleaning service and towel change every other day. When I queried this I was told that this was the regular service for tmeshare customers, although we weren't told this on check in, even though we had to pay an extra 50 euro cleaning fee.It wasn't a problem as such but it would have been nice to know from the outset.

There is a spa on site but to be honest this was very poor and I couldn't recommend it. It was not very clean and the service is severely lacking. It didn't help with the language barrier but even so they kept me waiting for both treatments I booked; the second time for over 40 minutes and they short changed me both times in terms of time. The treatments themselves were also not very good.

The other issue for me in terms of the hotel was that we had to pay a 35 euro per person resort fee, apparantly for use of the pool, wifi and beach chairs and shuttle. However, neither of the latter were available at the time of year we stayed so this seemed rather unwarranted.

We were impressed with the area of Puglia but you do need a car to get around. It has some beautiful old towns to visit such as Ostuni, Lecce and Abererbello, as well as a gorgeous coastline with laid back small beachside towns and vast golden sand beaches. In season the choice of restaurants would be very good and we found those that were open to offer good quality food and friendly service. It was also good value for money overall compared to other parts of Italy.

We had a lovely week's holiday and I have given the hotel a four star rating because of the location and setting and the fact that we received such good service from Vito. However, if my rating was based on the rooms and hotel facilities I would give it a 3 star rating.

Place to relax

vivebibeon 15/10/2016 16:08

Somebody wrote that this is a good place to chillax....I certainly agree. It's a wonderful hotel with a lovely garden. Booked it through Interval International. Nice and quiet in the evening. Although I could imagine that during high season it gets a bit crowded. Lots of restaurants were already closed. I did think it was kind of expensive to pay for the Club Card. 35 Euro per person for a week. This is for the wifi, which didn't always work.....but that's not such a big deal. you also have 2 sunbeds reserved down at the Bora bora beach. Which is closed now.....so it was quite a shame that nobody really cared about that. And you just have to pay for it. But all in all it's a nice place to stay.The food was ok.

Charming and relaxing holiday in Southern Italy

Laura Son 18/07/2016 04:15

We recently did a timeshare exchange via Interval International to this location. We spent two weeks at the resort and this was our best holiday in Italy so far (we had previously visited Tuscany and Rome).

The rooms combine old farmhouse charm with the amenities required for a comfortable stay. Temperatures climbed to 34-36 Celsius during our stay, the A/C in the rooms is very efficient and the rooms set up makes most of the available shade. The location of the resort is wonderful, on a hill surrounded by olive groves, and overlooking the Torre Mozza tower and beach. We made good use of a beautiful swimming pool cut straight into the local limestone rocks. The resort is a few miles away from the seaside, with a free shuttle taking residents back and forth in minutes to the Bora Bora beach in Torre San Giovanni. The resort has access to an area of this wonderful beach, with beautiful turquoise shallow and warm water, and white sand.

Our reservation included half board (breakfast and 4 course Italian style dinners). The restaurant setting is very romantic. The food was exquisite, and Chef Johnny Longo showcased his skills with 'live-cooking' of risotto, paella and local pasta in front of the guests several times a week. The restaurant personnel, working under the watchful eye of Patrizio, were very attentive and efficient. Our waiter Angelo took really good care of us during our stay. Patrizio thought us how to eat frizzelle and had excellent wine recommendations for us.

The resort has live entertainment on during and after dinner, providing a variety of shows (piano, saxophone, live music, and wonderful Pizzica music and dancing - traditional folk music of Salento). The entertainment team lead by Analisa also organizes activities for children and takes care of the beach set up for all residents. The young ladies in the team are all energetic, friendly and very patient with visitors that do not speak much Italian. They are also excellent at dancing Pizzica and encouraging the guests to try it out!

We had the opportunity to go on a dinner cruise with a sail boat, dinner and pirate show included! This was a wonderful experience, the food was great, the entertainment was very nice and the old sail boat was beautiful (supposedly this was a real pirate ship at some time in its long life!).

The resort is also organizing tours in the area. We took a tour to Spechia, a small town not far from the resort, to see an old underground olive press (frantoio ipogeo). This was very interesting and the town architecture is charming as well. Alessandro, the resort guide, did an excellent job of organizing the tour and connecting us with a very knowledgeable guide.

The location of this resort allows for easy access to most of Salento. Although this area is far away from the touristy crowds, there are plenty of things to do if you would like to see old towns with beautiful architecture, cathedrals and churches and historic sites. The towns of Lecce, Gallipoli, Otranto, Santa Maria Di Leuca are all easily accessible by car, and you can take a very scenic drive to visit the numerous sandy or rocky beaches and observation tours ('torres') along the Ionic and Adriatic seas nearby.

The resort personnel was wonderful - from the security guard that helped us out as we arrived very late and with our luggage delayed (thank you for passing on the message to reception and ensuring we had an emergency travel kit ready for us in the morning!!!), to the reception Director that was always checking in to make sure we had everything we needed, and everyone else we came in contact with - friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful. We had a wonderful and relaxing holiday and we plan to come back to this location in future!

Beautiful gardens, lovely pool and lovely room

Michelle137on 23/05/2016 21:44

Perfect place to chillax, it was very quiet when we visited, a little early for the season.
Service and staff were friendly and helpful.
Only criticism was the restaurant was a little pricey for a set menu, and I think it would be helpful to see what was available on the notice board and at what cost, but I imagine this improves when the resort gets busier. Staff were lovely.
Only two other things I would suggest are that the student groups who visit are better controlled during the night, we were woken by youthful exuberence by the pool at around 3 am one morning, and the very friendly barman's love of TV soaps was understandable during the quiet period, but the volume disturbed the tranquility of the resort, which I think is one of its main attractions. Bora Bora beach which you pay a club fee towards wasn't really open for business it seemed, but the beach was nice.
And one last thing - have to keep logging in to the Internet was a bit of a pain and I can't imagine this would be difficult to improve. We returned very rested and relaxed from our stay.

A unique timeshare exchange

grantravelson 11/10/2015 13:39

We did an Interval International Exchange to this property and despite my following comments. which I hope are constructive, we had a lovely time and would recommend a trip to this unspoilt area. It is in the very south of Puglia an area full of olive groves. The main roads are fairly good but the country roads are 'interesting'. The property is on elevated ground, and a little way from the sea but the shuttle bus is very efficient and there are very good views. The staff are very friendly and cannot do enough to ensure your stay is pleasant. The all-inclusive food is good, but more than most people can eat, and after a week is somewhat monotonous. Wine compared to the local supermarket is expensive in the restaurant and we felt it would be nice if they provided some local wine within the all inclusive. Coffee was served at breakfast and after lunch by request but in the evening you had to go to the pool bar and buy it. The pool was beautiful but cold, even in September after a very hot summer. The private beach is very nice and has a bar restaurant. Beach loungers and umbrellas are included and set up by Nino who is excellent. The rooms are very nice although wifi does not work in the one we had. It seems to be available near the reception area. I cannot leave a review without mentioning the waiters, Pasquale, Dotsi and Antonio Due were great fun and really good at their jobs. The restaurant manager did everything he could to make everyone happy and Jonny is a brilliant cook.