Romantic Escapes: Where to Stay in Ostuni, Puglia, Italy

Whitewashed buildings, endless olive groves and its proximity to flaxen beaches make the hilltop city of Ostuni one of Puglia's most romantic escapes. With these boutique stays as your base, wander rolling Apulian fields, explore ancient trulli and sample Italy's best wines.

hotel

Masseria Cervarolo

Ostuni, Italy

Just outside of Ostuni, this 16th-century farmhouse beckons travellers looking for a traditional Puglian retreat. Ancient trulli have been converted into individual suites complete with vaulted ceilings and private gardens. Explore the rural village, book yourself into a class at the hotel’s cookery school or taste-test your way through 80 different Puglian wines before resting your head under fig and olive trees that shade the twinkling infinity pool.

Address

SP 14 Contrada Cervarolo 72017

A sun-soaked seating area against whitewashed walls

hotel

La Sommità

Ostuni, Italy

Suspended between sky and sea at the peak of Ostuni, the 15 rooms and suites of this boutique bolthole occupy a 16th-century palazzo hewn from Apulia stone. Aromatic lavender plants and potted citrus trees dot a sun-drenched terrace outside, while the Michelin-starred restaurant Cielo overlooks the winding alleys and whitewashed houses of Ostuni below. With a nod to local cuisine, chef Lombardi whips up a selection of innovative plates: hare-stuffed pasta, cold spaghetti served with raw burrata, duck breast beside a strawberry chutney. Finish off the evening with a crisp glass of white wine, taken straight from one of three on-site ancient cisterns, now home to an impressive wine collection.

Address

7 Via Scipione Petrarolo 72017

hotel

Masseria Il Frantoio

Ostuni, Italy

Drive through 70 acres of fragrant citrus trees and ruby-red poppy fields to arrive at this 500-year-old farmhouse. Whitewashed walls decorated with tumbling bougainvillea stand around a paved courtyard lined with twisted olive trees that are more than 1,000 years old. Borrow bikes from the hotel to explore the gardens and groves before heading back to your bedroom, where terracotta-tiled floors and wrought-iron framed beds make for a peaceful slumber. Tranquil silence is interrupted only by the sound of singing cicadas.

Address

S.S. 16 Km. 874 72017

This image is on holiday

hotel

Masseria San Domenico

Ostuni, Italy

Masseria San Domenico is a stunning 14th-century fortified farmhouse composed of stark white stone buildings, lush tropical gardens and vista points of both the ocean and the mountains to the north. Previously used by the Knights of Malta as a watchtower, today it is a five-star hotel comprising 40 rooms, each with a unique character. Located amidst mature olive groves, the hotel is only 500 metres from the Adriatic coast, offering guests access to a private beach via an avenue of olive trees. Dinner is served beneath the vaulted ceilings of Ristorante San Domenico, with a selection of Puglian cuisine and fresh seafood.

Address

Strada Proviciale, 90, 72015 Savelletri, Fasano

A stone-walled bedroom at Masseria Salinola

hotel

Masseria Salinola

Ostuni, Italy

Family-run for several generations, this former salt warehouse is nestled among sprawling lemon trees and ancient olive groves. The recently renovated rooms are housed in old farm shelters with simple interiors consisting of exposed beams, limestone brickwork and antique family furniture. Masseria Salinola's restaurant dishes up a mouth-watering feast of southern Italian cuisine, including regional delicacies. Don’t miss the rabbit with mashed broad beans cooked in a pignatta (terracotta pot). Wash down your dinner with a glass of rosali (a rose-petal liqueur) made of herbs, fruit and berries picked from the picturesque grounds. The Italian hospitality extends to the bicycles that are available to peddle off those extra Puglian pounds in an exploration through the olive groves.

Address

Contrada Salinola Strada Provinciale 29 per San michele Salentino

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