Torre Fiore Hotel Masseria
Designer former fort
The green hills of Pisticci
Within its brilliant-white brick walls, Torre Fiore Hotel Masseria’s chock full of both original historic features and designer modern luxuries. The owners, who grew up nearby, have filled their hotel with relics of the area’s heritage – a set of antique keys in the one-time caretaker’s room, for example, or cow bells from the nearby farms – without sacrificing an ounce of contemporary style. Learn to cook with the chef, visit the beach at the nearby Ionian coast or just lounge by the infinity pool and gaze at the valley below.
Facilities
Rooms
13.
Checkout
11am, but flexible on request. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
More Details
Rates include buffet breakfast.
Also
Get a delicious taste of Basilicata culture at the hotel’s cookery classes, where the chef leads by demonstration.
Hotel Closed
The hotel is closed from 16 October to 17 April each year.
Free Internet Access
Laundry
Pool
Room Service
At the Hotel
Free WiFi throughout, shuttles to the beach. In rooms: SmartTVs, minibar, alarm clock radio, security safe, air-conditioning and Fragonard toiletries.
Our Favourite Rooms
Each room is unique, thanks to the creative eye of the owner’s brother, and several incorporate symbolic features: the lines of marble between the terracotta tiles in Suite 3, for example, represent the Ottoman invasion of Basilicata. Suite 13, the caretaker’s former home, is perhaps the most epic: the tower has four turrets and two terraces for admiring the Campari-coloured sunsets over the valley and piazza. Suite 8 is the former chapel and retains a subtle religious theme, and in the three stable rooms you’ll find stirrups strung from the walls. The La Stall suite sleeps up to five guests and has its own outdoor seating area.
Poolside
The u-shaped outdoor infinity pool has a waterfall and Ionian Sea views. The pool is heated except during April, May and October.
Packing Tips
Bring a light jacket in case you get chilly while watching the sun go down from the piazza.
Children
Welcome, but not particularly catered to. This masseria is designed with grown ups in mind, though babysitting can be arranged upon request.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
In the restaurant, sit by the window to look out over the piazza.
Dress Code
Leave your heels behind: historic floors aren’t ideal for stilettos.
Hotel Restaurant
Experience authentic Basilicata cuisine in the hotel’s open-plan restaurant: most of the ingredients are locally sourced, and the menu emphasises traditional dishes with faultless presentation. Ask for the spaghettone with salted codfish, crunchy crumb bread and chili pepper followed by the panna cotta with Stigliano pistachios, Pisticci grapes and caramelised Cruschi peppers
Hotel Bar
Drinks are poured in the restaurant; try the Amaro Lucano, a Pisticci liquer. For local Basilicata wines, look to La Cantina, the hotel’s wine cellar.
Last Orders
Breakfast is served 8am–10am in the Il Patio restaurant. A light lunch is served between 12:30pm and 2:30pm, while dinner is served from 7:30pm to 11pm.
Room Service
Room service is available 8am–10pm, 1pm–2.30pm and 8pm–10.30pm. For €5 per couple order anything you like from the restaurant’s daily menu; breakfast, snacks and beverages, or lunch and dinner.
Planes
Touch down at Bari-Palese airport, 135km from the hotel. Direct flights depart from London Gatwick and a number of Italian cities as well as a host of other European destinations, including Berlin, Barcelona, Riga, Zürich and Prague (www.aeroportidipuglia.it). The Navetta bus service runs twice a day (2.30pm and midnight) from the airport to a stop 10 minutes from the hotel; the journey takes three hours and staff will arrange to pick you up there if you ask.
Trains
The closest railway station is Metaponto, 15km away and it’s a 20-minute drive. The station’s served by Trenitalia, with regular trains from Rome, Naples, Milan, Verona and several other Italian cities (www.trenitalia.com).
Automobiles
A car is the easiest way to reach the hotel and is handy for exploring the countryside. From Bari airport, the journey takes under two hours. There’s free parking on site (you can do it yourself, or hand your keys to the valet). The nearest major town is historic Matera, a 50-minute drive from the hotel.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Head into town: Pisticci dates back to the Iron Age and has historic sites aplenty to explore. It tends get very quiet in the afternoons, so visit in the morning or evening if you’d like to mingle with the locals. Ask the hotel’s owner, Mariana, for her map of Pisticci: she’s marked the highlights, such as the best antique shop and top spots for buying local cheese. Or, explore the valley and coast on horseback: there are stables across the street from Torre Fiore. About 40 minutes from the hotel is the town of Grottaglie, which is the place to be for ceramics shopping. And daredevil Smiths won’t want to miss the Volo dell’Angelo (Flight of the Angel) – the zipline carries you between the towns of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa at 120km an hour. There are other ways to enjoy the Basilicata countryside, too: golf, sailing, biking and hiking can all be arranged nearby.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
