Masseria Calderisi

Style

Puglian cornucopia

Setting

Neighbouring seaside Savelletri

If the Italian countryside promises abundance, then intimate boutique stay Masseria Calderisi is very generous indeed. This former Puglian farmhouse, which dates back to the 17th century, has just 24 rooms (and oodles of space throughout), but grounds that widely fan out into a leafy buffer between a private beach and charming commune Fasano. It’s fertile ground for groves of all kinds, a giving kitchen garden for authentic Apullian feasts, and space to bike, swim and sip local wines or check out the charming restored chapel onsite. Rustic it may be, but there’s no getting your hands dirty (unless you take a cookery class): country decor feels fresh and modern, buzzy beachlife is close by, and the Moorish-style roof terrace is set for stargazing. Whether you’ve a budding romance or want a full-bloom honeymoon, this fruitful stay will grow on you.

Facilities

Rooms

24, including 12 suites and one pool villa.

Checkout

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2.30pm.

More Details

Rates usually include a hearty breakfast buffet. Plus, you’ll get free shuttle rides and access to the beach club. A city tax of €5 a night for the first five nights applies to over-12s from July to August, otherwise it’s €3 for the first three nights.

Also

Aside from the pool, the hotel is all laid out on one level, so it’s largely wheelchair accessible.

Hotel Closed

The hotel closes from 1 November to the end of March each year, aside from two weeks over the festive period.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

At the Hotel

Private beach, spa, olive grove, kitchen garden, restored chapel, gym, bikes to borrow for free, laundry service, free WiFi. In rooms: satellite TV, Marshall Bluetooth speaker, Nespresso machine, minibar, air-conditioning, beach bag and Aesop bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Bathed in sunlight and brightly white within, rooms feel open yet cosy; however, you’ll most likely be drawn to your private terrace or garden. Flashes of bleached antique stone nod to the Masseria’s heritage, as do the suite names, which tell a tale of busy farm life and past skirmishes with Saracens (the Tower Suite was once a lookout point). Less dramatic, but no less lovely, is the Stable Suite, which has its own sitting room, large glass doors and oil-painting views.

Poolside

Sheltered by stacked-stone walls, with views of olive groves, the large outdoor heated pool (open from 10am to 6.30pm, from April till October) sparkles in the sun. There are sunloungers round the side, parasol-shaded with cheery yellow-striped towels laid out on them, and a casual pool bar where you can get cocktails, wines and a pizza paddled straight out of the oven if you feel peckish. A lifeguard keeping watch means little ones can learn how to swim safely here.

Spa

There’s a duo of treatment rooms, decorated in earthy hues with bamboo furnishings, where all manner of massages, facials and Ayurvedic treatments take place – using deliciously scented all-natural Pevonia products, plus herbs from the garden – which can be customised to your needs. There’s a gym too, with top-drawer Technogym equipment (treadmill, bikes, workout bench) and free yoga sessions (or charged Pilates classes) are held in the scenic surrounds of the olive groves or on the roof terrace (with a spell of meditation for good measure).

Packing Tips

Bring your yoga gear, but don’t bother with a bulky mat – the hotel will provide them. Other suitcase additions will depend on how you wish to pass the time, so perhaps hike-ready footwear? A nautical windbreaker? Wine-tasting hat? A few good books will be welcome as you laze by the pool or on your terrace; if you’ve had Virgil’s pastoral Eclogues poem on the back burner (and who doesn’t?), the setting is as evocative as they come.

Also

The hotel’s grounds are impressive in many ways, but the centuries-old olive groves deserve special commendation for their stamina – they're still the source of the hotel’s flavourful olive oil.

Children

Welcome but there are few activities geared towards them aside from pizza-making classes and petting the resident donkeys. Babysitting (€25 an hour; one day’s notice is required) is available.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Private dinners can be arranged amid the perfectly private, achingly romantic olive or citrus groves, or pick a secluded spot on the terrace.

Dress Code

21st-century togas.

Hotel Restaurant

La Corte is the main hotel eatery with tables laid out over a pergola-shaded piazza, enhanced with plenty of Mediterranean greenery. And the church-like vaulted dining room (originally the Masseria’s hay store), painted in ivory with exposed original brick work, has sunken cubbies displaying lemon-filled vitrines and cactus leaves hung from the walls. Chef Pietro Sgaramella is as in tune with the seasons as a flock of migrating birds, and frequently pillages the garden for fresh herbs and fruit and vegetables, from peperoncini to pomegranates, to make dishes that reflect the environs. He’s canny to the area’s best suppliers for anything that can’t be grown onsite, too. Gioia is the much more laidback bar by the pool, where alongside crisp wines and fruity cocktails, you can order freshly-fired pizzas, fruit salads and scoops of homemade ice-cream.

Hotel Bar

Gioia Pool Bar’s cheery lemon-striped booth, surrounded by citrus trees, is a sunny beacon to those seeking refreshment. There’s a handful of stools if you’re feeling sociable, or plentiful parasol-shaded tables. The cocktail list has a reliable choice of classics (mai tais, white Russians, boulevardiers), but top wines pretty much run on tap in this part of the world. And Apero Bar feels like a Moroccan roof terrace with its decorative lanterns, chill-out soundtrack and cosy cushioned corners where lovers can get snuggly. By day, it's a laidback spot for an aperitivo (ask for the Calderisi Special), and after-dark it's just right for stargazing.

Last Orders

At La Corte, breakfast runs from 7.30am to 10.15am and dinner is served from 7.30pm till 10.30pm. Lunching at Gioia starts at 12.30pm and finishes at 3.30pm. Drink at La Corte Bar till 12.30am and at Gioia till 6.30pm.

Room Service

The concierge will happily arrange in room dining any time, day or night. The menu is smaller, but full of tasty Apulian charcuterie and cheeses, stacked sandwiches, salads and sweets.

Planes

Brindisi is the closest airport, a 40-minute drive from the hotel. There are direct flights from major cities throughout Europe; those arriving from further afield will need to stopover. The hotel can arrange transfers from €120 each way. Alternatively fly into Bari, an hour’s drive away.

Trains

If you’re arriving from Lecce or Bari, you can catch the train to Fasano station, which is just a five-minute drive from the hotel (a transfer to the hotel is €30 one way). The journey takes around an hour and you can buy tickets via Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.com).

Automobiles

Puglia excels in many ways, but public transport is not one of them – for zipping through the countryside (convertible optional) you’ll need a set of wheels. Bari and Brindisi airports both have hire booths, and valet parking is included in your stay. The drive from Brindisi along the E55 route is especially lovely, with panoramic views of the Adriatic and a stretch through the Dune Costiere natural park.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

When you’re not lazing in the Apullian sun on the roof terrace or idly floating in the pool, roll up your sleeves and get in the kitchen. During the hotel’s cooking classes you’ll gather ingredients from the garden with the chef and then fire up your own pizzas in the ancient oven onsite, before sitting down at a private table close to the chapel to enjoy a meal made by yours truly – and you'll be gifted an apron at the end. If that sounds like hard work, opt for an olive-oil or wine tasting – of the latter the primitivo proved remarkably moreish. Wellness-seekers should hit the spa for scented healing – a deep-tissue massage or some after-sun moisturising, perhaps? Or join a yoga or meditation session in the olive and citrus groves. The hotel also has two rescue donkeys who happily graze away alongside the chickens onsite and who aren't averse to gentle pets.

Calderisi has a private beach too. A shuttle runs guests out and there’s always a free lounger and staff to bring you repeat glasses of chilled wine. With golden sand and the Adriatic’s trademark aquamarine waters, it’s a lovely place to just be, but you can join a game of beach volleyball if you’ve flopped for too long. The hotel also has a fleet of restored fishing boats that can be hired for day trips; aperitivi are served on board as Italian music plays and you can sunbathe, seek out hidden coves and quaint villages or simply take a cooling dip as and when you want.

You needn’t travel far to come across Roman remnants; Via Appia, which indeed does lead to Rome (from Brindisi) passes by this stretch of coast. But, you didn’t come all this way to look at a knobbly highway – however significant it is – no, you want to see the straight-from-a-fantasy-epic trulli and dazzling churches of Alberello, the gleaming Baroque buildings of ‘white town’ (although more of a hilltop village) Ostuni, or the mysterious sassi of Bari. The hotel can arrange an English-speaking guide if you want to dig deeper during your visit.

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