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After spending two nights at the Mercure Villa Romanazzi Carducci Bari (review here) and two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lecce (review here), we moved onto our third hotel: Hotel Relais La Sommità. The hotel is located in the middle of the charming town of Ostuni. We loved being able to walk out the door and be in the center of old town. It was great to have some drinks at night and the town was buzzing with activity after the sun set. The hotel is excellent with great service, amenities, and accommodations. Our only issue: the air conditioning did not work and our room was excessively hot.
Anthony’s Take: The hotel is perfectly located for enjoying the town of Ostuni. The grounds, pool, breakfast, service, and accommodations are all top notch. An issue with the air conditioning in our room prevented us from fully enjoying it, but with two fans set up we made the best of it and enjoyed the rest of the experience.
Booking
I booked our one-night stay in a Family Triple Room (Studio) through American Express’ Fine Hotels + Resorts®. I used the $200 annual credit that I receive with the Platinum Card® from American Express. The hotel was $504, but $200 was deducted.
By booking through Fine Hotels + Resorts® I also received late checkout, a $100 food and beverage credit, and breakfast.
You cannot drive directly to the hotel as it is in an area where traffic is controlled. There is a parking lot and staff will meet you to guide you to the lot and then drive you to the hotel. This worked fine after we met the driver. The lot is not easy to find and we would never have made it on our own. My only other complaint is that the driver initially wanted us to wait while he went to direct someone else to the lot and then thought he could pack four of us (plus him) and all of our luggage into a car. We objected and he made two trips. It’s only a few minutes to the hotel, so it was not a big deal.
Transportation to/from the Hotel
We had our rental car and drove from the Hilton Garden Inn Lecce to the hotel. The 47-mile ride took around 53 minutes. We then spent some time locating the parking lot and getting to the hotel.
Location
The hotel is the perfect location for exploring the lovely town of Ostuni. There are lots of shops, restaurants, and bars to explore along with some amazing views of the valleys below the town. Staying at this hotel makes it possible to step outside the door and be in the center of the action.
We were dropped off in front of the hotel and check-in was fairly quick. We were offered a delicious welcome cocktail made with almond milk and amaretto.
The lobby is a lovely space with plenty of seating and great decor.
Check-in
We were checked in while seated and then escorted to our room. The agent explained the amenities of the hotel and the benefits from booking through American Express. No upgrade was available and we were assigned the Family Triple Room (Studio) that I booked.
The lobby was never crowded and the hotel felt empty while we were there even though it was fully booked.
A tiny elevator and stairs led to our room, which was one floor above reception.
The elevator drops you outside in a nice courtyard.
There was a separate seating area on our floor. It was expansive and beautifully decorated.
No one was ever seen here during our time at the hotel.
All of the decor and accessories in the hotel are gorgeous.
If you go past this seating area, there is a nice outdoor area.
Our room was at the end of this short hallway on the right side.
Family Triple Room (Studio) (12)
The hotel has 15 guest rooms and suites.
The room is a duplex. It opens up into a small living and dining room. A couch flanks the one wall with a cabinet in the center.
The cabinet held a robe.
A dining table and chairs were on the other side of the room near the bathroom door.
A welcome amenity of sparkling wine and some sort of crackers that reminded us of communion wafers were on the table.
A wardrobe behind the table held a safe and some shelves.
Next to it was another cabinet that contained wine, snacks, and a refrigerator.
The refrigerator had beverages for sale and not too much room for guest’s items.
For as old as the building was, the renovation included modern touches like these light switches.
The bathroom was towards the back right of the lower floor.
The counter was small with a single sink.
A bar of Etro soap was next to the sink.
A drawer under the sink held lots of other amenities.
The glassed-in shower made up the back wall.
More Etro brand toiletries were found in here. I liked that these were not wall-mounted pumps.
A toilet and a bidet were next to the shower.
Stairs led up to the bedroom.
The upper-level had a king-sized bed and two nightstands along with a TV. The air conditioning worked fine on the lower level, but upstairs it was boiling hot. Maintenance came and tried to fix it. They could not. It was after midnight when it was left unresolved. The hotel was booked and we had to stay in the room. They brought in two fans, but it was still hot.
Breakfast
A breakfast buffet is served in the hotel’s restaurant. It was not huge, but everything was excellent. The ingredients were high quality and all that we had tasted delicious.
Fruit
Sandwiches, cheese, and frittata
Meats
Bread
Baked goods, cereal, and condiments
More baked goods. I loved a few of these.
Eggs and bacon were made to order.
The restaurant itself is also very well decorated.
Past the buffet, was the hotel’s main courtyard with lots of additional seating.
The courtyard can seat way more guests than the hotel can sleep.
There was not much shade out here even with the trees.
Lunch
As an apology for the lack of air conditioning. The manager bought us lunch.
We started with an Aperol spritz and a lemonade. They tried to make me a lemonade, but it was just lemon juice and water. It was way too bitter to drink.
I had a burger (the patty was made from sausage). It was different and tasty.
My husband had a salad with chicken.
Dinner
We used the $100 credit included with our booking to cover most of a room service dinner. We had Orecchiette with Lamb Ragu, Chicken Milanese, Turbot Pizzaiola, a Caprese Salad, and Green Beans with Cherries. Everything was delicious.
Public Areas & Amenities
The hotel’s courtyard is its centerpiece. It holds the pool and the tables shown above.
The pool had jets like a jacuzzi but was cool.
There are lots of little areas tucked away around the hotel.
There are courtyards and plants everywhere. The hotel has a spa, but we did not visit it during our visit.
Overall Impression: Hotel Relais La Sommità is an excellent hotel. Our stay would have been absolutely perfect had it not been for the air conditioning issue. The staff did not handle it well at night, but the manager apologized in the morning and buying us lunch was a nice touch.
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
