팔라초 디돈나 - 디모라 스토리카

We did not want to stay on the coast as the resorts were very busy and extremely expensive so we decided to stay in the small town of Rutigliano, which is near all of the tourist spots we wanted to visit. Our room in the Dimora Storica Palazzo Didonna, which is not a hotel but a large apartment with several rooms in a traditional block of flats (so there is no reception), was large, traditionally furnished and comfortable. It had a spa bath and a terrace - it was amazing. In addition it was situated right in the middle of the town, which had wonderful restaurants and bars. On our 2nd night we were advised to go to a locals favourite restaurant, which was a 15 minute walk from the town centre. It was fantastic and we also came across a locals street party which had live music, food and craft stalls, which was welcome and unexpected. We were so happy that we chose not to stay in the beautiful but crowded and overpriced Polignano a Mare - a day visit was enough. Instruction for our check in were sent by phone and there was no problem. We were also told that we could use a swimming pool and restaurant at a nearby Agroturismo, which was also a bonus. We were also given vouchers to have breakfast at a nearby cafe, which wa# good. I would definitely recommend staying at this accommodation.

We were touring aroung the area and were visiting Bari, Monopoli and Polignano a Mare. Hotels in these places were very busy and extremely expensive so we decided to move inland as we had a car. It was a great idea. Rutigliano was a charming small close to all of our planned visits and the Palazza Di Donna was central and was very good. The first night we had the room with the jacuzzi, which was marvellous. Unfortunately it was not available on our 2nd night and the room was much smaller, but adequate - but I much preferred the jacuzzi suite. Accessing the property was easy. We were sent the door code and code to access the keys from the box. And as it was in the centre of town it was handy for restaurants and shops. We could have coffee, juice and pastries at a local shop for breakfast - this was included in the price. However it was only available until 10:00 so we missed it both days. It would have been better to have been able to have this up until 11:00, especially as we were changing rooms and check out was 10:30. We were also able to use the pool at the owners Masseria, which was a short drive away - this welcome after a day exploring the area. A fabulous place to stay and a wonderful town where the locals were friendly and the food was wonderful - and much bettercvalue than in the more touristy places. I highly recommend

Comfortable, beautiful and very clean property, we got the flat with the rooftop terrace which was great. Access to the pool in masseria, even if 2km away was a massive plus. Recommended