If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR239.73), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Time slows at Tenuta Negroamaro, an upscale farm stay with 10 easy-on-the-eye suites set amidst Puglia’s tranquil countryside. Muck in at the farm, feeding the animals or collecting fresh eggs for breakfast; pluck sun-ripened figs or oranges from the fruit trees for your afternoon snack; venture off on one of the bike trails; say ciao to the turtles, and unwind with yoga (or a wine tasting). However you spend your days at this Puglian hideaway, you’ll be as happy as one of the resident piggies in mud.
Smith Extra
Get this when you book through us:
A traditional aperitivo with a cocktail each and a platter of local delicacies
11am; check-in is 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
Prices
Double rooms from £225.83 (€264), including tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €2.00 per person per night on check-out.
More details
Rates include a breakfast buffet of homemade pastries and bread, fresh fruit from the garden, and eggs from the estate’s chickens. Gluten-free options are available on request.
Also
Unfortunately, this rustic countryside stay is not suitable for guests with reduced mobility.
At the hotel
Kitchen garden, farm with a shop, turtle pond, vineyard, gym, yoga pavilion, and charged laundry service. In rooms: TV, air-conditioning, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, minibar, and Grown Alchemist bath products.
Our favourite rooms
London-based Olga Ashby was trusted with the interiors and the result is a collection of 10 cocooning suites, clad in muted hues, artisan finds, and cooling stone features. Each suite has a private terrace, but we like room eight’s idyllic courtyard garden. For a taste of traditional Puglian living, opt for the iconic Trullo Suite.
Poolside
Uninterrupted views of the surrounding countryside are best admired from the turquoise pool, which is dotted with jute-fringed umbrellas, driftwood details, and edged by pine and olive trees. The water on one side laps a craggy rockface, sprouting with native plants – you’ll get the feeling of wild swimming, just in a more pristine setting. Come for hazy morning dips or leisurely afternoons, before strolling over to the bougainvillea-bordered bar for cocktails. And if sharing isn’t caring, you could always book one of the Pool Suites to have a piscina all to yourself.
Packing tips
You’ll find yoga mats in the pavilion and straw hats by the pool, so fill this space in your suitcase with the books you’ve always planned on reading, but never had the time to.
Also
There’s one treatment room, available for massages on request. If you prefer to stretch your body yourself, the gym is kitted out with callisthenics gear, plus there’s an equipped yoga pavilion in the garden, shrouded by pine trees.
Children
Welcome, but this rural retreat is better for older offspring, as there’s no specific kit for little Smiths. Under-13s can sleep on an extra bed in some Pool and Garden suites for €80 a night; please let the hotel know in advance if you'll need one.
Sustainability efforts
Tenuta Negroamaro’s sustainability endeavours are anchored in a desire to keep things close to home – spaces are constructed from natural materials, like local Leccese and travertine stone, and an onsite farm and vegetable garden supplies the restaurant with fresh eggs and colourful produce. This rural retreat is also plastic-free.
We like the sun-dappled terrace tables for their views of the surrounding scenery.
Dress Code
Wholesome and whimsical – smocked dresses, linen two-pieces, espadrilles or raffia accessories fit the bill.
Hotel restaurant
The hotel’s farm-to-fork restaurant showcases typical Puglian fare in a rustic yet refined setting. Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but it also might be your favourite here – marmalade made from the garden’s clementines, local honey, homemade pasticciotti, just-laid eggs, and zesty juices all capitalise on the estate’s fine produce. The farm-fresh theme continues into light lunches and à la carte dinners, and barbecue evenings play out around a convivial courtyard table.
Hotel bar
In a cooling poolside corner, the Cactus bar rehydrates sun-worshippers and shade-seekers with caffè Leccese (an almond-infused iced coffee), botanical spritzes and Italian wines. The cacti mural was illustrated by a local artist and pays homage to the region’s flora. Keep an eye out for the prickly pear fruit – it often pops up as an afternoon snack or in a creative cocktail.
Last orders
Breakfast is from 8.30am until 10.30am; lunch is served between 12.30pm and 2.30pm, and dinner is from 7.30pm until 9.30pm. The bar pours from 11am until 11pm.
Room service
Dine and drink in-suite between noon and 10pm – the restaurant’s lunch and dinner menus can be delivered to your terrace or pool.
Tenuta Negroamaro is tucked away in Italy’s southern heel, set amid the Puglian countryside outside of Gallipoli.
Planes
Salento Airport is a one-hour drive; transfers are €130 each way, for up to four guests. Bari International Airport is just over two hours away by car.
Trains
Sannicola train station is a five-minute drive from the hotel; from here, Trenitalia runs a one-hour route to Lecce, which is your hub to connect to Brindisi or Bari.
Automobiles
Puglia’s picturesque villages and beaches call for a set of wheels – Alberobello, Ostuni and Polignano a Mare are a 90-minute drive. There’s free parking at the hotel.
Worth getting out of bed for
You’ll soon fall into the rhythm of rural life at Tenuta Negroamaro. Days might include exploring the estate’s farm, feeding the resident animals, checking for honey, or collecting freshly laid eggs from the coops. Green-fingered guests can admire the estate’s vegetable, fruit and herb gardens, where a confetti of colourful produce fills the beds. Weave your way through the vineyard or set off down one of the bike trails. Beaches, such as Rivabella, are a 10-minute drive away, or book a private boat for dips beyond the sandy shores. If the hotel’s Trullo Suite has given you a yearning for Puglian tradition, white-washed Ostuni is a little over an hour away; trulli-terraced Alberobello is 40 minutes further.
Local restaurants
Gallipoli is a 10-minute drive from Tenuta Negroamaro and on its historic peninsula you’ll find seafood restaurants aplenty. Lining the sea wall, Amu Fish’s water-facing tables are a romantic choice for dining à deux – highlights include tuna sashimi, ruby red prawns, and grilled octopus. Sea views continue at Trattoria La Puritate, where produce from Salento’s countryside is paired with fresh fish in a trattoria-style space. Meals at Ristorante La Vinaigrette are an alfresco affair – lap up sunshine, spritzes and seafood from the leafy terrace.
Local cafés
Make like a local and camp out in one of Bar Canneto’s piazza-facing bamboo armchairs, shaded by a crochet parasol – perhaps fuelled by an espresso or scoffing a cornetto as you revel in some people-watching.
Local bars
Blanc delivers zingy cocktails, after-dinner coffees, and bar snacks in a cavernous space with vaulted ceilings and a wish-list-worthy boutique. Get there early to bag a table on the tucked-away terrace.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this charming countryside hotel in Puglia and unpacked their olive oil and handmade ceramics, a full account of their bucolic break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Tenuta Negroamaro in Italy…
Farm-to-table takes on new meaning at Tenuta Negroamaro, where guests can get stuck into each stage of the sustainable process. Learn how to forage, feed the animals, harvest honey, or gather freshly laid eggs – collecting key ingredients for the restaurant to transform into organic, delicious dishes (although no judgment here if you’d rather just enjoy the final product). And even if you’re not getting your hands dirty at the farm, you’ll still get a healthy dose of fresh air and restorative scenery with a wander about the grounds, where turtles bask in the sun and butterflies freckle the bougainvillea. The colourful kitchen gardens are abundant with aubergines, pomegranates, tomatoes, and figs – all for your sampling. Plus, a roster of resident and visiting chefs host seasonal cooking classes, where waxy lemons might get turned into limoncello, oranges into marmalade, and prickly pear fruit into poolside refreshments. Plus, a boutique farm shop sells olive oils, natural soaps, and local crafts, so that you can pocket a piece of Puglia
