Borgo Valle Rita

Why it’s on the Edit

Borgo Valle Rita is a country resort at Ginosa, around Taranto and the Ionian coast. Its 103 hectares of organic farm lie on the hills of the Alto Salento, between Puglia and Basilicata, and the Rita torrent gives the valley its name. A palm grove leads to Masseria Girifalco, a fief built in the 14th century.

The farm has grown organic fruit and vegetables since 1992. Its 35,000 citrus trees give the rooms their names. The price band is 1 of 5, an estimate, since no official rate was found.

The site lists a green policy: solar panels, a water doser, energy saving and recycling. What you book is a farm with a pool and, in the apartments, a kitchen of your own.

The rooms

The resort has three kinds of unit. Six rooms, for two or three guests, are named Cedro, Mandarancio, Mandarino, Clementina, Arancio and Limone. Each has a private veranda, a minibar, air conditioning, a safe, Wi-Fi and a TV.

Seven apartments sleep two to four. They carry the names Alloro, Rosmarino, Citronella, Lavanda, Ginepro, Ginestra and Zagara, and no two are alike. The site lists typically Mediterranean colors, original floors, period furniture and a masonry kitchen in the old style, with a large fireplace in some.

Two independent villas, Api and Angelino, sleep four or five among the citrus trees. Each has a private garden with a gazebo. Room and apartment sizes are not confirmed, so ask for square meters before you compare units.

Eating and drinking

The restaurant occupies rooms that once housed tobacco pickers from the Salento. Lunch runs from 13:00 to 15:00 and dinner from 19:30 to 22:30. The kitchen works from the farm’s organic produce and lists vegan, vegetarian, raw and fruitarian dishes next to omnivore ones.

Breakfast is a buffet on the balcony among the prickly pears, with homemade cakes every day. For the rest of the year the juice is squeezed from citrus picked straight off the tree.

In summer the farm lists a cinema with an American-style bar, jazz concerts, cooking classes and wine tastings. Dates are not confirmed here, so ask which of them fall in your week.

The shop sells farm products. Its pages have shown a box of six Fiano Falanghina IGP bottles and organic citrus honey, though stock changes.

The setting

Orchards alternate with wild land across the estate, and paths run through it for cycling or walking. Two horses, a Murgese and a Lipizzan, take guests out on rides.

The pool sits away from the entrance, which the site says gives guests a little more privacy, and faces the sunset. Two courts, one for tennis and one for ping pong, break up the citrus orchard.

The site says the sea is a stone’s throw away, yet the farm stands on hills, 72 meters above sea level. The route and time to the beach are not confirmed here, so ask before you plan beach days.

Good to know

• Apartments and villas have kitchens, so you can self-cater.
• Rooms list a minibar and a safe. Check what the apartments and villas include before you count on either.
• Lunch and dinner hours are on the site, but the season they apply to is not confirmed.
• The farm sells its organic products, and the site lists a shop.
• According to the site, birthdays, anniversaries and weddings can be celebrated in the restaurant.
• A spa, children, pets, room sizes and opening months are not confirmed.
• Price band: 1 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Borgo Valle Rita suits groups of friends and couples who want a villa or an apartment on an organic farm, with a pool, tennis and horse rides. Ask about children before you book. A group with mixed diets can eat from one menu, since the restaurant lists vegan, vegetarian, raw and fruitarian dishes.

Look elsewhere if you want hotel service, a spa or the beach at your door. Tenute D’Onghia is another organic farm with apartments, in the Alta Murgia.

Getting there

Borgo Valle Rita is in Contrada Girifalco, Ginosa, in the Taranto and the Ionian coast area. Bari is the nearer airport, and Brindisi the alternative.

You need a car. The farm is in the countryside, so every beach and town is a separate drive.