Dogana Resort

Why it’s on the Edit

Dogana Resort is a 35-room hotel built into a palazzo on the old port of Molfetta. The hotel’s own history starts on November 25, 1655, with a purchase by a bishop, and the building later became the town’s seminary, inaugurated in 1713. It was reborn as Dogana Resort in 2019.

The Regione Puglia register gives it five stars, without the luxury mark. The hotel calls its rooms sober and essential.

The pull is the position: the quay, the fishing boats, the old town behind you. The price band is 2 of 5, an estimate, since no official rate was found.

The rooms

There are 35 rooms in six types, and the names tell you the view. Deluxe and Junior Suite each come in two kinds: Borgoantico faces the alleys, bell towers and church pediments of the old town, and Vista Mare faces the sea.

Some Vista Mare rooms have a small balcony, but the hotel says it comes on specific request or subject to availability at check-in, so ask for it by name. The Junior Suite Vista Mare has a balcony facing the port and a small sitting room. The Suite is a two-room unit with a terrace and Technogym equipment in the room.

Choose by view: Vista Mare gives the sea, Borgoantico gives the old town’s alleys and bell towers. The building supplies the details. The hotel lists stone verandas, emotional showers that pour water from a dome, and old niches, ovens and wells in the barrel vaults.

Eating and drinking

The restaurant is Comando del Porto, with chef Pietro de Candia. The kitchen describes itself as a tribute to the products of the region, and fresh fish arrives from the fishing boats on the quay.

Next to it is a bistrot for the coffee break, aperitif or brunch, and an American bar in the evening. A bioclimatic outdoor area sits very close to where the fishing boats dock at the old port.

A solarium on the roof looks across to the double towers of the Molfetta Duomo. Opening days for the restaurant, the bistrot and the solarium are not confirmed on the official pages, so ask before you build an evening around them.

The setting

The hotel’s address is Banchina Seminario, 3, on the old harbor. You look at moored boats here, not at sand.

From the rooftop the hotel points to the double towers of the Duomo and the sanctuary of the Madonna dei Martiri, which it ties to the devotion of the town’s sailors. The Borgoantico rooms look the other way, onto the old-town alleys.

The spa sits inside the palazzo, and the hotel calls it the heart of the resort. It has a steam bath, a Finnish sauna, a whirlpool and a cold mist shower with mint, and it uses Thalion marine cosmetics.

Good to know

• The sea at the door is a harbor, not a swimming beach.
• Parking is paid. The hotel also lists a van transfer, electric bikes, jogging and free Wi-Fi.
• The spa page says animals are not admitted.
• Balconies on Vista Mare rooms are on request or subject to availability.
• Children, opening months and the exact spa hours are not confirmed.
• Price band: 2 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Couples and short-break travelers who want a historic building on a working quay, with a spa for the evening, are the match. Spa hours are not published, so ask how to book a slot. So are people who like the idea of fish that comes off the boats beside the dining room.

A pool, a beach lido and a large resort program are not confirmed here, so ask or look elsewhere. Hotel Villa in Bisceglie and Marè Resort are other options in the Bari and Trani hub.

Getting there

Dogana Resort is in Molfetta, in the Bari and Trani area. Bari airport is the one to fly into.

Inside Molfetta the harbor and the old town are the draw. To see Trani, Bari or the countryside you will want a car, and the hotel has paid parking. It also lists a van transfer, so ask about it when you book.