Hotel Il Grillo

Why it’s on the Edit

Hotel Il Grillo is a small seaside hotel at Marina di Pulsano, around Taranto and the Ionian coast. It has 16 rooms, an outdoor pool, a fish restaurant, a reception hall and a bistro bar. The site also calls it a boutique hotel, and the Regione Puglia register gives it four stars.

The beach is across the road, the Classic rooms are furnished in a modern style, and the kitchen lists a chef for coeliac and other special diets. The price band is 1 of 5, an estimate, since no official rate was found.

The same building runs weddings and parties, so ask what is booked on your dates.

The rooms

Hotel Il Grillo has 16 rooms in three types: Classic, De-luxe and Family. The Classic rooms have wengé furniture, parquet floors and a private shower bathroom. Some have a small balcony over the pool, some have direct access to a wooden solarium of about 200 m², and others have a balcony toward the inside.

De-luxe rooms are furnished like Classic ones but are larger, each with a bathroom and a terrace you can sit out on, facing the sea or the pool. Family units have an entrance with one or two beds, a bathroom and a separate double bedroom behind an internal door.

Classic rooms have individually controlled air conditioning, an LCD TV, a minibar, a safe and free internet access. Room sizes are not confirmed.

Eating and drinking

The restaurant is a fish restaurant. It cooks simple dishes from mostly local ingredients and the fish available fresh each day.

Tables are in an indoor room with large windows over the pool, outside under a pergola beside the pool solarium, or in the party hall. The wine list leans on Puglian bottles, among them Primitivo di Manduria and Negroamaro, many by the glass.

A bistro serves crisp gourmet pinse, raw seafood with crustaceans, tartare and fish carpaccio, and grilled meats. The restaurant is on the Italian coeliac association list and has a chef for special diets, and children have dishes of their own.

The setting

Hotel Il Grillo stands on Viale dei Micenei at Marina di Pulsano, on the Ionian coast. The hotel says the nearest beach is a few steps away on foot.

Across the road is a cove with a Caribbean-style beach club that runs entertainment by day and in the evening. A Bonus Card gives guests access to some partner beach establishments, and a shuttle serves other beaches nearby.

In the grounds there is a tropical pool with a wooden solarium, a garden and a small restaurant room, plus a reserved parking lot that is free and gated. The square called Le Barche has centuries-old olive trees and fragrant plants, and it is used for event buffets.

Good to know

• The site header reads Monday to Sunday, always open. Check the months before booking.
• Parking is free, gated and under video surveillance.
• A shuttle to nearby beaches and a Bonus Card for partner beach establishments are listed.
• The restaurant has a chef for coeliac and special diets, and dishes for children.
• Family units have a separate double bedroom behind an internal door.
• Weddings, christenings, graduations and 18th birthdays are held in the hall and the garden.
• Pool size, spa, gym, pets and children’s age rules are not confirmed here.
• Price band: 1 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Families and couples who want a beach week on the Ionian coast, fish for dinner and a pool as backup will do well here. Guests with coeliac needs get a kitchen with a dedicated chef, though opening months are not confirmed.

A spa, a historic building or a quiet countryside masseria is a different trip. Masseria Amastuola is the estate option around Taranto, and Casa Isabella has a spa.

Getting there

Hotel Il Grillo is at Marina di Pulsano, in the Taranto and the Ionian coast area. Brindisi and Bari are the airports for this part of Puglia.

You need a car for anything beyond the beach across the road. The hotel’s own directions start at the final toll of the A14 and continue toward Taranto.