La Sommità Relais

What the property says

La Sommità Relais occupies a 16th-century residence in Ostuni’s old town, a few steps from the Cathedral. The hotel says the building began as the town’s castle, set on the hill to watch for invaders from the coast. The Zavallo family, Dukes of Ostuni, owned it between the 13th and 16th centuries, and it then passed to Bona Sforza, Duchess of Milan.

The Palmieri family restored it and added a baroque portal. In the 18th century the house held an olive press, and its original grindstones now sit in the wellness center.

A room inside the white town is the reason to choose La Sommità Relais. It is also the source of its practical limits: no car at the door and no confirmed pool.

The rooms

The hotel divides its rooms into Deluxe rooms and suites. Deluxe rooms sit on the quieter, inner side of the palace and have high vaulted ceilings with skylights. The architecture uses barrel and star-shaped vaults, with wood and local stone in a minimalist design.

Two Deluxe categories face outward. The Deluxe Sea View has large windows and the Deluxe Balcony Sea View a terrace, both looking over the citrus groves around the relais or toward the sea. The Deluxe Family Studio runs over two levels, with a living area and sofa bed below and a king bed on the mezzanine, under a skylight with an original 13th-century grille.

The hotel states one trade-off plainly: the suites are in the inner part of the building, with small windows and skylights, because the original structure was built for defense. For a view, book a sea-view category by name.

Food and drink

Cielo is the restaurant, with Angelo Convertini as executive chef. The sample dishes on the site include an oyster, ravioli filled with gratinated mussels, grilled lamb offal with sweet and sour lampascioni (a local wild bulb), and a dessert called The White City with almond, cupeta, peas and olive oil.

Breakfast brings fresh bread, taralli, croissants with homemade jam and ricotta. The Garden Bistrot serves lighter dishes in the Spanish garden inside the courtyard, and the Terrazza Belvedere bar has a panoramic view for aperitivo.

La Cantina is the cellar, set in a cave that was once a cistern for storing olive oil, with 16th-century stone walls. It holds Puglian wines, sparkling wines and champagne.

The setting

La Sommità Relais is in the historic center of Ostuni, in a quiet pedestrian-only area. The panoramic terraces look over the olive groves toward the sea. The wellness area offers massages, body and face rituals and a hammam, around the old grindstones.

Arrival needs planning. Cars cannot reach the door, so a hospitality agent meets you at an accessible point, directs you to the affiliated parking and escorts you on by shuttle. The parking is paid; the shuttle is free and runs from 8:00 am to midnight.

That works for a stay spent on foot in the old town. It gets tiresome if you plan to come and go by car several times a day.

Good to know

• Cars cannot enter the zone. Parking is at an affiliated lot, with a free shuttle from 8:00 am to midnight.
• Check-in is from 3:00 pm and check-out is at noon.
• Smoking is not allowed in the rooms.
• Dogs up to 9 kg are accepted on request, in certain rooms only.
• Weddings: indoor halls up to 70 guests, terraces and garden up to 100.
• If a pool matters to you, ask the hotel before booking.
• Price band: 3 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Is it right for you?

It suits couples who want to wake up inside Ostuni and food-led travelers who will book Cielo and the cave cellar. Wedding parties of up to 100 also fit, on the terraces and in the garden.

Look elsewhere if you want to drive to your door or spend the afternoon by a pool. Masseria Cervarolo sits in the countryside with a pool, and Vista Ostuni has a 350 m² spa and a heated pool.

Getting there

La Sommità Relais is in Ostuni, in Ostuni and the White Coast. Brindisi is the nearer airport, according to the hotel, and Bari the second option. The hotel arranges private transfers, and the regional train stops at Ostuni station, with a hotel shuttle on request.

You do not need a car for the old town. You will want one for the coast and the countryside, and it can stay in the affiliated parking between trips.