Palace Hotel San Michele

Why it’s on the Edit

Palace Hotel San Michele is a 4-star hotel in a restored building of the early 1900s in Monte Sant’Angelo, a hilltop town on the Gargano. It looks over the Gulf of Manfredonia from a panoramic rise.

It is on the Edit for the place. Monte Sant’Angelo holds the sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo, a UNESCO site, and the hotel stands a few steps from the Norman-Swabian castle. The hotel belongs to the Trotta Hotels group.

It is a town hotel: the sea is a drive away, and the spa is in a neighboring hotel.

The rooms

Standard rooms run from a single of 12 m² to a triple of 23 m². A double measures 14 to 17 m², and the ground-floor rooms share a terrace with an inner view. All have a private shower, a hairdryer, a 43-inch satellite TV, a desk, air conditioning, a safe and a minibar.

Junior Suites measure 26 to 29 m² and are a single room. Suites measure 32 to 39 m² and have a bedroom, a lounge area with a sofa bed and a private balcony facing the Gulf of Manfredonia. Some Suites have a tub and carpet and are closed to pets.

Rooms without barriers for guests with disabilities are available. Breakfast is a buffet, and parking and a garage are available but not guarded.

Eating and drinking

The restaurant serves Puglian cooking alongside Italian and international dishes. The hotel describes the food as a mix of both.

A buffet breakfast comes with the rate when you book through the hotel’s own channels. There is a lounge bar for an aperitif. The hotel also runs celebration halls for weddings and parties.

At the beach village there is a restaurant above the sea, paid separately. For anything else, the restaurants of Monte Sant’Angelo are the option.

The setting

The setting is a mountain town. The pool is at 840 meters above sea level and looks over the gulf from stone terraces with plants. It is included in the rate from May 15 to September 15, a cap is required, and a small corner is reserved for pets.

The hotel’s beach is at the Baia del Monaco village, run by the same group, from June 6 to September 5. It gives each room one umbrella and two loungers in the fourth row.

You drive there yourself, with free parking, as the hotel runs no transfer. The beach is sand and gravel over a seabed of sand and rock.

In town, the hotel names the sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo, with its stairway of 89 steps to the cave, the castle with its keel-shaped tower, and the museum of popular arts and traditions. It also points to the Foresta Umbra, where wild orchids bloom between April and July.

Good to know

• The wellness center is in the adjacent Hotel Relais dei Normanni and is paid, adults only. It opens from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and a private evening session of 75 minutes can be booked, for example after a meeting.
• The pool needs a swimming cap.
• Beach service runs June 6 to September 5 and needs your own car.
• Pets are accepted with limits and a daily charge.
• Events of up to 200 guests are held in the hotel’s halls, so check for weddings on your dates.
• Opening months and children’s policies are not confirmed here.
• Price band: 1 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

It suits pilgrims and sightseers who want to sleep in Monte Sant’Angelo, travelers who combine the town with the Foresta Umbra, and families going to a wedding or ceremony in the hotel’s halls. Small dog owners also have an option.

Look elsewhere for a beach at the door or a spa in the building. For a sea hotel with a private beach, see Hotel Gargano, and for a family resort, Gattarella Family Resort. The Gargano hub lists the rest.

Getting there

The hotel is on Via Madonna degli Angeli in Monte Sant’Angelo, on the Gargano. Bari is the nearer international airport.

A car is needed, above all for the beach. The hotel mentions a bus stop a few steps away for San Giovanni Rotondo and the castle, but timetables are not covered here.