Palazzo Colombo

Why it’s on the Edit

Palazzo Colombo is a guesthouse in a renovated historic building, at the entrance of Gallipoli’s historic center. It calls itself a design guesthouse, with an eclectic style inside and large windows toward the sea.

It is part of a collection with Palazzo Presta and Palazzo Flora, and it shares their services. That is the first thing to know: the guesthouse has no pool, no breakfast room and no front desk of its own. Those are at its sister properties.

If a base at the foot of the old town is worth that trade, it works. If you want everything under one roof, look at a different kind of stay.

The rooms

The booking banner highlights the Deluxe Room with sea view and the Junior Suite with sea view. The site lists a plain Deluxe Room too, the only room without a sea view, at 25 square meters. The Deluxe Rooms with sea view start at 20 square meters. All come with a king-size bed or two single beds, and the Junior Suites are the most spacious and include a balcony.

Every room has a private bathroom with a spacious shower, independent air conditioning and free wi-fi. The website says each room is inspired by a different culture, with eclectic objects from distant places, and bathrobes, slippers and beach towels are available on request. Family rooms exist, and some rooms accept pets.

The Deluxe Rooms with sea view and the Junior Suites have a Juliet balcony. The website gives no total number of rooms, so ask before you plan a group booking.

Eating and drinking

Breakfast is served at Lazzaro & Caterina, the restaurant at the sister hotel Palazzo Presta, a few steps away. The buffet lists pastries and bread, yogurt, cereals, seasonal fruit and juices, local cheeses and cold cuts, Apulian specialties and eggs cooked to order, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Lazzaro & Caterina is also the restaurant the guesthouse’s site sends you to for dinner, with traditional Salento dishes. Terrazza Presta, the sea-view rooftop cocktail bar at Palazzo Presta, is the group’s bar. Guests of Palazzo Colombo can use the group’s restaurant and bar.

A two-night package with dinner is advertised on the site. The website names no opening days for the restaurant, so ask when you book.

The setting

The guesthouse stands at the entrance of the historic center, and from its panoramic terrace you look at the imposing eleventh-century castle. The old town sits on a limestone island joined to the mainland by a sixteenth-century bridge, according to the group’s own guide to the area.

The guesthouse puts the city beach at a 3-minute walk. Baia Verde and Punta della Suina are the beaches the group names for Gallipoli. If you want a pool, the guesthouse points to the one at Palazzo Flora, reserved for guests and set in a relaxation area.

Arrival has a local twist. The guesthouse runs an electric golf cart that carries luggage from the port or from the access point to the old town. That helps if you arrive by car and leave it in the affiliated parking.

The group also offers guided tours, a cooking class, winery visits, bike rides and boat trips on the Ionian coast.

Good to know

• Open from March to November.
• Check-in from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., with private and express check-in and check-out.
• The reception and breakfast are at Palazzo Presta, and the pool is at Palazzo Flora.
• An affiliated parking area nearby can be reserved. Luggage storage is offered.
• The city tax is added to the stay and paid in cash at check-out.
• Pets are welcome in some rooms with a daily supplement. Laundry, babysitting, massages and bike rental carry extra charges.
• Price band: 2 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Palazzo Colombo suits couples and small families who want to walk everywhere in Gallipoli, sleep with a sea view in all but one room type and do without a hotel’s full facilities. Travelers with a dog can ask about the rooms that accept pets.

A pool, a restaurant and a front desk in one building point to Palazzo Presta, the sister property where Palazzo Colombo’s guests already take breakfast. For the countryside, Masseria Macchiaforte is a masseria in the comune of Gallipoli with a pool and a free shuttle to its affiliated beach.

Getting there

Palazzo Colombo is in Gallipoli, in the Gallipoli and the Ionian Salento area. Brindisi is the nearer of the two airports, and Bari is further north.

The old town is a place to cover on foot. Park in the affiliated area and use the golf cart for your bags.