Palazzo Filisio

Why it’s on the Edit

Palazzo Filisio is a 4-star hotel in a palace built in the 17th century by the Filisio family, at the foot of the cathedral of Trani. It was renovated in the first months of 2018 to bring back its historic look, with the hotel pointing to light, stone and sea as its colors.

The address is the reason. The cathedral is outside, the water is a step away, and the hotel is small: 14 rooms in five types.

The hotelier is Gabriele Renda. The kitchen follows what the hotel calls Eat With Six Senses: local, seasonal products, and ingredients from organic gardens where possible.

The rooms

The 14 rooms come in five types, which the site names as Classic, De Luxe, Superior, Junior Suite and Sea Experience. The main choice is the view: sea view or cathedral view.

Rooms are equipped with a safe, Wi-Fi, a coffee maker, air conditioning, SKY TV, a minibar and a work space. Some have a bathtub and others a shower. The hotel is non-smoking throughout.

The site also lists lifts and ramps that reach the accessible rooms and all the common areas. Ask for an accessible room when you book.

Breakfast is always included, and it can be served in the room. The booking is refundable up to three days before arrival. Check-in is from 2 p.m. and check-out by 11 a.m., and luggage storage is available.

Eating and drinking

The restaurant is the Regia Ristorante, which the hotel calls the only restaurant at the foot of the Trani cathedral. It is open every day for lunch and dinner, and the hotel says each dish speaks of light, stone and sea. The menu is built on fish and sea products: octopus with citrus burrata, rice with mussels and bottarga, square spaghetti with sea urchin, seared tuna and smoked sea bass.

There is also a bar, with room service. A concierge can book museums and arrange car hire with or without a driver, bike hire and babysitting.

The menu on the hotel’s site lists a carpaccio of snapper, amberjack, scallop and smoked sardine, nettle tagliolini with cuttlefish and clams, and handmade ravioli with buffalo mozzarella for those who skip fish. Main courses include turbot, sea bass and a beef fillet, and dessert is an almond wafer with vanilla gelato.

The setting

You are in the harbor quarter of Trani, with the cathedral beside you. The hotel names the cathedral, the Swabian castle, the church of Ognissanti and the Scola Nova synagogue and the Jewish quarter as the sights in reach.

The hotel’s directions say to follow the signs to the harbor until you see the cathedral, and they put the town’s station about 15 minutes away on foot. By car, the hotel’s directions give the A14 exit Trani or the SS 16 bis exit Trani Centro.

A pool, a spa and a garden are not confirmed here. This is a small hotel in a stone palace between the sea and a cathedral.

Good to know

• Pets: small animals in rooms, free of charge, but not in the breakfast room or restaurants.
• Parking is outdoors, guarded and on request.
• Laundry runs from Monday to Saturday, and ironing every day.
• Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel, and reception is staffed from 7 a.m. to midnight.
• Children’s policies and opening months are not confirmed here.
• Price band: 1 of 5 (estimated: rates on the official site are undated).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

It suits couples and short-break travelers who want a palace hotel in Trani’s old harbor, a sea or cathedral view and dinner downstairs. Travelers with a small dog can also stay.

Look elsewhere for a countryside masseria, and ask first if a pool or a garden matters. For another palazzo in Trani, see Marè Resort, and for a palazzo with a spa, Dogana Resort in Molfetta. The Bari and Trani hub lists more.

Getting there

Palazzo Filisio is in Trani, in the Bari and Trani area. The hotel names Bari Karol Wojtyła as the nearest airport.

You can do without a car inside Trani. For the coast beyond it, a car, or the hotel’s concierge for car hire, is the practical choice.