Rooms

The main hotel building holds the ground-floor Double Rooms and Suites, plus the first-floor Gran Suite; outside in the garden, Casa Margherita feels more like a private house, spread over 2 floors. Décor is pale, with whitewashed walls and beautiful local antiques, such as pretty wooden dressers or colourful inlaid trunks.

All Double Rooms and Suites are handsomely large (if a bit echoey), with high ceilings and seating areas with books to borrow. Their doors open onto a sun-dappled communal courtyard, where you’ll find a small table and a couple of chairs per room. We particularly liked the fantastic arched ceilings and exposed stonework of the Simenon (where we stayed) and Fante Suites, and the Bukowsky Double Room. Suite Lucia has its own gated private garden.

Upstairs, the 3-bedroom Gran Suite is huge, if a little understated décor-wise. Expect high ceilings, grand spaces and lots of marble and antiques. On a practical level, it also has a handy kitchen-dining area - great for families.

Located on the other side of the pool from the main hotel are a pair of spacious houses. Casa Margherita feels like a private 2-storey house; it comes with a spacious vaulted-ceilinged kitchen-diner and lounge, plus 2 bedrooms upstairs. Arciprete is the latest addition, a ground-floor apartment with 2 double bedrooms and a further single room suitable for a child, and a large kitchen and living area. Both are great for families - you get a private garden in each which opens onto the orange grove and pool.

Bathrooms come in various shapes and sizes, but are generally large and mosaic-tiled. Simenon had a lovely rainfall shower and a Jacuzzi tub, though this took quite a while to fill up.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Bathrobes
• Cots available
• Hairdryer
• WiFi

Eating

Palazzo Guglielmo’s traditional Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, Casa dell’Angelo, sits next door and is open every day for lunch and dinner. Being so close to the sea, the menu is very fish focused. We enjoyed some very good tuna tartar – huge chunks of fresh tuna, aubergine and rice – and a tasty fried fish main. Packed with locals and tourists alike, it had a nice buzzy vibe and a huge well-priced wine list.

We ate breakfast in the cosy vaulted lounge area, but the tables and chairs overlooking the pool are a great spot for the summer months.The beautifully presented buffet spread features mountains of fresh fruit, together with moreish home-baked cakes, including exceedingly popular jam tarts. The Gran Suite and Casa Margherita also have their own kitchens with dining spaces.

The lounge also has an honesty bar where you can help yourself to soft drinks, beer and water whenever you feel like it. Twice a week the hotel holds a barbecue night - alternating a general menu of meat, fish or pizza - which is a nice chance to socialise with your hosts and fellow guests.

If you want to eat out, there are several appealing Vignacastrisi restaurants, ranging from basic pizzerias to more formal places. Equally, it's worth travelling a little further afield to one of Puglia’s many rural agriturismi (farm restaurants).

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Dinner by arrangement
• Honesty bar
• Lunch by arrangement
• Organic produce
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Chill out beside the gorgeous pool in the shady garden, head to the wellness spa in the ancient cellar or bubble away in the rooftop hot tub
  
• Explore the lovely little town of Vignacastrisi, enjoying the slow pace of life and the grace of its rural architecture, which includes the fortress-like Church of the Holy Virgin Mary, dating from the 16th century. The hotel can help arrange Vespa hire, too
  
• Swim in clear turquoise water from the rocky beaches at Castro Marina (3km away), Santa Cesarea Terme (6km away) and Adrano Marina (9km away). If you want white sand, head to the beaches near Otranto; one of the nicest is I Due Mori, close to the Alimini Lakes (a 30km drive)
  
• Visit the nearby town of Castro, for its picturesque harbour and turquoise waters
  
• Borrow the hotel's bicycles and peddle the beautifully windswept coastal road to Otranto. There are no beaches as such – just rock and some restaurants - but it's the most south easterly point in Italy. Otranto is a charming coastal town worth spending a day in; it gets full to bursting in July and August but is pretty quiet for the rest of the year
  
• Take part in the cooking courses, wine tastings and barbecues that are often held at Palazzo Guiglielmo. Our pasta-making class was a highlight of our trip!
  
• Discover the nearby Grotta dei Cervi, with its amazing post-paleolithic rock paintings and geological formations
  
• Enjoy a boat tour along the dramatically craggy coast, with its rollercoaster cliffs and fortified towers; private boat hire, with or without a skipper, can be arranged via reception

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Boat trips
• Cooking classes
• Cycling
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Private guided tours
• Sailing
• Shopping / markets
• Swimming
• Wine tasting

Kids

This is a great place to stay with kids, with an inviting (if unfenced) main pool plus a small kids pool, a relaxed feel and a kids toy area in the garden. There are plenty of activities along the coast for kids, too (but the nearest sandy beaches are 30km away towards Otranto).

Best for:

Babies (0-1 years), Toddlers (1-4 years), Children (4-12 years)

Family friendly accommodation:

The Gran Suite (sleeps 6) has 2 double rooms and a twin. Casa Margherita and Arciprete each have 2 double rooms, a small single and a walled garden. The Suites have 2 rooms: a double bedroom and a lounge (2 daybeds). Suite Lucia comes with its own gated private garden. All Double Rooms are spacious enough to fit a rollaway bed or baby cot; Carmelo and Vittoria feature a lockable interconnecting door ideal for children. All rooms have bathtubs and showers.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

Distances:

• Airport: 1.5 hrs (Brindisi)
• Shops: 1 minute

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Palazzo Guglielmo is on Vignacastrisi's main square, a small Puglian town. It's just inland from the Salento peninsula coast, southern Italy. It’s near Otranto (30km) and Lecce (45km).

By Air
The nearest airports are Brindisi (95km / 1.5 hours) and Bari (215km / 2.5 hours). Both have plenty of links with other cities in Italy and Europe. Transfers are available on request, but we'd recommend hiring a car to make the most of the area. The hotel has a private parking area.

By Train
If you plan on staying put in Vignacastrisi, you can travel by train via Lecce to Spongano (5km from the hotel), and take a taxi from there.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you make a booking through i-escape.com.

Read our guide to getting to Italy and getting around