Borgo Egnazia
Hotel · Brindisi ·
Elegant rooms, suites, & villas; 6 restaurants, luxe spa, pools
Elegant rooms, suites, & villas; 6 restaurants, luxe spa, pools
"I explored a grand homage to Apulian culture and tradition spread across 18 hectares of resort space with 2,400 square meters of spa." - La Guida Michelin
"On my first visit, I was supposed to write about this luxurious seaside hotel in Puglia, which has been attracting celebrities and other beautiful people since 2010, but I ended up soaked in Negronis, weeping in the piazza, sobbing by the bougainvillea, hysterical in their hammam, and literally praying on the rooftop of my casetta to one day return as a proud mother. A decade later, I did return—and to my shock, to the same Cassetta Magnifica—and found a glamorously chill haven where gorgeous Europeans, cool Americans, sweet kids, and quiet sophistication collide; my children ran around the piazza I’d nearly collapsed in while my partner and I rode bikes to the sexy beach club for Aperol Spritzes and sneaking kisses, and the whole experience felt deeply, beautifully cathartic." - Alyssa Shelasky
"Walking through the cobbled streets as evening light gilds the clocktower, I was struck that this sprawling property—built in 2010 yet made to feel centuries-old—manages to feel both breathtakingly authentic and utterly luxurious; its 183 rooms, suites and casette were even intentionally weathered by architect Pino Brescia to mimic local sandstone. The piazza comes alive for dinner, and the complex (the brainchild of Aldo Melpignano and Camilla Vender, continuing a family legacy that began with Masseria San Domenico) offers seemingly endless experiences—two beach clubs, a golf course, a Roman-bath–inspired spa, vintage car tours, cooking classes, oil and wine tastings, trekking—yet retains a pervasive sense of calm and privacy in each room, which helps explain its celebrity following. After a few days there I found the hotel’s tagline, “nowhere else,” hard to argue with." - Liam Hess
"A rustic-luxe resort modeled on a traditional Puglian borgo by trailblazing hotelier Aldo Melpignano, centered around a lively piazza that hosts summer festivals and tarantella dancing. Stone-built rooms and standalone villas recall local farmhouses and are decorated in a chic rustic style swathed in white linen. The wide-ranging amenities include seven restaurants (including the Michelin-starred Due Camini for romantic dinners), three bars, the Vair spa, tennis courts, four pools, a kids club with pasta-making and a farm area called Fattoria di Maria, and a free shuttle to the Cala Masciola beach club. The property is single-use–plastic free, provides stainless-steel water bottles, and offers bicycles for eco-friendly exploration, making it equally suitable for honeymooners and families." - Laura Itzkowitz, Erica Firpo
"Celebrities (Madonna, the Beckhams) keep delightful Puglian resort Borgo Egnazia in the news. The heart of this hotel, however, lies not in the private villas where they hide away, but in the pretty piazzas of Il Borgo and La Corte. It's all dreamily beautiful, the way the harsh Mediterranean sun hits the mellow tufu limestone from which the buildings have been honed, the shock of bougainvillea that has crept up every wall, the softness, the shadows, the dusky lanes between the hotel rooms. Rooms are soaring and elegant, cool stone underfoot, mini posies of dried lavender on shelves, huge linen cushions, and sun-trap terraces. They are retreats in themselves, some with their own little kitchens, others with swimming pools, or sea views from the rooftops. The restaurants are smart, with traditional Italian splatterware plates and bowls, and food made straight from the fields you see around you: broccoli, tomatoes, eggplants, pasta made with the local semolina flour, very good olive oil. There is the sweetest children’s club you’ll ever stumble across, and a supremely cool beach hangout, and a spa that is mesmerizing and magical. At night the entire place is lit by citronella lanterns, smoking into the warm air. Sometimes a bonfire crackles in the central square. A deeply special place." - Nicholas DeRenzo, CNT Editors
