Boutique Hotel Puglia | Paragon 700 Boutique Hotel & SPA
Hotel · Ostuni
Largo Michele Ayroldi Carissimo, 14, 72017 Ostuni BR, Italy
Highlights
Historic palace hotel with spa, pool, and unique design
Historic palace hotel with spa, pool, and unique design
"From the outside the red rusticated facade and a restored vintage car hint at Paragon 700’s theatrical interior, where founders Pascale Lauber and Ulrike Bauschke have unleashed a wildly imaginative design vision: Baroque-meets-Tim Burton baroque theatrics, macabre monkey statues and reinterpreted Renaissance works sit alongside artist-designed sofas and more restrained, fresco-ceilinged guest rooms. The underground spa—built into caves and accessed by a glass elevator—offers hydromassage, a Turkish bath, a Himalayan salt wall and a natural whirlpool, while the hotel’s sustainability commitments (micro‑CHP, zero plastics, local materials) and its prime Ostuni location make it a perfect base to return to for a dip, an offbeat cocktail and dinner at Restaurant 700." - Liam Hess
"Standing out amid Puglia’s “White City,” in a 17th-century Pompeii Red palazzo that was once home to the first mayor of Ostuni, Paragon 700 Boutique Hotel & Spa was recently restored with its original fireplaces, frescoes, and private garden intact. Expect 11 old-meets-new rooms, a majolica-tile bar, and a wine cellar where there was once an olive oil chamber; not to mention, the former water chamber has been converted into a spa with a natural whirlpool."
"Why book? For its operatic suites with their splendid vaults and frescoed baroquerie, and the only outdoor pool in town. Set the scene This Pompeian red 18th century mansion (one of those cubic, rusticated stone piles) lords it over the città bianca of Ostuni; the medieval citadel kowtows at its feet. With its theatrical-yet-intimate new look, gourmet restaurant, walled and colonnaded gardens, it’s fast becoming the haunt of thespians, epicureans, aesthetes, and hedonists, all seeking romantic seclusion and a kid-free zone in the thrum of ‘the white city’. The backstory When globetrotting entrepreneurs Pascale Lauber and Ulrike Bauschke bought Ostuni’s ‘Red Palace’ in 2016, the faded noble palazzo was a shell of crumbling plaster and broken glass - forsaken for nearly half a century. Undaunted and with a pocketbook of bijou hotels and restaurants tucked under their arms, Lauber and Bauschke launched an ambitious four-year restoration project, unveiling 18th century frescoes, Neapolitan majolica floors, a feast of wedding-cake stucco work and honeyed stone vaults. Designer-architect Lauber of ID Living conjured up a series of theatrical scene-changes, transforming an underground water cistern into a rupestrian salt-walled Spa; an old olive press into a bistro-style restaurant; and, in a final coup-de-théâtre, a tumble of overgrown stones into a walled citrus garden. The rooms Lauber’s operatic décor is an eclectic yet harmonious score, where frescoed narratives, arabesques and grotesques dialogue with quirky, Pythonesque contemporary art. The mise-en-scène is a riot of exotica: saffron sofas and cinnamon bedheads from South Africa, elaborate sculptural lamps from Thailand, firepits and gazebos from India repurposed into bathtubs and washstands. Aesthetics triumph over prosaic functionality: Local artisans forged screens of iron, glass, and pale linen to separate en-suites without compromising the vaulted rooms; TVs, coffee machines and bidets have no place in the scenography: ‘They’re far too ugly and ruin the ensemble’, laughs Lauber. Of the 11 guest rooms, which to choose? The moody all-black Loft Suite invites existentialist reflection, while the theatrical Paragon Suite brags cathedral-style ceilings seven-metres high, a fireplace and a sunken circular bath for bedside ablutions. During Puglia’s blazing Summers, opt for one of the terraced suites with open-air waterfall showers. Food and drink In his tasting menus and tapas, head chef Giovanni Cerroni (protegé of Michelin-starred Paulo Airaudo) fuses Apulian traditions with recollections of his culinary journeys in France and Asia. Marinated red prawns with smoked black thé, mushroom cappelletti with a ‘memory’ of miso soup epitomise the mix of local and Asian flavors. Dine in the Moorish-style walled gardens or in the barrel-vaulted bistro with its show kitchen. For aperitivi and cocktails, you can recline by the pool or perch in the vaulted undercroft bar which could be a set from Casablanca. The neighborhood/area In the southern Italian region of Salento, Ostuni is one of Puglia’s most historically varied cities: Messapians, Greeks, Romans, Normans came, saw and conquered; more recently, so many British expats have moved here that the area has been nicknamed Salentoshire. You might think yourself in Mykonos, as you drink in the wine-dark sea from the belvedere on Corso Vittorio Emanuele and lose yourself in the labyrinth of arched alleyways and lime-washed houses down in the medieval citadel. As for dining, if you exhaust Cerroni’s gourmet menus back at the 700, it’s a short stroll to a choice of Ostuni’s excellent restaurants: Michelin-starred Cielo; Osteria del Tempo Perso, with space hewn from an ancient cave; or Osteria Piazzetta Cattedrale, in the shadow of the voluptuous 15th century cathedral. The service It is breezy and convivial; don’t expect white gloves and old-school decorum. Staff mingle in cool and crumpled linens; the charismatic owners—ever present—delight with tales of their itinerant lives. Eco effort The restaurant uses local and seasonal ingredients, the spa and bathrooms organic but luxe toiletries. Accessibility The space is not suitable for those who have serious mobility issues. Anything left to mention? The penumbral private-use spa was once an old water cistern, seven metres below ground; deliciously cool. Laze on flowered and candlelit beds below cavern walls clad in Himalayan-salt."
"Set in Ostuni in 18th-century building, Palazzo Rosso stands as a symbol of elegance and tradition in the White City. 5.3 mi from the sandy beaches, Paragon 700 Boutique Hotel & SPA offers accommodations with a unique atmosphere for a memorable and extraordinary experience. Guests can indulge in the serene SPA and enjoy an à la carte breakfast with homemade products from Puglia. The hotel features a stunning outdoor pool set in lush gardens, perfect for relaxation. The in-house restaurant serves gourmet cuisine, while the mixology bar offers a selection of fine wines and cocktails. Each uniquely designed air-conditioned room combines modern comfort with historical charm, free WiFi, sun terrace or balcony and private private bathrooms. Please note that not all of our rooms, regardless the category, offer garden views. Additional services include a concierge, car hire, private secure parking (€30 per 24-hour), and free Wi-Fi throughout the property. The nearest airport is Brindisi - Salento, 24 mi from the hotel, and the property offers a paid airport shuttle service." - My Boutique Hotel (en)
"There are many compelling reasons to visit historic Ostuni, named the White Town for its limewashed buildings and fortified walls. Its long history takes in the Punic Wars, Greeks, Romans, and Italian unification. The maze-like hilltop Old Town has dreamy views to the Adriatic. The Gothic Cathedral and ornate palazzi are prime examples of the medieval and Italian Renaissance architecture of its heyday. The surrounding country provides wondrous food and drink. And now beautiful boutique hotel Paragon 700 is added to this list. The Palazzo Rosso (Red Palace) had been dormant for decades until new Swiss owners realised its extraordinary potential. Interiors were transformed with an assured blend of old and new art, bespoke furniture (such as gazebos and braziers turned into bathtubs) and sophisticated light fixtures. 15 sumptuous suites have original frescoes, huge fireplaces, multicultural antiques and contemporary bathrooms. The ancient water cistern was cleverly reinvented as an underground spa, while the vaulted former oil mill now serves refined local fare in restaurant 700. Enjoy regional wines and excellent cocktails at the 8-metre-long stone counter in the stylish bar, or dine al fresco beside the supremely elegant 15-metre swimming pool. A true paragon of beauty. Highs Perfect for romantics and design lovers seeking a more in-depth insight into Puglia's cuisine, history and culture Incomparable style throughout, especially in the spacious suites with their soaring ceilings and parquet floors The only full-length swimming pool in Ostuni, and within such an elegant walled garden: a haven of peace Fine dining in Restaurant 700, and innovative cocktails in Bar 700 Excellent underground spa with steam bath, chromotherapy shower and treatment room for two Lows This level of service and style is priced accordingly, but worth paying for No children under 14, a high for many!" - Ben Reed
