Tricarico Holidays

Beautiful and peaceful retreat. Breakfast was delicious.

great location in middle of town.

We stayed at Cala Ponte Hotel, Marriott Bonvoy Collection in Polignano a Mare. The property is beautiful, with a great pool and nice breakfast if you include it, but overall it felt expensive for what it was. Check-in was fine in the end, though at first they couldn’t locate our reservation which was stressful. One night we were kept up until 3 a.m. by a red light in our room (part of the fire alarm), which I reported the next day. The hotel itself feels more like a solid four-star rather than a five-star luxury property. It’s missing the resort-like touches you’d expect at this level: more restaurant options, entertainment, transportation to and from town, and even a small convenience shop with essentials like sunscreen, snacks, or first-aid items. Transportation in particular would be a huge benefit, since parking in Polignano is a nightmare. Overall, Cala Ponte is a beautiful spot with potential, but it needs more services and amenities to justify the price point.

We’ve had an incredible holiday staying at Carlos V suite in an annex building just down the lungomare from the main boutique hotel. We had our own rooftop terrace with sun beds and chairs and a Juliet balcony to watch people go by during the evening whilst drinking primitivo wine. All the hotel staff were very welcoming, friendly and helpful and the food at their restaurant was outstanding. Monopoli is a perfect base to stay and hire a car to take you to other quaint historic towns such as Polignano a mare, Ostuni and Alberobello. We took the train from monopoli to Leece for the day too. We particularly loved Monopoli and the daily 3 minute walk to breakfast was enjoyable. We certainly recommend staying at Don Ferrante and in the Carlos V suite as it had everything we needed. Monopoli has many bars and restaurants too and is a very picturesque old town, next to the Castello. We will return again one day . Thank you so much