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When you plan a trip to Puglia, everyone will tell you to rent a car. What they will not tell you is that if you're staying in any kind of city center, you'll be navigating your way down one-way back alleys with nothing but GPS and a prayer.
But if you're wise enough to stay at Patria Palace, you'll also have Tommaso. One of the porters at the gorgeous hotel located in Lecce's historic core, Tommaso was my savior. When I called the front desk in total surrender, having tried five times in vain to navigate to the hotel, out he came to track me down. Once he found me a few blocks away, fretting in my Euro-size sedan, he was all smiles as he drove us to our destination – so much so that my American anxiety melted away on sight.
That rescue mission was just the harbinger of the first-rate service at Patria Palace, the sole five-star luxury hotel in the Salento region of Puglia. Throughout my stay, the staff gave beach recommendations based on prevailing winds, indulged my halting Italian, provided two daily turndown services, and made a litany of reservations all with that same confident ease. With roots as a grand eighteenth-century residence, Patria Palace has all the majesty that its name might suggest, but with the warmth and approachability of a cozy bed and breakfast. After hours of sun-drenched sight-seeing, stepping back into its cool white walls was a pleasure – one I'd recommend to anyone venturing to the heel of the boot.
BENVENUTI AL SUD
While most travelers flock to northern and central Puglia, for the iconic beach at Polignano a Mare or Alberobello's cone-shaped trulli, southernmost Salento mostly remains a hidden gem. With jaw-dropping vistas along both the Ionian and Adriatic coasts, Lecce's central location makes it the ideal home base for exploring either side – and within Lecce, Patria Palace couldn't be better situated. It's within the original city walls, surrounded by the Baroque-style architecture that's earned Lecce the title "the Florence of the South."
The hotel boasts 67 rooms, each appointed with tile floors, marble bathrooms, and jewel-toned fabrics that lend an Art Deco flair to all that Italian history. As Lecce is a low-rise city, my room was just a short walk up from the minimal but well-appointed lobby, where the concierge is on hand 24/7, a rarity in most Italian hotels. The hotel’s smallest room, the Superior floorplan (~279 Euros in high season), was still plenty of space for my partner and I, but those of you with families in tow can take advantage of the roomier Junior Suites (~434 Euros) – or throw down to nab the private terrace with a pool (~900 Euros).
A DRINK WITH A VIEW
You'd be well within your rights to feel jealous of the terrace holder's view of Basilica of Santa Croce, the cathedral located just across the piazza, except the same knockout vista can be found up at Patria's rooftop bar. This roof is arguably the hotel's calling card, the snapshot that sealed my reservation and that offered the perfect backdrop for many an aperitivo hour.
My nightly routine became kicking back with an expertly made rooftop spritz (or an even better Negroni from the lobby bar, carried out to a streetside lounger), before venturing out for dinner. The same winding streets that stumped me as a driver were so much more charming on foot, dotted with trattorias and wine bars alike that thrummed with activity. Each day around sunset, the honey-colored limestone that makes Lecce's architecture so distinctive practically turned, and Patria's stately entrance was no exception. In a city with such a distinctive regional style, it's no small perk to find a hotel that embraces it.
DINING AND RECLINING
But back to the food (you can tell what my priorities are): Patria is also home to Atenze, a gourmet restaurant offering progressive spins on Leccese classics, a love letter to its culinary region. While I never swung by for dinner – I prefer Italian dining that's a little more hole-in-the-wall – I've got nothing but great things to say about the breakfast. The sheer spread of ripe fruit, cured meats, and local pastries was both refined and indulgent, hands down the best assortment I saw throughout my two-week trip.
With that sustenance under my belt, there was nothing left to do but sunbathe, whether on the rocky coves of Porto Selvaggio or at Patria's seaside partner, Mora Mora Beach Club. Accessible by a hotel shuttle (or by car if you insist on redeeming yourself as I did), Mora Mora offers shaded chairs, umbrellas, and waterside dining for all of Patria's guests. Even with all the rustic pleasure I found in traipsing out to far-flung beaches, spending a day at this private lido felt equally like a must.
In fact, it's those contrasts – the swirling of cathedrals and dive bars, of jagged cliffs and pure white sands – that make Puglia unforgettable. Already a destination for sea-loving Italians during the summer months, it's becoming increasingly popular with history buffs, LGBTQ travelers (hi), and epicureans from all over. Lecce is the jewel of the region, the absolute highlight of a trip that took me from the hills of Piemonte to the ruins of Rome, with quite a few stops in between.
And it wouldn't have been the same without a stay at Patria Palace.
If you stay here, make sure to…
- EAT to-die-for pizzas at local favorite La Succursale, followed by a sweet, refreshingly cold caffé Leccese.
- SEE the hidden Roman theater near Lecce's Chiesa di Santa Chiara, an antiquity dating all the way back to 43 B.C. (!)
- DO the cliff-jumping at Grotta della Poesia. Less than an hour away, diving off limestone cliffs into this natural swimming hole is a thrill – one even a wimp like me did twice.
