Hotel Piccolo Mondo in Castro

Me and my partner were staying in Puglia for a week from the 19th of September, staying one night near Polignano a Mare, 3 nights in Ostuni, and 3 nights here in Castro - we were most excited about this hotel as our friend recommended it to us.

Starting off positively, the hotel grounds were beautiful and the location idyllic. The staff were all so lovely, kind, and personable.

We were left a little disappointed by the service however. When we arrived we were told someone would fetch our bags from the car and bring them to our room, and after waiting over an hour we ended up having to get them ourselves. We were also told there’s a WhatsApp number to text food/drink orders to from the pool (it looked like the pool bar was closed so maybe why) but when we asked another member of staff for this number they were confused and said they’ve never heard of that before. Having to order food and drink from the pool felt like a mission, climbing up all the steps to then wait at the bar or reception which was mostly unstaffed - then waiting over an hour and a half for lunch and a drink. Not really ideal sadly. I’m sure this was mostly because we visited slightly out of season but I feel like the service should remain the same regardless.

We got the standard double room and it was very, very basic. There wasn’t WiFi and when we asked at reception they gave us our own WiFi box which was strange and should’ve been told upon checking in. I’d also recommend adding tea/coffee making facilites to the rooms, there were also only six hangers in the wardrobe and no draws to put the rest of our clothes. I think a lot of updating would make this place a haven.

Dinner was (in our opinion) overly expensive for the small portions we had, so we left feeling hungry and decided to eat at surrounding restaurants for the rest of the trip.

Onto more positives - breakfast was a big highlight, such a feast! Although does finish early (10 am) so wouldn’t recommend a lie in. And the views from the terrace at breakfast were just divine. The pool was the most tranquil place to relax, we did go to visit the private beach but it was a bit choppy and cold for us this time of year! The hotel also had tennis courts we didn’t have time to use, and a movie theatre outside but not sure how that works as nothing was ever playing?

Again, the staff were truly lovely, I hope to come back again and have a better experience with the service and maybe book a better room.

FT recommended