Palazzo Presta

I was extremely disappointed with how this hotel has conducted itself and treated its customers. It appears to be accepting booking and then changing them for financial gain. When I made my booking in December it was for the Superior Suite for 4 nights. Last week I was contacted through ***********, I was being moved to a Junior Suite, but told that I shouldn’t worry as it was the same room. At the time of booking they had 3 levels of suite available - Junior, Deluxe and Superior. (All different sizes, descriptions and picture) I’d booked a Superior suite. At the time of booking the Junior suite was €85’night cheaper. So I’m expecting a reduction of €340. I haven’t received the reduction for the downgrade after a couple of weeks of asking and to be honest have no confidence in what room I’ll actually get, so had to cancel this booking Book at your own risk.

We had a very mixed experience. The bedroom booked through Mr&MrsSmith promised a spacious bedroom of 25 square metres plus balcony but on arrival late in the evening we were bumped into a small (approximately 12 square metres), windowless, noisy boxroom named “Majorelle” and told we would have to accept that for two of the four nights for which we had booked. We made our displeasure known and, in conjunction with Mr&MrsSmith, succeeded in achieving a room change the following day to a lovely room named “Acapulco.” Additionally, after some toing and froing the hotel agreed to compensate us for disappointment by providing us with a free dinner. There is a spacious roof bar which is definitely worth going to. The breakfast is a little disappointing - you get the impression that the egg dishes are not freshly cooked to order and that is why I’ve given four stars (I’ve not marked down on the basis of the initial room allocation problem despite having to spend a morning resolving the issue satisfactorily). Staff were generally very friendly and helpful with the exception of the individual (I will not name him) who “welcomed” us to the boxroom. I would particularly mention Dunia on Reception who was knowledgeable, helpful and friendly.

On a recent trip to Puglia in June / July we were staying at a couple of stops and we had booked and paid for our last stay of 4 nights at the Palazzo Presta Hotel in the old city of Gallipoli. On arrival at reception, and after a lot of chat with the receptionist which we initially thought was pleasant but turned out was to soften us up and ‘get us on side’ in my opinion, we were told that our room had a leak from a recent storm which had affected the electrics and so was not available. The hotel was fully booked so they offered us a room at the Palazzo Colombo, another building of theirs at a different location. We had no option but to be taken there and on arrival we were not impressed. It was like a glorified Airbnb with no reception and nowhere near as good as the Palazzo Presta with all its facilities, which we chose for a reason…it looked the best on the website, was well appointed and the rooftop bar and restaurants where located here. We would have to go to the Palazzo Presta every day for breakfast and any other meals as well as to use the very nice vibey roof terrace bar. They also offered us the use of a pool at their 3rd location Palazzo Flora, which was very nice and photogenic but again with no amenities and the pool area not fully finished & ready for use, in my opinion. At no stage on arrival on the day or on any of the 2 days out of 4 that we stayed at Palazzo Colombo did they offer us a refund of the difference in the price of the two rooms. The original room being more expensive than the one we stayed in. A very dishonest way of doing business, hoping that we would forget about it. My wife and I had to ask for the refund which we felt we were entitled to since we were not getting what we had paid for. They offered us a couple of free drinks at the bar and dinner one night and the various staff that dealt with us treated us well, but we also wanted a refund of the difference in rooms. After a lot of back and forth we were given a refund and we announced that we would be leaving early for another location in Puglia that we managed to find. We felt we were not enjoying our stay at the Palazzo Colombo and preferred to go somewhere else. We feel that the hotel was overbooked and that the story of water damage was concocted as an excuse. Why else would we not have been informed before we arrived in Gallipoli. Looking at other reviews for Palazzo Presta we found that this had happened before. Palazzo Presta itself is very nice with its global traveller décor, the breakfasts & the dinner we had were delicious & the staff very nice & courteous on the whole. I can only imagine that had we stayed at the Palazzo Presta which is the main building we would have enjoyed the stay, except for the car park issues! I suspect that behind the scenes operationally, all is not well with the running of the hotel. Beware!

This boutique hotel is a jewel. We were only going to stay in the area for 1 night but extended it to 3 nights because we enjoyed the luxury of this hotel and the renaissance surroundings. The rooms are large with very comfortable beds and high end linens. The breakfast is fabulous as is the on-site restaurant and cocktail terrace with tapas. The staff is professional and very helpful. We were offered towels to go to the nearby beach and given directions to good restaurants, hiking trails, beach clubs, sights etc. We’ve been fortunate to travel to Italy many times and Palazza Presta stands out

Holiday beyond gorgeous, such helpful staff. Gorgeous rooms & fab roof terrace. Breakfast & suppers all gorgeous. Nothing negative & great location. 5 stars on every level. We had such a lovely relaxing holiday ! Thank you !!

Perfectly located hotel which is uniquely appointed staffed by friendly responsive and welcoming individuals. Gorgeous roof terrace for aperitif and nibbles. Restaurant downstairs provides unique contemporary take on local food. Rooms were spacious and clean.