Palazzo Margherita

My husband and I stayed at Palazzo Margherita for a couple of nights during our 9-day trip through Puglia, and we absolutely loved it. Located in Bernalda, close to Matera, this boutique hotel is part of Francis Ford Coppola’s family ‘Hideaways,’ and you can really feel his connection to the town where his grandfather was born. The renovation is beautiful, and every part of the hotel is thoughtfully designed. We stayed in Suite 9, which honors Coppola’s Tunisian-born grandmother, and the room’s exotic mosaic ceilings, exquisite tiled flooring, and furniture reflected the decor of that region. The grounds are lush, with olive trees, flowers, and a gorgeous pool that makes the whole place feel like a peaceful retreat. The service was fantastic, especially thanks to Rossella, the manager, who made us feel so welcome. A highlight of our stay was a group dinner Rossella organized with the other guests of the hotel, where we were served delicious cheese, grilled meat, and fabulous local wines. The dining here is excellent, with breakfast also being a real treat—local cheeses, meats, and dairy from the area that were just so fresh. Palazzo Margherita is definitely a splurge, but one that's totally worth it. We can’t wait to go back!

A perfect way to end our trip a few nights in the magical palazzo. The staff was so friendly accommodating and helpful in every way. I was there with my daughter and we felt like royalty. The garden are very special and the pool is a very relaxing place to spend an afternoon. Of course the screening to watch movies was an experience. The chef snd kitchen staff made the most delicious meals. Palazzo Margerhita is truly a special place.

NOT WELCOMING AT ALL We called & made reservations for lunch, drove TWO HOURS to get there ..only to be told the nice restaurant & garden was only available to hotel guests (of which there was ONE) and we were shoved off into a generic bar on the busy street. Totally ungracious place - NEVER GO THERE

Beautiful palazzo, with a interesting story from the Coppola family. The garden is exquisite, and the interiors rather grand. The pool is small but lovely. Sadly, there was building work in the adjacent property during our stay, so that made it a rather noisy pool experience, but it was still very relaxing. We tried the cinema one night and that was rather fun. Food at the hotel was good. Not a huge amount to do in and around Bernalda, but this is a good place to chill.

We enjoyed our two night stay at Palazzo Margherita. The hotel maintains an excellent service standard, and provides an interesting travel experience; the rooms fell somewhat short of fulfilling expectations at this price point and the hotel, although aesthetically lovely, was perhaps not as impressive as we had hoped. We arrived in Bernalda on a stormy day. The elegant courtyard area photographed with dripping wisteria in marketing photos was a bit of mess (given the weather- of course), and we had the best welcome tour possible in the circumstances- focusing on the Palazzo’s interior and dining spaces (charming). We were shown to our garden view room (number 3). While I accept this room is in the lowest category, the price for entry to the hotel is significant, and we didn’t think the room was good enough at a hotel of this reputed calibre. There was a strong musty smell (something the hotel is aware of), and it was very dark. After speaking to the front desk they kindly moved us to one of the Villa rooms. I was a little disappointed- given our booking included an option for upgrade on arrival if available- that this room hadn’t been offered to us at the outset. Members of staff had mentioned that occupancy was low and so I thought this was a strange omission. Our second room was a single large cavernous room (it felt like 50square metres) with a truly gorgeous marble bathroom. The decorations were very plain. I understand this room type retails for well over 1000 USD. Even with our somewhat lower rate it was somewhat disappointing aesthetically. It was, however, very comfortable. The staff went to great effort to move us as quickly as possible in the storm- which was much appreciated. The other couple we met during our stay was in the Sofia suite and indicated it was quite magnificent. I suspect the named suites are FAR better than the other rooms. The weather briefly improved the next morning and we enjoyed a morning at the hotel’s lovely pool area- it’s a fabulous pool, and the historical garden leading to it is charming. The hotel describes it as small, but with only a handful of rooms, it’s really quite gorgeous. Service is available when requested, but water is provided for free in an ice bucket- a practical and nice touch. Services at the hotel cannot be faulted otherwise. The front desk was always impeccably responsive. The hotel arranged a wonderful complimentary cooking class (which greatly increased my perception of the hotel’s value)- we made friends with a wonderful couple from Boston and subsequently had dinner together. The hotel cinema is very special, also complimentary, and we loved watching ‘The Conversation’ after the weather turned on our second day. Food was a highlight. Our first night with pizza at Cinecitta Bar was fabulous. Given the hotel had (unusually) low occupancy, we enjoyed the atmosphere in this public bar. The pizza was excellent. Our second night we enjoyed a fabulous meal in the kitchen with the couple

We actually chose to stay in Bernalda due to Palazzo Margherita ... I am a super fan of hotels and often for me its the hotel as much as the location that excites me. We were visiting Capri and Venice and knew we'd be in for a sea of tourists ... so in between the tourist sandwich, we wanted to add a little authentic 'meat'. So much of Italy is overrun by tourists, we wanted a somewhat more authentic (and unseen) experience without doing the traditional 'hide out in a Tuscan villa' thing. We decided to treat ourselves to a top tier room and stayed in the Sofia suite. It looks even grander in person than it does in photos ... we felt at home immediately after settling in and it feels like staying at a posh guest house of a friend. The linens and bed were amazing ... there were free Santa Maria Novella bath products (just for fun, we added up the value of these full-sized products at over $200!), plush robes and slippers and each day we stayed, a bowl of fresh walnuts and a pitcher of lemon water were left in our room. We had a lovely terrace with comfy furniture. It was hot when we were in Italy, so we were delighted that one can sleep with the doors open ... no mosquitos in May! We only learned on the last day of our stay that breakfast is included in the room. Grrr. But it was a nice breakfast with some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever had ... and tasty pancetta. The coffee was as authentic as you could hope for ... and served in a pot. The staff here was truly remarkable. After 3 days, we felt like they were family. Anthony was the chef and waiter for most of our stay ... and he went out of his way to treat us like royalty, preparing us items off menu and mixing us up a fantastic welcome drink. Guisseppe was the bartender and occasional waiter ... he made the best Negroni we had in all of Italy. On our second to last night, Anthony and Guisseppe surprised us by setting a special anniversary table in the courtyard with rose petals and candles. It was so romantic and unexpected. We watched a family cheese at a local shop one morning, which the hotel arranged and provided a translator for. Many people don't speak English in Bernalda outside the walls of PM, which allowed us to practice our Italian. We also visited Metoponto Lido (beach) one day for a few hours and the staff gave us a map and packed us a straw bag with towels and water. A map was given to us when we went to visit Matera, which wss amazing. Do not stay here without making the 40 minute drive ... it's a city like no other we've ever seen! There are lots of pathways to explore ... and a wonderful unheated pool for an envigorating dip. The bottom of the pool is painted black and it felt like The Creature from the Black Lagoon could pop up at any time. It is surrounded by walls of Jasmine vines, which perfume the air jn the villa at all times. The palazzo itself is magnificent ... I felt bad we did not leave our room often to explore. However, the staff arranged for us to wat