Il Melograno - MONOPOLI

Overall we thought our stay here was fairly average. The place itself is clean and well kept and facilities five star but it is vast and soulless. The service is far from 5 stars. Pros • Harpist at breakfast • Cold food quality is good at breakfast honeycomb honey lovely • Excellent cooked breakfast food to order • Tennis and padel courts • Dog friendly (although not everyone will want dogs in the breakfast room and roaming free around the swimming pool area) Cons • Our toilet broke but was repaired the same day • Requested tea cups told to go and ask for myself at the restaurant • 3 days into holiday and never offered a menu for breakfast noticed other guests being offered so asked why we had never been offered a menu and no answer to that. We had no cooked breakfast until that point as didn’t realise hot was an option. • Breakfast area gets busy towards end of service. • LOTS of wasps in the breakfast area. Nothing in place to deter them. • No shampoo or shower gel left in the men’s changing room in the spa for 2 days. I had to raise at main reception as no staff at spa. No service at spa for drinks etc. • Shower head in men’s spa changing room hanging off wall • Exposed wires in the spa shower by the pool • Pool and shower areas full of mosquitoes • Shower in bedroom significantly floods bathroom floor • No outside area/balcony in room • No guidance on breakfast what’s where, portions, e.g. my daughter asked for 3 pancakes and got 3 separate plates with 3 pancakes on each, 9 in total which raised some eyebrows from other diners thinking we were rather greedy! It didn’t help that the three of us were squeezed on a table for two so no room for the plates • Vast place which makes it feel deserted and eerie except around the swimming pool where loungers get snapped up quickly. • Perceived that staff friendly and helpful to Italian guests but seemed less inclined to engage and provide a 5 star level of service to non Italian guests. • Tamerici beach very expensive for towels/loungers/parasol sandy beach but rocky shore with no safe/comfortable access to swimming depth sea without rock shoes need to invest in better access (floating pontoon) to the sea. • Tiny safe in bedroom with old fashioned key to look after • The meal we had at SaleBlu restaurant (in the sister hotel) was poor. Lights kept going off throughout. Service was very slow. Our wine was never topped up and we had to do it ourselves. It was very expensive for the standard of food although portions were large. Tips: We thought upstairs bedrooms seemed a better choice albeit no lifts. Also, if you want a lovely meal in a unique location then I would recommend Grotta Palazzese in Polignano a Mare. Pretty expensive but good food and great setting we loved it. Just 10 minutes drive from hotel. Buy rock shoes if going to the beach. We sustained several nasty bug/Mosquitos bites. My daughter needed steroids for hers as they got infected so I recommend strong repellent in summer

Accommodation and grounds beautiful amazing old olive trees, staff are friendly and professional. Food and wine wonderful. Facilities are also fantastic, lots of space to relax or sun by the pool. Do not come here without visiting the Spa, the manager Francesco is also a fabulous masseur. I would highly recommend him.

Absolutely beautiful spot. Was there after a family wedding in Monolopi and went there for 4 days to relax. The hotel itself is beautiful the breakfast is spectacular Lucia who served us all week was beyond helpful and always with a smile. Our room was perfect and nothing more the staff could have done they were super.

The restaurant at this hotel is named Mummulo, and it serves very delicious dishes particular to this region. We shared baked eggplant, which was a very large portion and excellently prepared. The red wine was fabulous. Several seafood selections were on the menu, as well as meat and pasta. Dessert was a local ricotta pie with gelato, both delicious. Definitely an upscale choice, but worth it. Highly recommend!

Mumulo at il Melagrano is a lovely on site restaurant. We did not have a car, which is necessary for leaving the hotel grounds, so having this restaurant is perfect for guests who want to chill out and not worry about driving, or don’t have a car. It is very pretty at night, and on the second evening we dined here there was a harpist playing. The food was very good, and the waiter made excellent wine selections for us. The pastas are really nice, and we enjoyed the spaghettoni and the scallop appetizer. The mixed seafood entree was nothing special, but that was the only dud out of our two meals.