A group of friends, my wife, and my 2-year old daughter were looking for a good hotel along the Gargan coast and found the Hotel Baia della Zagare. It looked good and so we booked. Then I read some of the reviews . . .I must say that some of them made me a bit scared. So, I lowered the expectations of my friends and we headed to the hotel.
It turned out to be great. The hotel consists of a series of bungalows/small buildings set amongst lush tress and gardens. The main building has lots of areas to sit and have drinks or enjoy the scenery.
The pool is big and surprisingly deep, with a nice bar poolside with drinks and ice cream--what more do you need? (By the way, you can swim there whenever you like . . .the bar is simply not open nor are the umbrellas and what not tended except in the mornings and afternoons. Not a big deal, really.)
The beach, as advertised is beautiful, although it is a pebble-stone beach--bring flip-flops.
So, most of this conforms to what others have said, with a few clarifications. However, there are some big differences:
1. The food was actually pretty good . . . you don’t have a lot of choice but it is pretty standard fare with good seafood choices. Our group is pretty picky/snobby and we found it just fine and just what we needed after a good day of beach activities:

2. The dining room is big but it does look over the sea and we found it pleasant. If you are a smaller group and ask nicely/book early, you can easily get one of the window seats—great views.

3. The service—everywhere, from the beachside bar to the pool, to the restaurant, to the front desk, etc. was excellent. People were attentive, quick and uniformly polite.

4. O.k., the rooms aren’t terribly special but they were comfortable, with plenty of bureau space, a modern/large bathroom (important when you’ve been on the beach and want to get all the sand and slat off yourself), and nice balconies with a few chairs where you can look out on the nice gardens. They also remembered to have a good in-room safe, always handy at such a place.

5. We also played tennis, on a descent court—all very easy and fun.

6. We were a bit disappointed that archery only occurred mid week but it was a minor point.
And, really, I must stress that our group is picky---yet we were all pleasantly surprised and found the hotel just great.

We strongly recommend it to others.

Beautifully situated overloking the sparkling Adriatic coastline, with a stunning beach (pebbles though, you ideally need beach shoes), great pool and comfortable piano bar and lounge areas, Baia delle Zagare could do,however, with a change of management and some fresher ideas.
The rooms are basic and need a refurb but are perfectly adequate. I'd love to know though why the following were deemed good management ideas;
- Food only served in the main restaurant and only set menus. The food was shockingly poor (especially for Italy) and reminded me of 1960s British 'famly' hotels. Smoked Salmon and chips was the most surreal. Veal in 'gravy' was the worst.
-Why was the cocktail bar situated at the back of the hotel and yet a terrace area overlooking the sea was unused apart from a shop and a kids playroom?!
-Why did the pool close from 1pm to 3pm and then fully close at 7pm?!
-Why did we have to wire cash to the hotel for a deposit. Credit card not sufficient?
The staff were very friendly and we enjoyed our stay overall despite the raised eyebrows over the above points. It had feel of a hotel stuck in its old ways and could do with a major management overhaul. Reasonable value though' apart from the food.
One suggestion....eat at the restaurant at the top of driveway into the hotel. Stunning views and great seafood....

We stayed at this Hotel in May 2006. The experience was excellent. We did not have a reservation, but they had plenty of room for us since it was early in the season.

Our room was on top of the lobby and the privacy was excellent. We had our own terrace which was beautiful and with sea views as well.

We found the resturant great. The staff was very attentive and we loved our seat overlooking the sea. The food was excellent and plentiful.

We would recommend this hotel and will most definately go back this year.

I'm Italian, my husband is American-and we have both traveled around Italy many times and for many years. It is a shame that in such a beautiful place, like the Gargano peninsula, a Hotel like this still operates.

Instead of stars, they should rate this hotel with whatever they rate youth hostels with, or summer camps for that matter!
Imagine an old set of dirty white buildings perched on two private beaches with gorgeous white cliffs (that's the only picture they show you on their website!), then add a cavernous restaurant that sits a thousand, a conference hall of dubious architecture and all the activities you can give to a multitude of screaming kids-day and night. This place has not been renovated since the '70s: the rooms are sad, bathrooms are even sad-er, and the hallways resonate of music, kids screams, and bad italian disco.
All this for about $450 a night. Hello.
This still does not describe the experience that awaits the unfortunate traveler!