The Masseria Chiancone Torricella is a beautiful hotel built around a complex of trullis, local ancient structures with pyramid shaped roofs which are part of a United Nations archeological area. The hotel is less than a year old and they are still building onto the complex. The rooms are spacious and clean, with all tiles floors. The food is wonderful and the staff is extremely attentative. The hotel's guest relation person, Mino, bent over backwards in helping us with everything we needed. He loaned one of our group his own personal power converter, arranged for local tours and loaned us his personal GPS to find our way through the narrow and confusing streets of Martina Franca.

The only complaint I had about the hotel was that the walls of the rooms are very thin and one can hear almost everything going on in the room next door. The tiles floors also contribute to the sounds echoing through the walls.

Overall, I would still recommend this hotel to anyone staying in the Martina Franca area.

High in the Limestone plateau, 7km south of Martina Franca, and mid way between Bari, Brindisi and Taranto, the Masseria Chiancone Torricella is isolated but well-worth the trip. Spacious and well-landscaped grounds (with the option of woodland walks), luxurious rooms and elegant bar - restaurant areas are built around an antique country house. The only noise is the tinkle of bells from the 'Martinese' donkeys which graze the woods. There's a small indoor pool and a promise of an outdoor one when current extension works (which don't intrude on the calm) are finished. At about 25 Euros pp for Dinner and wine, and 45 Euros pp for bed and breakfast off season, the place is stunning value, made all the better by the amazingly warm welcome and great service. The staff are really proud of this hotel, which only opened this year, and it shows.