Hotel Lafayette — Hotel in Giovinazzo

My husband and I stayed here in mid-October for our anniversary. It was perfect for us but I would caution other travelers to manager their expectations before booking this hotel. I think it would be very fitting for a wedding party or another event where you spend the entire time at the resort as it is very clean with nice rooms and beautiful decks that overlook the water. However, it is also far removed from Bari (about 30 Euros for a taxi ride one way) and a little distance from Giovinazzo too. In hindsight, we should have rented a car during our stay and I would recommend doing so if you plan on visiting the neighboring cities during your stay (especially during the off season because the hotel shuttle is not always available and can still get pretty expensive). We were clearly here during the off-season in which it is too cold to swim so the beach and the pool were shut down but it also meant that the resort was quite and not very crowded - perfect for our romantic getaway! When we first arrived it was almost midnight but Ralph and Dominico (at least i think that is their names - I don't speak a lick of Italian) bent over backwards to help us find something to eat. The hotel kitchen was obviously closed by that time of night but they still managed to whip up some delicious seafood pasta for us. We never made it to breakfast or lunch at the hotel (we never adjusted to the Italian schedule period of early breakfasts and late lunches, lol) but we did make it to another dinner on the night of our anniversary where Dominico was our waiter again. The food was excellent! We had no idea what we were ordering because the menu was in Italian but Dominico was very eager to help us and figure out what we needed. Their menu was slightly limited in the fact that mostly everything was a seafood dish (as it probably should be in a coastal town) but they did always have at least one item on the menu without seafood and for that I was grateful! Each night we were able to order a second bottle of wine or prosecco to take away (to put in our room fridge) and then, at night, we would sit out on the balcony or on their deck over looking the sea while drinking our wine. For mid-October we had beautiful weather (slightly chilly) and a full-moon. If you are like us and do not speak much Italian, I would highly recommend downloading the Google translator app on your phone before going! It was a lifesaver because we didn't find many English speakers throughout this entire region of Italy. I definitely recommend this resort for a romantic get away and I think a lot of our experience was shaped by the excellent customer service from Ralph and Dominico. Just be cautious that there is not much else to do here during the off-season (which I think is the point of a...

Not quite as advertised on booking.

things we liked: The staff was pleasant. Free parking was provided onsite and it was easy to drive to since it is along the highway rather than in the scenic city center. The lobby and restaurant areas were beautiful. But there's nothing else positive we can say. I'm sure this hotel is better in the busy season but I would not recommend it in the off-season.

Disliked · We were the only guests there--the opportunity was to give us exceptional service and a great room since we were supporting them in the off-season but instead this experience was only at the "acceptable" level. The cost was much too high for what we got. We booked this room for the sea view and balcony. The balcony had a sea view (after the expansive view of the roof) but the room does NOT--there was a slit of a door that led to a 20 foot long walkway to the large balcony. The pool and outside areas were closed. The restaurant was staffed by one man who also took care of our breakfast. He seemed to be waiter, cook and dishwasher all in one. The restaurant was more of a ballroom set up for private party which was awkward. Breakfast had limited options and wasn't refreshed the next morning. The room was very small--there was hardly enough room to lay out my carryon suitcase. The bathroom was also small and had water damage between the shower and the wall next to the bed. There seemed to a dance party going on both nights we were there but for who??? We didn't encounter any other guests but we still heard the music in the middle of the night. They did offer us another room but it didn't have the sea view which was half the reason we chose this hotel. There were plenty of empty rooms with sea view balconies. The location is not handy, you still have to drive to see Puglia--there are much...

After nearly two weeks in Puglia (Taranto and south) we decided to head back to Bari for an early flight Sunday and discovered the charming town of Giovinazzo, a few miles north of the airport. Hotel Lafayette is a boutique hotel, very modern, very stylish and about 800 meters north of the historic port and town. It is also handily close to an exit/entrance to SS 16, less than 20 minutes to Bari airport. Although it was out-of-season and the pool closed it is easy to imagine how busy and popular this would be in the summer months. As the weather was still warm and sunny we enjoyed sitting on the large terraces to look at the sea. Breakfast was excellent and the staff very welcoming and attentive. The short drive to Giovinazzo passed a large Family Mart supermarket, which is worth visiting just to admire the huge range of items and the quality of produce. The walk around the centro storico is easy walking with lots of history and beautifully preserved buildings. There are plenty of restaurants to suit all tastes and we particularly enjoyed the stunning Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and Romanazzi's by the tiny port. We dined on our final evening in the hotel's elegant dining area and found ourselves, surprisingly, to be the only guests, again because out-of-season. Thank you for operating the restaurant and for a perfect end to our Puglia holiday. Great value and...