Where we stayed · Salento

Giardino
dei Pini.

A garden hotel in the Salento countryside, a short way from the Ionian coast. The pool under the palms, a white room opening onto a veranda, and an evening table.

3 min read

The pool at Giardino dei Pini, bright blue under tall palms, with loungers and umbrellas beyond

Introduction

Giardino dei Pini is a hotel in the Salento countryside, part of The Begin Hotels. The hotel describes itself as a green oasis a few steps from the Ionian Sea, with the Adriatic not far away, and as a hotel diffuso: the rooms are spread across six separate buildings that recall the traditional architecture of the area, set in a garden of centuries-old trees.

A welcome in the room: a stem of red amaranth, a handwritten card, a dark cup and a covered silver dish — The welcome left in our room.

This page covers what we saw and photographed during our stay: the pool garden, our room and its veranda, the welcome left for us on arrival, and some of the plates served at dinner.

Practical facts, distances and services come from the hotel's official site.

01 — The garden and the pool

Shade first, then water

The garden is the first thing you notice. Tall palms and old trees stand over lawns and paths, and the buildings sit low among them in white and pale stone. Within it is a second, smaller garden around the pool, which the hotel calls the Pool Garden.

The pool is large and bright blue, edged in pale stone, with loungers and umbrellas along one side. A small white pavilion stands in the shade of the trees at the water's edge, and the palms give real shade through the middle of the day.

A white pavilion beside the pool, framed by palm trunks and Mediterranean trees

Barbara in the pool, seen from behind, with palms and the garden ahead — Barbara, in the pool under the palms.

02 — The room

White, calm, and open to the garden

Our room was white and uncluttered: a wide bed with a woven headboard, woven baskets on the wall, a reading lamp and very little else. The hotel describes its rooms as contemporary, with smooth, clean surfaces and warm-toned furnishings that echo the Salento, and that matches what we found.

The door opened onto a covered veranda with a small table and chairs, a brick path and a wall of bougainvillea. The hotel offers several room categories, from Deluxe rooms to suites.

Our room: a white bed with a woven headboard, a bedside lamp and woven baskets on the wall

The covered veranda outside our room, with a table and chairs, a brick path and bougainvillea in flower — The veranda outside the room.

03 — The table

The evening table

The hotel's restaurant is Amaranta, with a patio and a dining room built in pietra leccese, the soft local limestone. The hotel describes its cooking as balanced and refined.

The plates we photographed during our stay were served in the evening, on white tablecloths: small bites served on gold-rimmed china, then composed dishes with wild greens and a light sauce. The presentation is careful and precise without being showy.

Two small bites on a white plate with a wide gold and burgundy rim

A composed dish with wild greens in a pale sauce on a white plate — Two of the evening's plates.

The details

Giardino dei Pini

Where

In the Salento countryside, close to the Ionian coast. Part of The Begin Hotels.

Distances

According to the hotel: about 15 minutes from the beaches known as the Maldive del Salento and from Punta della Suina, 20 km from Gallipoli, 30 km from Santa Maria di Leuca and 50 km from both Otranto and Lecce.

Getting around

The hotel sits apart from the towns, so having a car makes the coast and the towns much easier to reach.

On site

The Pool Garden, Amaranta restaurant and a private spa.

Best for

A quiet base in the south of the Salento, between the Ionian beaches, Gallipoli and Leuca.

Official site → Google Maps →

Our stay was hosted by Giardino dei Pini. All words and photographs are our own.

Feels like home.

Read the Puglia guide →