Patria Palace Hotel

Patria Palace has no golf course and golf is not a hotel service. Golfers travelling with a bag will find Acaya Golf Club in Salento, in the hamlet of Acaya at Vernole.

The layout has 18 holes, par 71, over 6,192 metres, is signed by the American firm Hurdzan & Fry and covers about 120 hectares. The club was the first in southern Italy to receive the international 5-star BVGA classification. There is also a waterfall on the course.

The club has a practice range and a golf academy and is open all year.

The palace was built in the 18th century by the architect Mauro Manieri, a master of Lecce Baroque, as the residence of the noble Petrarolo D'Anna family. The hotel calls it one of Manieri's most important Baroque masterpieces. Over time it was an orphanage and then the city's first inn, renamed Locanda Patria after Italian unification. In 1997 it became, says the hotel, Apulia's first five-star hotel. It belongs to The Leading Hotels of the World.

Rooms come in nine types, from 24 m² to 60 m²: from the Superior to the Deluxe Barocco View, from the 35 m² Santa Croce Junior Suite to the 55 m² Suite Ernesto Barba and the 60 m² Suite Tito Schipa. At the top is the Terrace Suite with Pool, 45 m² with a private terrace of over 80 m². The interiors blend, says the site, Baroque, Art Deco and contemporary aesthetics.

Check-in is from 3 pm. Pets up to 8 kg are welcome, with a 35 euro sanitising supplement.

Atenze is the hotel's gourmet restaurant, with creative cuisine built on original pairings that balance authenticity and a contemporary vision; its motto is «The Taste of Beauty». The site displays the MICHELIN Guide badge.

The Sira Rooftop Bar, «The Salento Dolce Vita», serves aperitifs and drinks with views of the Santa Croce basilica. The palace also holds the Idume SPA, which the hotel calls the «Sanctuary of Wellbeing», inspired by the area's underground springs, and a 24-hour fitness room with Technogym equipment.

The address is Piazzetta Riccardi 13, in Lecce's old town, inside a limited traffic zone: on arrival you must give your licence plate to reception. The private garage with valet service costs 35 euros a day, electric charging 15 euros a day. The concierge arranges private transfers to and from the airport.

From June the hotel offers guests a Beach Club service at a partner beach on the Adriatic coast, with a private shuttle at set times; it is not included in all rates and room types.

• From orphanage to five stars. The palace had at least three lives before the hotel: noble residence, orphanage, inn.
• A pool on the terrace. The Terrace Suite has a private pool and over 80 m² of terrace.
• A motto for every venue. Atenze is «The Taste of Beauty», the Sira Rooftop Bar «The Salento Dolce Vita», the Idume SPA «The Sanctuary of Wellbeing».