Grand Hotel La Chiusa di Chietri

The hotel’s free Wi-Fi worked well, the parking was good, and our room was a decent size with a very pleasant balcony. The grounds are pretty, there’s a nice spa and a good outdoor pool, and it’s well placed for exploring this part of Italy. The food was good, though the menu felt limited when we came as a group. There were no tea or coffee making facilities in the room, which was our main complaint. Breakfast was a bit disappointing, especially the very limited and unappealing hot options. It could get extremely busy in the breakfast room, with up to five coachloads of guests plus individual visitors while we were there. Still, it’s a nice hotel.

Dinner was the standout: every night of our weeklong stay reached Michelin standard. The head chef deserves special mention, along with Andrea, a tireless waiter who always had a smile. The waiters and reception team were all super friendly. The hotel grounds were beautifully kept, but there wasn’t anywhere to walk beyond them. The hotel is well outside Alberobello, so its location was inconvenient for us. We booked the hotel shuttle for €5 per person, which added to the holiday cost. Inside, especially around reception, the hotel needs a redesign because so much space is wasted. The tired brutalist look and colour scheme feel like they belong to a long-gone era. The hotel earns its four stars, with a special five for the food and staff.

Getting here and parking were easy, and it worked well as a base for visiting other areas while returning to sleep here each night. The room was spacious and clean, and the air conditioning worked perfectly. Breakfast is included and was amazing, while the spa was very nice too. The grounds and staff were excellent, and the staff were especially friendly and went above and beyond. The place has the area's character with classic, timeless high-end finishes, plus beautiful event and wedding spaces. I highly recommend staying here!

We came as a group of 40 for four nights, and the dinners were served quickly and tasted great. The cooks did a remarkable job feeding so many people, including fish cooked perfectly. Staff were responsive, well organized, and very friendly. Breakfast had lots of good choices, though on busy mornings the coffee machine queues got long. The beds were excellent, and our room was quiet. The bathroom toilet had an odd cover that didn’t fit well, but everything worked. Some people in our group stayed in trulli rooms and were disturbed by noise from wedding parties. The regular rooms were okay. I’d recommend it for groups, and I imagine it also suits couples or smaller parties, with seating in other attractive parts of the restaurant. The swimming pool was excellent at €3 per person.