Secolario Masseria Del Viverbene

“Ultimate relaxation”

Our 4 night stay at Masseria Secolario was all we could have wanted and more! The hotel was stunning and the location peaceful, secluded and restorative. It was very easy with a car to travel to all the nearby town for dinner and explore. The staff and service throughout our stay were exceptional a… more

Our 4 night stay at Masseria Secolario was all we could have wanted and more! The hotel was stunning and the location peaceful, secluded and restorative. It was very easy with a car to travel to all the nearby town for dinner and explore. The staff and service throughout our stay were exceptional and very accommodating. We are already planning our next visit to this beautiful hotel in Puglia. 

I highly recommend Masseria Secolario.

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“Slice of Paradise at Masseria Secolario”

We had a truly wonderful stay at Masseria Secolario – peaceful, beautifully maintained, and full of charm. Our room was spacious, tastefully decorated, and very well-equipped, making it incredibly comfortable and relaxing. The pool area is stunning – quiet and elegant, with cabana beds and curtain… more

We had a truly wonderful stay at Masseria Secolario – peaceful, beautifully maintained, and full of charm. Our room was spacious, tastefully decorated, and very well-equipped, making it incredibly comfortable and relaxing. The pool area is stunning – quiet and elegant, with cabana beds and curtains for shade, perfect for unwinding in the Salento sun. The entire property feels like a serene retreat. The staff made our experience even better. Donato greeted us each morning in the restaurant with a big smile – such a pleasant and positive way to start the day. The breakfast was fresh, varied, and delicious. A special thank you to Benedetta at reception, who was incredibly helpful throughout our stay. Her local recommendations were spot-on and really added to our experience. Masseria Secolario is a perfect base to explore the region or simply relax in peaceful surroundings.

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“Our best stay in puglia”

Lovely masseria, stunning stylish environment. Exceptional personal service for staff who cared(clearly more than just a job) Food was the best we’ve eaten in puglia. The wine and oil from the estate was superb. Couldn’t fault our experience

“All Was Calm Until Plumbing Spoke”

We stayed at this hotel for eight nights, expecting a peaceful, upscale retreat in the heart of the olive groves, away from noise and crowds. The hotel presents itself as luxurious, minimalist, with a high level of service and a quality restaurant. On paper, it sounded perfect — exactly what we wer… more

We stayed at this hotel for eight nights, expecting a peaceful, upscale retreat in the heart of the olive groves, away from noise and crowds. The hotel presents itself as luxurious, minimalist, with a high level of service and a quality restaurant. On paper, it sounded perfect — exactly what we were looking for. To be fair, the staff offered us a complimentary room upgrade upon arrival, which was a nice gesture. We stayed in the Platinum Suite, which looked beautiful in the photos — spacious, with access to the garden and the pool. But in reality, the impression was quite different. The room was let down by small but significant details that made it feel cheap. For example, the lighting was quite basic and even flickered in the bathroom, especially when using the hairdryer. The curtain meant to provide privacy in the bathroom didn’t work, and there were at least two incidents where water simply stopped running — for over an hour. I can’t recall ever having this issue in any hotel before. Breakfast was another major disappointment. Compared to other hotels, including in Italy, this one fell far behind. Eggs were always in short supply, and you had to wait for them — sometimes they never came. At first, we were told we could order scrambled eggs or something different, but then it became clear that wasn’t really an option. One day the chef wasn’t available, another day we were told the concept had changed, and eventually we were told nothing could be ordered anymore. If you prefer a good, protein-based breakfast, this place isn’t for you. What’s available is very limited: some bread, coffee, a slice of ham, maybe a quiche, juice and water — if you’re lucky. That said, there were some enjoyable local touches — we noticed a few good local sweets among the breakfast offerings, which were a pleasant surprise and a small highlight in an otherwise disappointing morning experience. The overall atmosphere at breakfast wasn’t great either. One of the waitresses seemed irritated by our presence, barely greeted us and often ignored us completely. I hope it was just a misunderstanding, but it didn’t go unnoticed. Another frustration was the pool area. The pool itself is small, and for several days a cleaning robot and its hoses were constantly operating during the day, taking up space and making it hard to enjoy. Housekeeping also didn’t function as expected. There’s a sign you can hang on the door to say whether you’re in or out, but it seemed completely ignored. Regardless of what we indicated, someone would still come in unless we went down to reception and explicitly requested not to have our room cleaned — which we had to do multiple times. One more point — and this may sound small, but it says a lot: in a hotel that positions itself as high-end, it really wouldn’t hurt to provide guests with fresh water in the room daily. In Italy, water isn’t expensive. Offering it just once as a welcome drink feels a bit stingy when you’re staying for over a week. Of course, not everything was negative. The grounds are beautifully maintained, and we appreciated the friendliness of some staff — the bar team in particular, and one of the breakfast servers who was kind and attentive. The manager also did his best to help us and even offered a small compensation for the issues, which we appreciated. Or you could be sitting in the lobby — pleasant music, quiet ambiance — and suddenly, there’s an extremely loud flushing sound coming from above. A strange and jarring contrast to the otherwise calm environment, and again, not what you’d expect in a hotel that presents itself as refined. In particular, the receptionist Benedetta stood out — open, polite, and always smiling, she was a perfect example of how one person can brighten the entire stay and make up for many of the hotel’s shortcomings. Her attitude made a real difference and deserves special mention. But at the end of the day, these are basic standards that one should be able to expect in a hotel of this class — not things that should feel exceptional. In the end, it wasn’t one big failure, but a series of small problems that added up and really brought down the experience. Some of them, unfortunately, can’t be easily fixed. Would I stay here again? Probably not. The promises don’t match the reality.

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