Furnirussi Tenuta

Planning on spending 8 days in Puglia we decided to split our time with 5 days in the southern portion and 3 in the northern portion. We studied many hotels and airbnb locations and were super lucky to have selected Furnirussi Tenuta, close to Otranto. This is simply a magical place. It is surrounded by 4,500 fig trees (largest fig plantation in Europe ... please ask for some figs during breakfast ... super delicious! ). The rooms are wonderful. Beautifully decorated. Super comfy beds and pillows. We stayed in a two bedroom suite that had a huge private terrace and a super large bathroom with a jacuzzi/tub. Excellent choice of toiletries. I am a bit particular about noise… but can tell you the room is very well designed as I heard no noises at all at night. We slept like babies! I am not going to try to describe the gorgeous pool but, believe me, it is worth spending some time in it. As you probably have read, Puglia is quite long… so no matter where you stay you will be spending time on the car to visit the different beaches and towns. We found Furnirussi’s location to be ideal for our day trips in southern Puglia. This is a family run hotel and it certainly feels as if you are being hosted with all the kindness and warmth of a family. Every single person of the staff that we encountered was super nice and helpful. Isabella and the other lady (sorry I dont remember the name) in the restaurant during breakfast were really nice and helpful always with a big smile in their face. Maurizio was our waiter twice and made our meals very enjoyable. But the big price goes to Claudia who was incredibly nice and patient and helped us plan all our day trips giving us fantastic tips and arranging all our reservations. We also met Francesco and his mother (the owners)… super friendly … you can tell the quality of the place starts right there with them. Quite simply, a real gem … we didn’t want to leave!

We stayed here as a party of 3 adults, for a few days in early June, occupying 2 rooms. At first glance the rooms look smart and roomy. However, first impressions can be deceptive. The rooms need renovating and/or upgrading. There are numerous marks and scuffs on the concrete floors and one of the bathrooms walk-in showers was not that powerful and we found the temperature difficult to maintain at a consistent temperature. The beds were ok, but the pillows were too hard and a request for soft pillows produced only slightly less hard pillows. The outdoor patio area is claustrophobic, with no views whatsoever and therefore unlikely to get much, if any, use. Frankly, a pointless addition. What high end hotel doesn’t have a coffee machine in the room these days ?? Here there were sachets of Nescafé !, and no milk ! I eventually figured out to go to the cafe near the pool which served a good coffee before breakfast formally started at 7.30. The breakfast selection was poor, consisting of dry and unappetising pastries, uninteresting cold cuts and cheese, limited fruit selection and rapidly cooling, and congealed, scrambled eggs in a stainless steel tray- not something you’d expect from an establishment trying to pitch itself at the high end. If you wanted anything cooked to order that was going to cost you extra. Again, not a good look compared to other places we stayed in Puglia where it was all included. The front desk, without exception, were staffed either by surly, uninterested staff, or staff who tried to help but who simply didn’t either have the English language skills or, simply, didn’t know the answer. There was a small shop in the lobby which sold vastly overpriced clothes and accessories. Avoid ! Online shots of the pool look impressive and so it is at first glance in person too. However, there is a major flaw with the way the area has been landscaped. There are lots of trees in the area next to the pool, which have obviously grown over the years the complex has been open. These trees now overhang the pool in many areas and are constantly dropping foliage into the pool. It is a great shame as the pool is otherwise attractive. I understand the benefit of trees for those who want to sit in the shade but they should not be overhanging the pool itself as it is almost impossible to keep the pool free of leaves, etc. as it currently stands. The restaurant has adequate food. We would not have said it was great, and we certainly didn’t need the slightly obsequious and fawning approach from the serving staff who undoubtedly meant well but seemed to have been told that all guests needed to be treated as if they were visiting royalty. The menu rapidly became boring albeit I must admit we were completely taken aback at one dish of cooked sea bass which was served in a deliberately cold sauce. We even queried this with the server who told us it was indeed the intention to serve cooked, but rapidly turning cold, fish with a cold sauce ! We had dec