THE SAN DOMENICO & BORGO EGNAZIA GOLF RESORTS IN PUGLIA
Southern Italy's most luxurious golfing hideaway.

The San Domenico golf course and hotels

The San Domenico resort came about with one old stone farmhouse (Masseria) being turned into a hyper-luxurious country retreat for a local landowner.  This then evolved into a seriously beautiful hotel, a golf course was added, then another farmhouse hotel (Masseria Cimino) and now the latest project - Borgo Egnazia - an entire up-market holiday village created from nothing opposite the San Domenico golf course: quite a set-up.

Easily reached from Bari or Brindisi airport in about an hour, and perpetually drenched in sunshine, San Domenico is the perfect spot if a short injection of sunshine, gastronomy and luxury are required.

The three hotels offer contrasting styles of accommodation - so every taste can be catered for, full details below.  Keen golfers should not miss the opportunity to play at the exceptional Acaya golf course (see our dedicated Acaya page) just an easy hour's drive away or discovering the small Club of Barialto just outside Bari.

Life at San Domenico is all about relaxation and the golf course fits neatly into this philosophy (unless you play from the back Tees!).  A gentle course on flat terrain that sits between the Borgo Egnazia hotel and the coast road.  The land was once olive groves and many of their squat tortured trunks still remain around the course, between the bunkers and waste areas.  Many of the latter have now been planted, so resemble more areas of colourful rough than vast areas of hard-packed soil that you would expect.  The holes run very close to each other (you can see the whole course from every hole) and there is a splash of water on the opening five holes - which we feel might be better as the closing five holes?

Just outside Bari, so a little bit of a drive from San Domenico or Ostuni but handy for a pre or post-flight round; Barialto is a small Club with a big heart and a very interesting course.  It was fashioned alongside a planned housing development in the 80s, which hasn't quite happened yet, so generally it is a peaceful spot with a healthy local membership to keep it afloat.  Despite the holes running closely together, they are full of interesting shapes and sizes: no two are similar.  Add in a big, central water hazard, a stream and some (mainly dry) hollows here and there, divide the Fairways with avenues of palms (a few tight drives), then soak the whole thing in sunshine and you have a challenging, good fun, round of golf.  The Club will be delighted to see you as you may well be the only visitors on any given day!

Masseria San Domenico*****

Total calm in this stately old manorial farmhouse, tucked away amidst centuries old olives groves, laurels and bay trees:  it's hard to imagine a  more luxurious retreat.

The hotel forms a rough square around a central courtyard, surrounded by gardens and all encased in thick groves of olive trees.  The style of the hotel is classical with high class antique furniture throughout.  There is an enormous pool in the gardens (and a subsidiary one too).  Opposite the Reception area is a good sized spa with an indoor pool and all of the usual treatments available (a Roman bath is due to be added underground too).

The bar has more of the feel and hush of a Club reading room: the restaurant under its vaulted ceilings serves exquisite food - even the locals rave about it!  Breakfast is a marvellous array of local produce and home-made cakes, breads and pastries - don't miss your Tee-time!

Borgo Egnazia Hotel & Villas*****

Weird and wonderful.  Borgo Egnazia is the kind of hotel that polarises opinion: some are sure to love its ultra-modern style with everything painted a shade of cream and avantgarde artefacts strung around the walls; others may find it a little too "far out".  One things is for sure though - it is a unique establishment!

Borgo translates as 'town centre' from Italian and that is what has been created here: an hotel, villas, apartments, a town square have all been created out of an ex-wartime airfield, a remarkable vision.  The San Domenico golf course is just across the lane, so very convenient for golfing.

The hotel contains everything you could wish for: two big outdoor pools and another one indoors, large bedrooms with balconies (and a lifetime's supply of cushions), a large spa with all manner of treatments and equipment plus of course a bar and restaurant.  The food in the latter is top quality and the tables on the terrazzo under the arches overlooking the pools are a delightful place to dine.

Masseria Cimino***

Much more simple accommodation ia available at the Masseria Cimino an 'agriturismo' hotel, albeit a very nice one!  The Masseria Cimino borders the San Domenico course (it lies beside the 13^th Tee) and has the look, externally at least, of a working famhouse (although it isn't).
The interiors have been styled quite similarly to Borgo Egnazia, lots of white and cream shades, a little incongruous with the relaxed countryside feel.
There are twelve bedrooms spread around the old farm buildings, generally small and with shower rooms (a few have baths), air conditioned and some have little patios.  Dinner and breakfast are served in the central reception and bar area.  There is one sitting for dinner each evening and no menu: just a choice of two dishes for each course, plus salads and fruit, to which you help yourself.  The food however is very good and portion control is down to you!  There is a small pool in the grounds and a shaded area for relaxing, reading and snoozing.

Relais St. Eligio - Ostuni

Ostuni is an impressive sight as you approach through the olive groves; a bundle of pure white houses clustered around two enormous cathedrals on top of a hill glimmering in the Italian sunshine: classic Puglia.  Once a sleepy village, it has become a mainstay of any tour of Puglia and the tiny streets are now filled with restaurants and the piazzas lined with bars.

Getting in and out of town by car is tricky, so the best place to stay is at the foot of the hill and walk into town: exactly where the Relais St. Eligio sits (with a good sized car park to boot) - just about the perfect position!

The Relais is a simple hotel that covers all the basic requirements as a base for your golf holiday in the south of Italy: good-sized bedrooms, bright and clean bathrooms with plenty of hot water, a good breakfast and the prime location for getting to the golf courses and for seeing the best of Puglia.

The Relais St. Eligio has a small patio bar open in the evenings and a garden with good views of Ostuni (breakfast al fresco is a treat).  There is also a restaurant that is open most evenings but you will probably wish to investigate some ot the multitude of trattorias in the old town of Ostuni, all just a stroll away.