Palace Hotel San Michele

We stayed in overnight in this hotel from our visit to San Giovanni Rotondo, to Santuario di San Pio da Pietrelcina to be specific. We arrived in this hotel late in the evening. When we left the following morning on the way to Rome, it was only then that we found out that Palace Hotel San Michele is located in a place with breathtaking view. The hotel design is not modern. There are sitting areas in the foyers. The room has an air-conditioning, a comfortable bed and a clean bathroom with hot water. The entire T&B floor area is not tight but the enclosed shower is only around one square meter, or even less, but no problem... The breakfast...the venue, the food and service were all good.

We only spent one night here but all went smoothly. The car was under shelter in a free private car park. Check in quick and efficient and we were accompanied to our room which was comfortable. Staff very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was good too. We didn’t take half board but it looked very reasonable. All too soon we were on our way again….

This hotel is beautifully situated at the highest point of Monte SantʼAngelo. The view on the coastline of Puglia is truly gorgeous. You can feel that this hotel used to be very chic and full of grandeur, but nowadays it exudes faded glory. Everything feels a bit dated and the rooms could use a make-over. The shower for example is so very small, that I can't imagine how a bigger person could fit into it. The towels were more akin to bed sheets, very thin and not soft at all. The room was clean and the airco works very well. We were shocked to find that the little water bottles in the mini fridge were not complementary, but would cost us two euros. The wifi is very slow. We had dinner once in the restaurant of the hotel. The food was good, but not exceptional. The service should really be better though. Again: everything looked very chic, but the service wasn't attentive at all. For example: we ordered a bottle of sparkling wine and the waiter did not bring us a wine cooler for the bottle. They took away my cutlery after I finished the first course and just forgot to bring me new cutlery for my main dish. Since nobody noticed me signing for attention, I had to take cutlery from a table next to me to eat my food. We also used the wellness. At first glance everything looked very beautiful, but quickly we noticed that a lot of functionalities just didn't work and some of the small tiles in the swimming pool had come loose en just lay around on the bottom of the swimming pool. The breakfast buffet had lots of options to choose from. The system was not efficient however. You had to queue and ask the staff for what you wanted to eat. I noticed a big language barrier when the guests tried to communicate with the staff. Most of the staff could not speak English. The view from the breakfast room is excellent. The hotel has a lot of parking space and a beautiful swimming pool with a splendid view. The hotel also offers the possibility to visit a private beach, a twenty minutes drive from the hotel. I recommend visiting the beach, which is very nice.

Average for "distingue" mass tourism. Salubrious location, ill equipped staff wise, average mass tourism dinner and breakfast, overpriced for the "itinerant vagrant". Last minute respite, good walk on the hill, stupedous views, early morning departure. A "force majeur" station on a majestic hill near Bari. Worth paying a visit having prearranged your stay.