Corteinfiore – Best Restaurant and Boutique Hotel in Trani, Puglia

Corteinfiore – an excellent seafood restaurant and stylish bed & breakfast – is set in the old Palazzo Laghezza, located only a few steps from the tourist harbor in Trani. The Palazzo from the 16th century is built on the ancient city walls in a quiet and peaceful area. Here’s why we would rather call it a Boutique Hotel instead of a B&B…

It all started in summer 2000 when owner Michele Matera opened the Osteria (restaurant) Corteinfiore in the interior of the Palazzo Laghezza, framed by citruses and nectarines.

He had this dream on his mind to create an oasis of pleasure and tranquility, focusing on a balance of food, wine and music. Today, the restaurant is widely-known for their top selection of fresh seafood and has become a mecca for seafood lovers. And with the newly opened B&B it tops it all off!

Hopefully you’ll agree based on the pictures that this may as well be marketed as a boutique hotel instead of a B&B… Albeit there is not really a breakfast but some tarts in the room and corridor instead and a Nespresso coffee machine in the room. But the decoration at least qualifies for “Residenze di Charme” as they say on their business cards ;-)

Ristorante Corteinfiore

Having already been to Puglia two years ago, we knew that the local cuisine is among the World’s best! But we didn’t expect that it would actually be possible to top the previous experience! But that’s exactly what Corteinfiore achieved…

At Osteria Corteinfiore they serve fresh seafood prepared very accurately with a refined choice of flavors! Every day they have a vast choice of “catch of the day” which is proudly presented by the friendly waiters.

The ambiance at the restaurant is very warm and the staff all attentive. They even brought me a handbag holder to put on the table. How thoughtful is that!? Walter should have got one for his camera, too ;-)

For starters we had a delicious mix of crudo di mare (raw seafood) and warm fish appetizers such as tuna, shrimps and more. Among the best around!

As main course we opted for a grilled ombrina – the one we had chosen from the buffet before. As per usual for Italian standards it comes fairly lonely without lot’s of sides. We were glad given the rich appetizers…

We would have loved to have dessert too (since a family next to our table had a mouth-watering plate of dessert to share), but we just couldn’t take anymore. Next time we eat less appetizers (or stay on diet the whole day) and leave some room for dessert too! :-)

The food was delicious and the service impeccable! We warmly recommend dining at Corteinfiore when you are in Trani. Savor the fresh Mediterranean cuisine and enjoy the atmosphere. You won’t be disappointed – promised!

Le stanze – The Rooms at Corteinfiore

In addition to the osteria, as recently as in January 2013 Michele opened “Le stanze di Corteinfiore” – a very charming B&B with six rooms on the first floor of the palazzo. Well, to call it a B&B is the wildest understatement around. We would rather say it’s a stylish boutique hotel with great charm and hospitality!

All rooms (which by the way all have names rather than numbers) have been designed and decorated with taste and authenticity. The furniture, fabrics and lamps were produced by local craftsmen.

The exclusive guest rooms feature a private bathroom, air conditioning, LED TV, Wi-Fi, hairdryer, a mini bar with complimentary water, a stylish Nespresso coffee machine and a small pastry production (homemade, of course!).

The bed was absolutely comfortable – Michele told us that they had paid special attention to the choice of the mattress. And in fact … we slept like heaven!

When at our departure we complimented owner and host Michele Matera for his little gem, he modestly answered: “Corteinfiore is not a resort – but we like to dream up!”.

Get some more impressions of Corteinfiore and the picturesque village of Trani from our Flickr photo gallery:

[slickr-flickr search=sets set=”72157634383102047″ type=”gallery”]

This stay was made possible by…

Thanks a lot to Michele Matera and his staff for the warm reception!

And thanks a lot to Caroline Groszer from Masseria Alchimia for arranging this stay! Caroline knows the region inside out and had some very commendable tips at hand ;-)

A review of her own stylish masseria will follow here shortly.

And also many thanks to Nina Aryapour from Primus Communications for hinting us to Puglia in the first place. Primus Communications was so kind to offer the Europcar rental car.
BTW, Europcar did a tremendous job at pickup time. They were quicker in deploying the car than Bari’s ground handling staff in sorting out our luggage…

And last but not least Tobias Pogorevc from Helvetic Airways was so generous to supply our flights. Thanks a lot, it all panned out perfectly! The flight times from Zurich into Bari are very comfortable, much better than the last time around two years ago.

The leg room between seats in Helvetic’s Fokker 100 aircraft was amazingly large. I guess other airlines would easily squeeze in another row of seats…

And by the way, the wireless infrastructure has wildly improved over our last stay in Puglia. Now hotels and restaurants usually have a wifi connection that actually works in the hotel rooms!