My husband and I recently stayed at Monun's hotel for four nights during a business trip. Since it was a work trip, we were not expecting a lot from the accommodations, so we were blown away by how beautiful and serene our stay at Monun was. The interior and fixtures are very well designed to reflect the landscape and architecture of the area (as well as highlight a local ceramic artist in the amazing lamps and sconces!) but are also marvelously up-to-date and convenient.

All the staff we met were very friendly and helpful. Eleonora at the front desk helped me track down a rustic/farm restaurant that would serve typical local food and happened to be open on a random Tuesday in November (not an easy task!). They also speak and understand English quite well, which is not common in this part of Italy - something I've learned over two years experience traveling in the area.

The restaurant takes the same approach as the overall business: take the traditional and give it an elegant, modern twist. The food was a great value for the price and our table of eight colleagues were served fun amuse-bouche appetizers and desserts in addition to what we ordered so that we got an even broader taste of the chef's creativity.

The overall history and location of Monun is also really fun. It is set at the edge of Grottaglie's historic center, which the rooms' balconies look out over. From the beautiful rooftop terrace, you can look down into the courtyard of the centuries-old castle and also see the skyline of Taranto (30-minutes drive down the road). The building used to be a monastery occupied by Franciscan nuns who ran an orphanage and school for children: the children lived in the castle and the school was in a church across the street from the monastery (it is now a regular school); all three of the buildings were connected by sky bridges.

Neither my husband nor I had time to make use of the spa, but I got a tour of the facility and, especially considering the size of space they had to work with, they have done a beautiful job of creating many different peaceful spaces for soaking, sauna, massage, etc. There is also a cute little room for wine-tasting that was built into the former cistern under the building that in the past caught much-needed rain water. Just another example of how creatively and seamlessly Monun has blended the old and the new. I can't wait to go back and make use of the amenities that we missed!

Looking for a small lunch in a restaurant we, five friends from Holland, were guided to this brand new hotel. We were the first foreign guests in the restaurant of Monun, which was in in the early days a monastry where MOnks and NUNs lived. The small lunch became a big suprise and was really excellent! The cook Alessandro, just 30 years old, gave us a Michelin feeling. The food, olive oil and wine (Motolese), all local produced or handmade in the kitchen were briljant. The staff was very friendly and showd us after the lunch the beautiful rooms, Spa and rooftop. When you ever visit Grottaglie for its ceramics go to Monun because it’s really worth it! Thanks all the staff of Monun.
We surely be back ! Frederik, Erna, Erik, Petra and Amarens.