Cala Ponte, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

The condictions of the hotel are good, but they must improve: The room had a lot of untes, need to have more atencion to the clean The restaurant just dont go...

This hotel did not disappoint! The rooms were comfortable and beautifully done. The restaurant and bar were lovely too! The best part of this hotel was the staff! They were by far the most friendly, helpful and all around incredible people! This made our stay a wonderful experience! Mirko, Ivan and Claudia were the very best!! Marriott is lucky to have to have them!

The fundamental flaw with Cala Ponte hotel is it's location directly next to the main highway between Bari and Brindisi (equivalent to an interstate in the US or Motorway in the UK). The road is extremely busy 24/7 and there is nowhere on the property which is free from the constant noise of cars, lorries and emergency vehicles. The hotel is somewhat isolated, with nothing of interest within walking distance except one restaurant that can only be accessed via an unlit dirt track between the security perimeter of a private marina (not accessible to Cala Ponte guests) and a number of derelict buildings. We booked a premium room which was described on the Bonvoy app as a junior suite with balcony with sea views. We booked at a member rate with breakfast. The price varied by day and peaked at €675 (approx $786) per night and the average across six nights was €629 (approx $732) per night. The room itself was hugely underwhelming at best. As for the so called balcony with sea views, I have posted the images to give you a measure of the degree of misrepresentation. It was two basic chairs in front of a four foot wall. The only view was that of the main flu pipe from the hotel furnace that gave off tremendous heat and was very noisy. The member of staff who guided us to the room asked us to avoid opening the door to the balcony if possible. We stayed in the room one night before asking reception to find an alternative room. We were shown an alternative that was a lower grade room that was much smaller but had a terrace. We were told a similar room would be available later that day so we agreed to move. The actual room we were moved to had few similarities to the one we were shown. In particular, the terrace was completely different. It looked out directly onto a local municipal car park with the junction to the Bari/Brindisi highway just beyond that. The view was of a constant stream of heavy, fast moving traffic (images provided). It was obvious that the room had been out of use for some time as the toilet seat was broken and the cistern defective, such that there was a constant flow of water into the toilet. The bathroom was designed for people with disabilities. The room was so small that the wardrobe door could not be fully opened as the bedside table blocked it (image provided). Despite the significant downgrade we were still charged the full €629 (approx $732) per night. The levels of service at Cala Ponte vary greatly. For example, Marco in the restaurant was excellent and well suited to a premium brand hotel. However, that was a rare bright spot. In general, the levels of service were average to poor. Cala Ponte is a budget quality property (think Four Points by Sheraton) charging premium (St. Regis / Ritz-Carlton) type room rates. It's terrible location and poorly architected and poorly furnished rooms give it limited options to meet the expectations it sets on it's website and in the Bonvoy app.

I can’t give this experience enough stars. The hotel is beautifully appointed and I don’t have words to describe the beauty of the pool area. What was really the icing on the cake though was the team! Davide, Sylvie, Filippo and all the staff, made this property sparkle. We felt so very welcome. Thank you to the Cala Ponte family. You made our visit so special. We hope we are fortunate enough to return.

Newly opened with great pool. So we had four nights and our room was good. The highlight would be the pool and the staff in that area. A few points for perhaps improvement. We arrived just before 3 and our room was not ready … ok can accept that but we were offered a water while we waited. 3 o’clock came and went and eventually we were taken to our room. Now we then were given a bill for 5 e for the water. That has never happened anywhere in the world when a room hasn’t been ready by check in time. Guys have thats a disgrace( very different to Patria palace where you get free prosecco on arrival at any time) Other than that and the menu a bit narrow (boiled eggs need to be cooked longer as each day the white was runny and clear. Hopefully a few teething errors that can be rectified so we return. And yes it is a way out of town

I would have rated a five star if it weren't for my air conditioning experience! The room was set at a certain temperature which I could not lower. I asked house keeping to lower and she said she could not, that I would have to ask the front desk bc that's where it was controlled from. I asked the front desk and he would not accommodate my lowering the temp request bc it was hotel policy-not "allowed",I was not "allowed" to have my air conditioner in my room lower to my likings. For the rate per night I should be "allowed" to have my room at freezing temperature if that's what I request and choose to have!

Clean and spacious room. Nice shower. Beautiful pool and the grounds. Delicious fresh breakfast with plenty of variety. Good Cappuccino and was able to order fried eggs & fresh orange juice. Close drive to Polignano.. Helpful & courteous staff.

Great staff, accommodation lacking in some respects. Location good for access to Marina.

OK, let’s cut to the chase on this one first off. It’s supposedly as a five star hotel but when you went to the room, there are no drawers. If you’re in the room with at least two people you’re forced to find cubby holes in your closet or above your mini bar or in the shelf high above your closet to store your clothing. I mean, what do people in Italy do hang their underwear on hangers? So now that that’s out of the way, the rest of the hotel is beautiful. It is a golf cart ride to the beach multiple beaches of which San Giovanni is excellent because you can rent a lounge chair and an umbrella and also order food, wine drinks, directly to your lounge or if you like you can go to the on premises restaurant, which is beautiful. The water is calm and there’s plenty of facilities around. You can easily reach your lounge chair if you have mobility issues and the beach is mostly sandy however, there are some large rocks for out chest high water. You don’t really need water shoes, but I would say bring them along. As far as the hotel goes it has one of the best pools I’ve ever seen and they also have a fine dining restaurant with good food. Great drinks great service. I would recommend that you rent a car if you come to this town most things are within 2 miles as well as several beaches the old city bars, restaurants where pretty much no matter where you eat. The food is excellent. The wine is good and you can eat for a very reasonable cost