Hotel Residence Il Portoin Mattinata

Why it’s on the Edit

Hotel Residence Il Porto is a four-star residence hotel on the hill above the Bay of Mattinata. The Regione Puglia register files it as a residenza turistico-alberghiera (a residence hotel) with 61 units and 169 beds for 2026.

Most of those units are apartments. 44 flats with their own kitchen sit in two-storey villas on the slope, and 17 hotel rooms fill the main building, with a panoramic pool and the Terrazza Blu Mare restaurant shared by all.

It earns its place as the practical option on this stretch of the Gargano: a season that runs from March to December, an apartment with a kitchen and a terrace, and a restaurant for the nights you would rather not cook. The hotel calls itself a base for travelers who like to explore on their own, and the layout backs that up. For the sea you walk to a free public beach or use a partner beach club.

The rooms

The 17 hotel rooms are all in the main building, facing the bay. A long panoramic balcony runs past and links every room, and the Junior Suite Orchidea is the only room with a private balcony. Other options include a more spacious room type and two connecting rooms, with a bathroom each.

Rooms have air conditioning, heating, Wi-Fi, a TV, a minibar and a phone. If an outdoor space of your own matters, book the Junior Suite Orchidea or an apartment.

The 44 apartments sit in two-storey villas on the hill around the main building. Each has an independent entrance, a kitchenette, a private sea-view terrace or garden, a reserved parking space beside the villa, and bed and bath linen.

The Double Flat has a double bedroom, a bathroom and a living area with the kitchenette, and a cot can be added. The Family Flat adds a small second bedroom with a single bed or a bunk bed. The register lists a lift, balconies and terraces, and rooms suited to guests with disabilities.

Eating and drinking

Terrazza Blu Mare is the restaurant, set between sky, sea and mountain with a view over the Bay of Mattinata. La Terrazza Lounge Bar covers the rest of the day, from breakfast to the sunset aperitivo, with its own view over the bay. The hotel says it buys from local producers and chooses ingredients by season, for a menu of sea and land dishes.

The cellar holds Puglian, Italian and international labels, and the sommelier leads wine tastings. A tasting menu pairs a wine with each course. The register lists vegetarian and coeliac-friendly cooking.

Breakfast is included, according to the register. No chef is named on the hotel’s pages. Book Terrazza Blu Mare for the view and the convenience of eating where you sleep.

On a longer stay the kitchens matter most. A family in a Family Flat can cook most meals and book Terrazza Blu Mare for the evenings that call for it.

The setting

Mattinata, says italia.it, lies among centuries-old olive groves, and its name refers to the first light of morning. Coming from Manfredonia, it has the first large sandy beach on this coast with easy access. Its white houses spread across the hills in a shape that earned it the nickname “White Butterfly of the Gargano”.

The hotel sits on the hill near the sea, on the SP 53 coast road toward Vieste, and the register places it by the porto turistico, Mattinata’s marina. A free public beach is within walking distance. The hotel also has agreements with several beach clubs along the bay, first among them Lido Giardino Monsignore, with free parking, a bar and a restaurant.

Excursions on the hotel’s list include the Monte Saraceno necropolis, with a view over the bay, the old town of Monte Sant’Angelo and its sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo, and trekking in the Foresta Umbra, the forest at the center of the Gargano National Park. A partner rents e-bikes.

Good to know

• Category: four stars in the Regione Puglia register, 2026, as a residenza turistico-alberghiera.
• Open March 1 to December 31, 2026, per the register.
• Beach: a free public beach on foot, or partner beach clubs; the beach package (umbrella and two loungers) is booked at the hotel.
• Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by 10 am; breakfast and free private parking included (register).
• The register lists a lift, a 24-hour reception and luggage storage.
• Booking terms in the register: a 30% deposit, free cancellation up to 14 days before arrival.
• Staff speak Italian and English (register).
• Two meeting rooms hold up to 70 and 160 people.
• Not confirmed here: pets and a children’s policy.
• Price band: 1 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Hotel Residence Il Porto suits families who want a kitchen, a second bedroom and a terrace at price band 1, and couples who want a sea view and a pool in a Double Flat. It suits drivers who plan to see the Gargano by car and come back to cook, and travelers in spring or late autumn, since the register gives a season from March to December.

Look elsewhere if guest-only coves are the point of the trip: the sea here means a walk to a public beach or a partner beach club. Baia delle Zagare Resort, further along the same coast road, has two guest-only coves reached by panoramic lifts, but it is open only from May to early October.

Skip it too if you want a historic building or a masseria, one of Puglia’s converted farm estates. Hotel Residence Il Porto is a residence hotel, and its hotel rooms share one long balcony.

Getting there

Bari is the airport to aim for; Brindisi is much farther. Aim for Mattinata, in the Gargano area, then take the SP 53 coast road toward Vieste to the hotel.

You need a car here. The partner beach clubs, Monte Sant’Angelo and the Foresta Umbra are all separate trips. Each apartment comes with a reserved parking space beside its villa, and the register lists free private parking.

If you would rather not drive on arrival, ask whether the hotel can arrange a transfer: its meetings page lists a transfer service. The register lists a 24-hour reception, so someone is at the desk if the drive from Bari runs late.