Where to stay in Vieste: Review of the Il Giardino Stellato B&B |

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Imagine starting the day with Bossa Nova playing in the garden; having your breakfast by the shade of olive trees while enjoying the company of other friendly guests. All of these, while appreciating the view of the blue ocean contrasting with the white of the typical houses of the Apulia region in a b&b in vieste puglia.

Fernanda having breakfast at B&B Il Giardino Stellato di Michela

Breakfast with a view

This is perhaps the strongest memory we have from our days in Vieste. Not because the city wasn’t interesting, quite the opposite – we loved Vieste!, but rather because our stay at the B&B Il Giardino Stellato di Michela was fantastic.

The Bed and Breakfast

The Il Giardino Stellato is a simple yet cosy B&B created by Michela Ascoli four years ago. The place is located in a newer part of Vieste, slightly away from the historical city centre. As the borough is in a more mountainous area, the B&B allows you to have a magnificent view of the city.

Il Giardino has three guest rooms: one double and two triples, and each room has its own original decor using the colours red, green or yellow. Absolutely everything in there was hand made by Michela. That helps you to realize how much she cares about it! After seeing the amount of attention she gives to every single detail, from the key’s rooms – which has a unique ornament – to the handwritten signs on wood in the garden, to the beautiful pictures hanging on the wall and other details, it puts a smile on your face. Everything is pretty and has Michela on it.

The garden(s)

Despite the interior of the place being rather cosy, our biggest surprise was the garden. With olive trees, flowers and a few vegetable gardens, that’s where Michela welcomes her guests for breakfast. We spent most of our time in the garden enjoying the company of other guests who, after four days of living together, became friends.

The Il Giardino Stellato also has a roof terrace where you can appreciate even more beautiful views of the city. On our last night in Vieste, Michela arranged for us, her family and other guests to have an apperitivo together on the terrace. We spent a wonderful time tasting a local delicacy called paposcia – which we will ridiculously compare to a pizza sandwich -, drinking wine and sharing stories.

The breakfast

hand made cake at Il Giardino Stellato di Michela

Home made strawberry cake

The breakfast at Il Giardino Stellato is exceptional. Not so much for diversity, as it’s a bed and breakfast and it doesn’t have a buffet style. But mostly because of the quality of the food and the ingredients. Michela prepares everything she serves. Actually, she wakes up at 6am just for preparing everything, which makes it a breakfast very healthy, fresh and super tasty.

Breakfast is usually one of our favourite meals. Therefore, an accommodation which serves quality breakfast will always have our priority when booking. At Il Giardino Stellato di Michela, we took our time to enjoy, everyday, about an hour and a half of breakfast, arriving at 9am so to have the freshest bit of cakes and local dishes she prepared.

Michela, the owner

The food was delicious, the rooms cosy and the garden beautiful; But the differential of the Il Giardino Stellato di Michela is in fact Michela herself.

She is the kind of person that makes you feel at home from the start. Her sympathy is so contagious that she creates a pleasant and familiar atmosphere amongst everyone, which makes you feel other guests are friends of friends in your friend’s house. During our time in Vieste, Michela went far beyond a host. In fact, she did everything to make our time in the city the best.

She organized, for example, a yoga class in a historical trabuccho; she found us a brilliant mechanic to fix our bikes during the weekend; and, as we said before, she prepared us a farewell aperitivo with the other guests.

Yoga at Trabuccho

Bed and Breakfasts X Hotels

Our experience at the Il Giardino Stellato was so special that we left convinced we will opt for Bed & Breakfast instead of hotels much more often during our trips. More than that, we will also suggest to other people to do it too.

terrace at the BnB il giardino stellato di michela

Michela, us and other guests

On a B&B, you enjoy the comfort of a hotel, the cosiness of a home and, sometimes, even the warmth of a family. Moreover, as the B&B’s have a more informal and welcoming atmosphere, you also have a chance to learn a lot about the local culture and hospitality.

We don’t know about you, but for us, this is the recipe of a good trip.

The location of Il Giardino Stellato di Michela

As said previously in this post, the Il Giardino Stellato is located on a newer part of Vieste, just a few minutes away from the historic city centre.

Although it’s not so near the restaurants and bars of the centre, the B&B is very close to Lungomare beach, one of the best in the area to enjoy the sea as well as where Michela’s guests are entitled to sunbeds and an ombrelone.

The only down side of the accommodation is that, because it is located on a cliff, arriving there by bike – as we did – or by foot, can be a bit tiring. But Michela is always available to give a hand with the luggage, picking you up with her car wrapped in stickers of the Il Giardino Stellato di Michela.

For those driving, which by the way is the best way of getting around the Gargano region, there won’t be any problems. In fact, the B&B has a garage for the guests.