Acaya Golf Resort & SPA
Acaya interprets golf in Puglia through a more resort-oriented and relaxed lens than San...
Acaya interprets golf in Puglia through a more resort-oriented and relaxed lens than San Domenico while still maintaining quality. Near Lecce, within Mediterranean vegetation and close to the Adriatic, the property brings together course, hospitality, spa and a stay-and-play logic particularly well suited to international guests. The layout is enjoyable, readable and well integrated into the landscape, with enough technical substance to satisfy the more serious leisure golfer while remaining soft enough to work for couples and families. Its real strength lies in how easily the resort fits into a wider Salento itinerary of baroque towns, beaches, cuisine and wellness. Acaya does not aim to be a monumental golf course; it aims to be a complete, comfortable and well-balanced destination. In that role it performs very well, especially for travelers seeking an elegant golf holiday without excessive stiffness or over-formality.
Funziona al meglio come base Salento: usa il campo come parte del soggiorno, non come unica ragione del viaggio, e l’esperienza sale molto.
Very convenient resort for a golf holiday in Salento
Good balance between play, spa, and destination
Less distinctive in terms of architectural top courses in Italy
More resort experience than pure golf pilgrimage
Acaya interprets golf in Puglia through a more resort-oriented and relaxed lens than San Domenico while still maintaining quality. Near Lecce, within Mediterranean vegetation and close to the Adriatic, the property brings together course, hospitality, spa and a stay-and-play logic particularly well suited to international guests. The layout is enjoyable, readable and well integrated into the landscape, with enough technical substance to satisfy the more serious leisure golfer while remaining soft enough to work for couples and families. Its real strength lies in how easily the resort fits into a wider Salento itinerary of baroque towns, beaches, cuisine and wellness. Acaya does not aim to be a monumental golf course; it aims to be a complete, comfortable and well-balanced destination. In that role it performs very well, especially for travelers seeking an elegant golf holiday without excessive stiffness or over-formality.
On the technical side, the course is a coastal layout of 18 holes playing to a par of 71 with a slope rating of 134. Visitor ratings underline the point: exceptional course quality.
The best time to visit Acaya Golf Resort & SPA is March, April, May, September, October, November, with the club remaining open throughout the year. Among its most appreciated strengths: Very convenient resort for a golf holiday in Salento; Good balance between play, spa, and destination.
The facilities include putting green, driving range, restaurant, pro shop, cart rental, caddy on request. Acaya Golf Resort & Spa (4-star hotel) makes it possible to turn the visit into a full golf stay on the property.
The nearest airport is Brindisi Casale (BDS), approximately 40 minutes by car.
What is the best time to play?+
Acaya Golf Resort & SPA is open year-round. The recommended months for optimal conditions are March, April, May, September, October, November.
Is a handicap certificate required?+
Acaya Golf Resort & SPA does not specify a mandatory minimum handicap for visiting players. We recommend contacting the club to confirm their current policy.
How do I get to the club?+
The nearest airport is Brindisi Casale (BDS), approximately 40 minutes by car. Car rental is recommended for maximum flexibility.
Is there on-site accommodation?+
Yes, Acaya Golf Resort & Spa (4 stars) is located on the property, allowing guests to enjoy a complete golf stay without travelling elsewhere.
How many holes does the course have, and how challenging is it?+
The course has 18 holes playing to a par of 71 with a slope rating of 134. It is a demanding course best suited to experienced players.
Exclusive Experiences
Secrets found in no guidebook, curated by our concierge.
Castello di Acaya: la Fortezza Intatta
Acaya Castle is Puglia's best-preserved Renaissance fortress: built in 1535 by the Spanish with star bastions still perfect, it stands 200 metres from the golf resort. The Vernole Municipality manages the fortress and accepts private visits to the corner towers — normally closed — offering a view over the Salentine plain and the Adriatic Sea.
“The Vernole municipal heritage assessor opens the internal rooms of the noble apartments on the first Wednesday of the month: the original 1535 lecce stone floors still bear the impressions of Aragonese palii — horse and falcon engravings used by the Spanish as access codes.”
Soloperto: Primitivo di Manduria Verticale
Primitivo di Manduria DOC is Puglia's most international wine: DNA has proven that Primitivo and California Zinfandel are the same grape. Soloperto produces the Primitivo Riserva Antico Carignano from century-old bush vines: the private vertical from 1990 shows how Primitivo ages developing dried plum, carob root, and bitter cacao notes that Zinfandel never achieves.
“Angelo Soloperto leads to the Antico Carignano vineyard at 6:00 AM during harvest: the century-old bush vines are so low you harvest kneeling. Ask to bring a bucket and harvest with him: the cluster you cut ends up in your personal barrique.”
Terme di Santa Cesarea: le Grotte del Sulfureo
The Terme di Santa Cesarea are set in four sea caves on the Adriatic at Santa Cesarea Terme: sulphurous vapours emerge from the sea through fissures in the limestone rock. The treatment in the Fetida and Solfurea Caves — immersion in waters with sulphide concentration higher than any other European spring — is certified for rheumatic and dermatological conditions.
“Thermal physician Dr Cazzato opens the Sulphur Cave 30 minutes before official time for private sessions: the maximum sulphurous gas concentration at dawn — before marine ventilation — has documented therapeutic effects on the respiratory tract that no equivalent pharmacological therapy achieves.”
Trattoria Casareccia — La Cucina di Casa
In the heart of Lecce, Casareccia has upheld Salentine home cooking for decades without compromise or pretension: ciceri e tria, hand-rolled pasta with ragù, anise-scented pittule fritters. The dining room is small, the menu handwritten, and the matriarch will simply choose for you if you hesitate. It smells like Sunday.
“Always book ahead — and arrive hungry: the pasta portions are generous and refusing seconds is pointless.”
Grotta della Poesia — Le Preghiere del Mare
Perched above the sea at Roca Vecchia, this cave holds over six thousand votive inscriptions carved into the rock between the Bronze Age and the Hellenistic period — the largest collection of ancient graffiti in the Mediterranean. Sailors, warriors, pilgrims: all left their name to the sea deity before crossing the water. Wind and breaking waves complete what no museum could replicate.
“Visit at dawn before the tourists arrive: raking light brings every inscription to life and the sea is still silent.”
Museo Faggiano — Il Palazzo degli Strati
In 1999, Luciano Faggiano lifted his restaurant floor to fix a drain pipe and found a medieval hypogeum. Then a Roman one. Then a Messapian one. What was meant to be a three-day job became eleven years of secret excavations — and then a remarkable private museum spanning three thousand years across five underground levels. All of Puglia's layered past, beneath one palazzo on Via Ascanio Grandi.
“Ask for the Faggiano son: he leads tours with the same wonder as when he was a child digging alongside his father.”
Riserva Naturale Le Cesine — Il Silenzio degli Aironi
A few kilometers from the Adriatic coast, Le Cesine is one of the last coastal wetlands of the Salento: lagoons, reedbeds and ponds where grey herons and flamingos winter in an almost unreal silence. The WWF reserve protects a fragile and precious ecosystem, far from mass tourism, accessible only on foot along dirt paths. At dawn, when raking light turns the water into a golden mirror, the landscape recalls certain Flemish watercolors.
“Arrive half an hour before dawn with binoculars and walk unhurriedly along the lagoon edge: the flamingos move still half-asleep and the distance between you dissolves.”
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