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.
Resort molto comodo per un golf holiday in Salento
Buon equilibrio tra gioco, spa e destinazione
Meno distintivo sul piano architettonico dei top course italiani
Più resort experience che pellegrinaggio golfistico puro
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.”