Meneghetti Wine Hotel & Winery

First of all, the setting is unreal. In the middle of nowhere, yet within a short drive from Bale, Pula, Rovinj, you will find the beautiful Tuscani style grounds of Meneghetti. We booked one of the 10 hotel rooms in the main building, but there are 48 or so villas as well. The entrance lane, the pool deck, the gardens with its sculptures, the garden restaurant, even the vegetable garden, everything is kept immaculate and exudes tranquility. We loved the table-served breakfast with ample choice of dishes, fresh orange juice, cappucino. The dinner we had was excellent, and we also tried the wine tasting in the nearby winery. Not cheap but part of the experience. The thing that makes it special though is its staff, ever friendly and attentive. As someone wrote, this is definitely one of those places you will remember as “special”.

To be clear: 'Meneghetti' is one of those places that deserves something more than a perfect "5" - everything was excellent (and beyond) for our stay there. Our two nights were made to feel like half of a week, with world-class, exceptional service, fine dining and filling, comforting, and healthy breakfast options, and the wine! Lounge around the spa pool (or one of two outdoor shared pools); hike the vineyards or down to their rocky beach; sidle over to their tasting room for some different wines; take a drive into Bale (short 15-minute drive from the winery) or a bit further north to Rovinj or south to Pula; simply lounge and read/daydream/write in your luxurious room. [They even have bikes to lend out, tennis court, children's playground, and a driving range!] This place is special! While their "beach club" was closed, it was mid-October and the hike down to the water was still nice. Highly, HIGHLY recommended!

Really a beautiful set of buildings. It was hard to determine if this is a vineyard operating a hotel on the side or a hotel with an operational vineyard, and we decided that it is the latter. The hotel is quite large and is marketing new homes to be built on the property, which seemed to make it clear that the business here is hospitality more than agriculture. So a stay at a working farm it isn't really - more a stay at a spa hotel set in the middle of a working farm. The "rooms" were really rowhouses with two floors, holding a very spacious sitting and dining room on the ground floor and the bedroom on the second level. It was all quite attractive, including the expansive and interesting main bathroom (there is also a small powder room on the ground floor). The room also had a nice sitting area in a mostly private small garden, which we did not use but looked quite lovely if you wanted to just relax with some privacy. The spa area and pool are nice, if not what one might expect at a larger spa resort. The breakfast (which was not a buffet) was quite nice, with good breads and an expansive list of eggs and other main dishes to choose from. The dinner was fine too, and both are served in an attractive glass-heavy room that provides good natural light. The service itself was more functional than professional, but that is perhaps due to the staffing difficulties still being faced in the hospitality industry. Do note that the locations is quite isolated and one would need a car (or good bike ride) to really get anywhere. This is thus a place to stay and relax, not be used as a base for walking to see local sights. You can also walk through the property to the hotel's beach, though note that this is of the large pebble variety as is common in the region.

One of the best hotels I’ve had the pleasure of staying at. The service, environment, food (breakfast is excellent (especially French toast), rooms and location is superb! I have nothing else to say apart from well worth the money and visit. I think people don’t tend to stay for more than a few days as there isn’t much to do but stayed for 5 days. We should have explored Bale and off site restaurants more but it’s difficult without a car as you’re a little isolated.

Beautiful hotel in southern Istria. We were in a very comfortable “Residence” on two floors with a large bedroom, sitting room and bathroom. The estate is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Food in the restaurant was very good and the staff were all delightful and very helpful. Excellent selection of own estate local wines and olive oils - delicious. A short drive to Pula and Rovinj and so nice to be away from the hustle and bustle.