Places To Stay In Sicily: Baglio Sorìa Resort, Trapani

After leaving our apartment in Palermo, our first stop was for a three-night stay at the relatively new Baglio Sorìa Resort about 15 minutes drive from Trapani, making it the perfect base to explore the top of Sicily’s West Coast. Located in a set of 17th century farm buildings in the middle of their vineyard it’s a lovely place to relax and enjoy their excellent wine and food (there is a fantastic fine-dining restaurant on site) after a busy day out and about.

We had two Junior Suites overlooking the courtyard which were extremely well appointed and comfortable which start at around £140 a night depending on the time of year; literally our only complaint were the pigeons on top of the main building can be very, very noisy. They did not keep us up at night, and absolutely are not putting us off recommending the hotel which is lovely, but they did get a bit irritating at times!

After check in we headed out for a dip in the pool. There is a poolside bar but it had not yet opened in mid-May as it was only just the very start of the season, but there is a button by the pool you could still press to get people to bring something out to you; we had a few beers, and their chef’s excellent home-marinated olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

Before dinner, or just to relax on an afternoon there is a small wine bar off the main courtyard, but you’ll want to head for the covered seating area where you can get their wines delivered (or an Aperol Spritz!) by the glass or by the bottle, again with some more delicious snacks (drinks in Sicily always come with delicious snacks!) – do try their own Spumanti which is exceptional as a sundowner or the estate’s red (pictured further down) which we also had multiple bottles of during our stay. Each room also has a complimentary bottle of their wine, and this is a good place to enjoy it!

In the courtyard there is also a wine shop with very, very reasonable prices and which ship, though I’d recommend only taking what you can carry or fly back with unless you’re based in Europe as the cost of shipping back to the UK or the USA, unfortunately, was very steep. Not the hotel’s fault though!

It is also worth nothing, however, that whilst the outdoor lounge is lovely, the one thing Baglio Sorìa is missing is a comfortable indoor leisure space; the bar is a bit small and geared towards drinking, and if you’re there during bad weather (we had a storm alert on day three!) the only place to really relax with a book is in your own room, not very social if you’re staying there as part of a group.

Our one main disappointment staying at Baglio Sorìa was the Sky Lounge; located up the slope from the main hotel building it has stunning, 360 degree views out to sea and across the Sicilian countryside… but it has not yet opened for the summer which we had not expected, the opening dates not being listed on the website. It would have been a lovely spot for a sundowner and some nibbles, but it was still worth the climb up one morning for the views.

We had dinner at their fantastic restaurant Ristorante Santagostino on two of the three nights we stayed there. Not only was the wine and service fantastic, but it’s a great place to try classic Sicilian flavours in a fine-dining setting. Their Chef Andrea Macca and his team have put together such a welcoming, wine-forward space with the choice of either a typical Italian 4-course a la carte or a series of tasting menus focusing on the land, the sea or on vegetables; typically with so many tastes around the table we went a la carte, one of the stand-outs from the menu being the first night guinea fowl ragu with ricotta sauce, pistachios and homemade spinach pasta. The sauce was both rich and light, the flavours more-ish and everything came together perfectly. It was done with a lean into citrus on the next night we had it, which made it a totally different dish; still excellent, but the first one had the edge!

Whilst Ristorante Santagostino focuses on fine dining, they still also do the classics: it is where I got to enjoy a typical Trapani Couscous served with a light, tomato-saffron seafood broth, toasted almonds and plenty of lightly fried seafood from Mediterranean red prawn to squid, baby octopus and bass fillet. Rustic but still special. We also loved their classic pistachio-dipped, ricotta-filled canolo, served with a divine orange jam for the citrus element which I had for the next two breakfasts spooned over ricotta after tasting how good it was.

Speaking of breakfasts, the buffet each morning was excellent with a very wide range of Sicilian pastries, cold meats, cheeses, fresh fruits and savoury bakes. My go-to was a hard boiled egg; fresh cherry tomatoes with the estate’s extra virgin olive oil; their ethereally light and creamy ricotta with orange jam spooned over the top; and a piece of whatever savoury tart of Sicilian pizza (thicker, like a focaccia) they had each morning.

Whilst it was not perfect, we loved Baglio Sorìa and thought it was the perfect base for exploring the nearby towns of Trapani, Erice and Marsala. The staff are also truly fantastic; simply lovely, going above and beyond to the point where one of the girls working behind the bar appeared one afternoon with peppermint tea bags for my mother who has a preference for it, and which are very difficult to find in Sicily! You can also get a lot more out of your stay than we did with plans elsewhere; you can also book cooking classes and wine tastings / experiences on the estate.

You can book a room, experiences, or simply dinner at the restaurant on the English version of the Baglio Sorìa website.

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