ekscrunchy

I, too, stayed at San Martino and was pleased, but I imagine that there are many alternatives at lower prices. I think that with the recent tourist popularity of the city and the financial benefits available to those who open businesses there, that Matera will continue to attract people from other areas of Italy who will open lodgings in various price categories. To sum it up, the bar seems to be high here on the hotel front, if not the restaurant front (not sure of that...) and I am not sure that one can go too far wrong. Just my own musings...

yorkshire

On driving: Just read up on the ZTL rules, but that was hardly the most difficult part of driving for us. The only nerve wracking thing really was that we were not willing to drive as fast as the locals on curvy roads--especially when locals hug the center line! We saw two near head-on collisions from people passing when they should not have.
We did not even have GPS--just used my iphone (thanks TMobile) to navigate while husband drove -- the little diagrams of the roundabouts were really helpful.
In October it should be about like it was for us in May--easy to park and little traffic.
Two restaurants we really enjoyed in Matera:
Dalla Padella alla Brace (family style environment, cheap(!) but delicious)
Il Borghese (more formal, but also delicious)
In Lecce: Le Zie (like being in nonna's house) and Nonna Tetti (excellent, friendly service)