Castellana Grotte, Puglia
Typical and charming trullo with private pool located in Castellana Grotte, in Puglia. The building boasts an authentic apulian style, it comfortably accommodates up to 8 guests in four bedrooms and is immersed in the greenery of the beautiful and appreciated apulian countryside.
The trullo is the perfect place for a relaxing holiday in connection with nature and with the typical greens of the Mediterranean scrub, at few steps only from the beautiful caves of Castellana Grotte and just 10 km from Alberobello, the so-called "city of trulli" for its characteristic abodes.
The position of this trulli is particularly relevant, as it is immersed in almost one hectare of land enriched with olive, cherry and almond trees, in a territory that lends itself well to long walks or bike tours. It is the ideal place to spend your holidays in complete relaxation: a ro-mantic honeymoon or rather a special anniversary at any time of year, thanks to the hea-ting in every room increasing the comfort of your stay.
The trullo is completely independent and has been recently renovated and equipped with all comforts, inclusive a private pool, tasteful furnishings, mosquito nets in all windows, large outdoor area equipped with barbecue to enjoy the cool summer evenings.
The property is entirely covered by Wi-Fi Internet, and consists of a a living area with a di-ning table for 8 persons and a fully equipped kitchen, with an oven, a fridge, a washing machine, an ironing board and a microwave. Next to the living room there is a bathroom with toilet and shower. The Trulli bedrooms are connected directly without a hallway which means to go from the back bedroom to the kitchen you have to go through the bedrooms or outside.The bedrooms onsists in two double bedrooms; a bedroom with two single beds (which can be joined if required) and an ensuite bathroom with shower; a fourth matrimonial bedroom with ensuite bathroom with shower.
The outdoor spaces of the trulli are enriched with a large and shaded veranda, equipped with a barbecue and an outdoors kitchen and a beautiful private pool (for the exclusive use of the trullo’s guests) of 15m x 6m, and depth varying from 0 mt to 2.40 mt. The pool area also offers a bathroom with wc and shower.
The entrance gate to the villa is to be shared exclusively with us owners who live in an ad-jacent villa with independent access.
We recommend this property to families with young children and to anyone interested in a panoramic trullo, located in a privileged location at a short drive from the beautiful towns of Alberobello, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Noci or just to enjoy Monopoli’s beaches at only about 10km distance.
Positive: gardens and swimming pool setting are wonderful. The inside of the house is simple and solid. However, the online posting for the unit is different from what we experienced: 1) The owners live in the main part of the house. This information cannot be found anywhere on the website. The pictures displayed on the website (and the advertised price) give the impression that one rents the entire property exclusively. While the owners are not seen much, they and their family/staff/guests come and go as one would expect in a normal home setting – passing in front of the rented part of the property. 2) Cats and a dog are on the property (dog is behind a fence). We had no issue with this as we are pet owners. However, we could have been allergic/ scared of pets which would have ruined our holidays. In addition, the online description for this unit describes that pets are not allowed on the premises. 3) While it says that the house can take 8 people, this is only possible when giving up the living room. 4) A newly added bedroom (our impression) did not have proper curtains – light enters the room easily. 5) The kitchen is simple and run-down with basic facilities. All other properties we rented before were better equipped. Quite basic things are missing (no toaster, no tray, cutlery is only sufficient for one meal (then one needs to clean in order to have sufficient cutlery for the next meal)). 6) The bbq place is not well equipped. Bbq utensils are minimal if any. Note that we have not made use of the bbq. 7) Terrace seating equipment is minimalistic (much more basic vs. advertised). While one can have breakfast outside, tables have to be moved together and tables (normally would allow for the seating of two only) are more akin to a simple café than a home. 8) Pool: paint is coming off the walls/ pool floor. We are not sure why (cheap paint? Low quality job performed?). Communication: the owners only communicate in basic English. For the issues to discuss (given that they we, we tried to discuss) we were referred to online-communication. This was not convenient (also given that internet connection speed of the unit is slow). Particular incident: we asked for separate towels for the pool (pictures on the internet show the pool with towels on the beds next to the pool). We were informed that the rental price for the unit did not include pool towels. Summary: price / offer ratio are incomprehensible to us.
It was very hard to decide what star rating to give this property. When we booked it, we were completely under the impression that we would have the whole place to ourselves. Nothing in the description suggested to us that the trulli complex is attached to the owners' house (connecting door is kept locked from their side). Although we had our own entrance door, the driveway, parking and access paths are shared. In fact, the owners (Francesca & Giuseppe and children) need to walk past the kitchen patio to get to their front door. Had we known the set-up we would never have booked the place. However, I can't bring myself to give only one star because I think that if you were planning to book a granny flat, in many ways this is a very nice one. The bedrooms and en suite bathrooms are very well done, the whole place was spotlessly clean, and the pool and garden are beautiful. (The pool is ramped, so is no good for lengths, but great for playing about in, relaxing and diving.) The kitchen has suffered from wear and tear, and needs some repair to the cupboards. The kitchen equipment, crockery and cutlery are adequate rather than plentiful, but I expect that the kitchen will gradually become superbly well equipped as I only had to mention the lack of an oven glove & tea towels to Francesca for her to arrive later that day with everything we needed. The big outside table and chairs in the photo weren't there during our stay. Instead there were three rather unsteady small folding tables with matching chairs which we found too impractical/uncomfortable to use. We used the kitchen table and chairs instead. There is no dining table or chairs by the BBQ (which we didn't use), and I think it would be a good idea to get them. We all found the stools rather uncomfortable to sit on for any length of time. Francesca comes across as a genuinely warm and welcoming person, keen to ensure that you have a good holiday. It's about a 30 minute walk into Castellana Grotte (longer if you saunter), along fairly quiet roads (downhill then uphill both ways). There are cycle lanes and routes nearby. Castellana Grotte has a good feel about it, and it's buzzing at the weekend. It's a good base for exploring the area.
From the friendly and welcoming initial emails, to the fantastic welcome and tour around the Trullo villa, we all loved our visit to Puglia. Guiseppe and Francesco were great hosts and have the most beautiful property which we could have spent all week staying in at, but wanted to see the local area and what that had to offer to. We would recommend this to anyone who wants to treat themselves to a stunning property near Bari/Brindisi and obviously Matera. We can't thank the hosts enough and would happily go back again in the future, Grazie mille a voi!
We had a great stay. The house is as described, with a lot of space and a very nice pool. This region in Italy is wonderful.
With 2 families we have had a fantastic holiday in this villa. A big and beatiful garden, excellent swimming pool. Clean house and helpful hostess Francesca. We never had such a fine residence. In the neighbourhood many places of interest, such as Locorotondo, Alberobello, Monopoli, Lecce and the caves of Castellana and the beaches. We can recommand this villa very much and we thank Francesca and Giuseppe for our excellent stay. It was great!!!
Your dates are Available!
Total
Includes taxes and fees