Villa Alessandra is a beautiful villa, set on a private estate amongst olive groves south of Monopoli.
Ivana and her husband Osvaldo were very welcoming, and the villa is spotless and beautiful. There are 2 good size bedrooms with plenty of wardrobe space, one shower room, two toilets and a lovely kitchen with oven, hob, fridge-freezer and full-size dishwasher. There is also an outdoor shower with hot running water.
The gardens are stunning like your very own botanical garden and the private pool is absolutely wonderful, with adjacent sun beds on which to relax. The sunrises and sunsets were sensational! There is a very, very old olive tree in the garden that sheds olives: it was actually a pleasure to sweep them up!
There is a barbecue area and front-loader washing machine undercover at the rear of the property, which was fabulous to keep ahead of the laundry. The beaches are a short distance away.
We visited Savelletri 4 times which is such a pretty seaside town with a great beach restaurant/bar other restaurants. One that stood out for us was a restaurant called Serri, with its outstanding menu and engaging owner. Just to say that Puglian wine is delicious!
Monopoli is 5 miles away (15 mins or so in the car) with plentiful restaurants, elegant shopping and lively old town. Famila supermarket has everything you need for your stay.
Polignano a Mare is a beautiful town with its famous beach and hotel/restaurant in the cliffs.
Alberobello was stunning, with the little Trulli houses - so beautiful in the autumn sunshine.
We recommend hiring a car, as we did - there is ample parking outside the Villa.
All in all we loved staying at Ivana and Osvaldo’s Villa in Puglia! Alison and Nigel x