We had a wonderful time at Allesandro's apartment. We stayed 4 nights before travelling on to Lecce. We didn't meet Alessandro, but his parents live in the apartment next door and they were very helpful. They don't speak any English (and our Italian was very basic), but they went to great lengths to try and fix the broken air conditioner for us... And gave us gelati - and a lift to Lecce because they were travelling there the same day we were! We were shown around the apartment by a translator, Michela, who spoke good english and showed us where things were kept. There was water and a bottle of wine in the fridge for us when we arrived.

The apartment has a table and chairs outside (it is shared outside space on the balcony, but peaceful), and is only a minute or two down the steps to the sea. The apartment was very clean and had everything we needed - large kitchen including all you'd need if you want to cook, comfortable bed with amazing sea view from the main bedroom, nice new bathroom and plenty of space. It seemed like most of the other people in the apartment building were retirees, although there were a few families with kids too. It was quiet at night, and the perfect place to have a glass of wine and play cards on the patio.

Getting there, we didn't have a car but it was really easy to arrange a private taxi transfer from Brindisi airport (we came from London). You can easily walk to many bars, cafes, restaurants and a food market from the apartment. We also did a day trip to Otranto by bus - there is a tourist information centre close to the apartment with bus timetables. We also rode Alessandro's bikes to Porto Miggiano, a nearby cove/beach which was incredibly beautiful. Santa Cesarea Terme is a lovely, beautiful, clean and picturesque town with a couple of really nice restaurants, a few lively bars and cafes, plus bank/post office.

If you're visiting this part of Italy in July or August as we were, when the beaches and beach clubs are very busy, I can't recommend this apartment highly enough - it is the only building around with its own private access to the sea. We loved swimming and snorkling right outside the building.

Thank you Alessandro!