Pros:
Thelma’s place is right in the Center of the historic town of Ostuni - exactly where you want to be to get a feel of the white city.
If offers the perfect base to explore local culture as well as the experience of living in a traditional Pugliese home.
The place is a studio apartment, small but very authentic and optimised spatially. There is a sofa that doubles as a comfortable bed, a small dining table, a mini-kitchen, and utensils for cooking. It even has a little cistern, and a cute little non-functional fireplace!
Thelma went out of her way to provide us with a bottle of local wine, and some taralli (local snack). She was also very accommodating by letting us check out late so that we could see the Saturday market on the last day.
Cons:
There is no wifi - which may pose a problem for tourists relying on internet to research their itinerary. The walls of the house are super thick and do not allow cellular network to pass either.
The shower only runs hot water for 5 minutes at a stretch after which there is a minimum 15 minute wait. The toilet also ventilates into the kitchen, which is understandable given this is a traditional house.
The public transportation in Ostuni is not reliable, and taxis to the train station are likely to be required (costing around 15 euros per trip), unless you’re okay with walking the distance. But this is a problem with Ostuni, and not Thelmas place. The airbnb has an excellent location in the heart of the cultural Center.
It is 4km from the train station, which unfortunately is only accessible by a bus whose frequency is erratic at best.