I had a lovely, relaxing stay at Villa Giulia. It's in the countryside down the Pugliese lanes and I was greeted by Giulia when I arrived. Francesco and Giulia were lovely and it was a bit like staying with your Italian grandparents who want to feed you up, make sure you're ok and tell you places to go! I loved getting up in the mornings to the pool, view and Giulia's yummy breakfast. She makes lots of biscuits, amazing ricotta cake, focaccia, her own jam, coffee and put on a great breakfast spread.

The room itself is a bit like a B&B or hotel room and is self-contained with a private entrance. You have a bar fridge for cold drinks, bed, fan, private bathroom with shower. Outside there's a large terrace covered area with chairs and tables where I sat to read and to paint.

The owners have 6 cats and 5 dogs, the cats meander around the property and the dogs are kept mostly inside or in a caged area where they have their own little house and area to run. The property overall is about 1-2 acres I guess, full of olive trees, prickly pears, palms. (I tried some of their homemade olive oil and it was great!)

I loved nearby Monopoli and recommend driving down to Ostuni (the white city) too. There are great beaches to the south of Monopoli, paid resorts and little coves all the way along. I also visited the caves in Castellana de Grotte, which are some of the most amazing and largely excavated caves I have ever seen. Tip: Take the long tour of 3km cos the Grotta Bianca at the far end is beautiful.

Overall, I would recommend this place if you're looking for somewhere homey and relaxing in the countryside to stay. Puglia is a great part of Italy :-)

Worth noting: you will really need a car to get to this property. Although the hosts don't mind taking you around a bit, it would make it easier and more liberating to have a car.