A wonderful week in Salento.
I can highly recommend this Masseria. The accommodation, although simple, is comfortable and clean. Claudia and her parents are very welcoming and friendly and are on hand to offer assistance to cover any issues. They also have a live-in assistant who can be hired to help out with chores. We hired him for 03-04 hours per day to help with clearing up, breakfast and a bit of shopping. This made our stay that much easier and therefore more enjoyable.
The villa itself sits in beautifully manicured gardens and our family spend much of it's time using the delightful 20 meter pool, with sunbeds and the comfortable shaded seating area.
Group breakfast and dinners were had outside the main kitchen and then late evenings chatting in the easy chairs provided by the main house.
The tennis court, football field and table tennis kept the children (and parents) occupied whilst not using the pool.
The various villas around the estate allowed family groups to sleep together and have some privacy as and when they wanted. This worked really well for us as a group.
The wifi was strongest by the main kitchen and the speed was acceptable. Around the rest of the estate the wifi was general not obtainable in our experience.
Anti bug spray etc. is recommended as the family did suffer from insect bites. Also beach towels for the lovely local beaches and the pool.
The local Porto Salvaggio beach is approximately 25 mins walk from from the villa and the track is rough and hilly. Sandals are ok but flipflops will leave you with sore feet. The beach is pebbly and rocky. Some people were mountain biking down to it and there are picnic tables in the forest.
There are local supermarkets (02 - 03 mins drive) and larger ones in nearby Nardo (5-10 min drive). We found the local "Conad" best and it also has a fishmonger, great for the onsite bbq at the Masseria. There are nice little villages nearby with restaurants. Santa Catarina and Santa Maria al Bagno are two that are virtually on the doorstep. Gallipoli and the Rivabella/Aqua Waterpark are also easily within an easy drive.
The villa is a little hard to find at first but google maps is wonderful in this respect. When you are more familiar with the area the motorway is in reality only a few minutes away.
We were a group of family and friends of 23 persons in total. Couples, families and one grandmother of 75 years.