Three days in one of the best villas in Puglia

I recently spent a long weekend in Puglia, Italy, which was truly lovely. Although I’ve visited some of Italy’s main cities, it was my first time to the region of Puglia, and the first time I had spent any time in the Italian countryside.

Having now been, I can only wonder why it’s taken me so long to choose southern Italy for a family holiday!

I was invited to Italy courtesy of Bookings For You and their partner agent in Puglia, Raro Villas. Our home for the trip was one of the best villas in Puglia, Corte dei Messapi.

Disclosure: I was hosted by Bookings for You and Raro Villas for the purpose of this review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy 

[author] [author_info]This post on Puglia with kids shares some of the best things to do in the region for families. If you’re travelling elsewhere in Italy then make sure to read this post on discovering Rome with kids like a local and a fun private tour of Rome for families. This post details a brilliant treasure hunt tour of Venice and this one, a walking and drawing family-friendly tour of Florence.[/author_info] [/author]

Holiday villas in Puglia

Jo from Bookings For You is wonderfully passionate about Italy and it was this love for la dolce vita that inspired her to set up Bookings for You in 2011. The site launched with just five properties on their website and has since grown to have more than 350 properties in 8 regions of Italy, including Puglia positioned in the heel of Italy.

I visited with friend Nell and the talented photographer Penny Wincer. But this wasn’t any ordinary girls trip, we each brought our daughters with us making for a brilliant mother daughter Italian adventure.

Corte dei Messapi

Our home from home for the long weekend was Corte dei Messapi, a luxury family-friendly villa in Puglia positioned on the outskirts of the ‘White City’ of Ostuni.

It opened in June 2017 but was constructed in the traditional style of the region; all buttery sandstone, smooth arches and balconies with stunning views.

The property is comprised of a large seven-bedroom villa, a three-bedroom villa, a one-bedroom villa and a one-bedroom trullo (trulli houses are traditional stone buildings with conical roofs). The seven-bedroom and three bedroom villas are villas with pools.

The property is usually rented out in its entirety, but it’s also possible to hire elements of the villa; for example, the three-bed villa and the one-bedroom villa together, or the main villa and the trullo.

We were hosted in the three-bedroom villa, which suited our gang of six. There are two double bedrooms upstairs, both with ensuite bathrooms and separated by a open-plan kitchen and dining area in the middle. There’s a further double bedroom downstairs with ensuite bathroom, accessed via external steps, where my daughter Tess and I stayed.

The décor is very simple, decked out in neutral colours to match the sandstone of the villa itself with some quirky rope and wood ‘pieces’ decorating the house.

Our villa had its own private pool which, although still a little chilly for swimming was beautiful and I can imagine that families would spend most of their time here in warmer months (we visited in March).

There’s an outdoor dining table overlooking the pool, which makes the perfect place to enjoy breakfast. The villa is well equipped with all the pots, pans, plates and glasses you may need. There’s also a barbecue, microwave and a large fridge.

The Main Villa

The main house was occupied when we visited so we didn’t get to peek into the bedrooms but we did drop by for a fabulous cooking demonstration one night where we learned to make panzarotto.

We also visited to make use of their heated rooftop Jacuzzi!

The main villa also boasts its own private swimming pool, in addition to the Jacuzzi, and plenty of space to accommodate a large group or several families. The neutral décor runs throughout all the properties at Corte dei Messapi.

The Trullo

The one-bedroom traditional trullo was my favourite property on the villa complex, just because it’s so wonderfully unique.

One-bedroom villa

Again, this was occupied during our stay but I was told that it was very similar in style to our three-bedroom villa. This home doesn’t have its own pool.

Raro Villas

This luxury villa is managed by Raro Villas, the partner company of Bookings For You in this region.

Raro Villas source the local properties, dealing directly with the villa owners and the clients that come via Bookings For You. During our stay, we were looked after by the very charming Luigi Fusco, who gave us a wonderful introduction to the area with a tour of the local masseria (farms).

With Luigi and his team we learnt how mozzarella was made at Masseria Lamapecora and the difference between ‘good’ olive oil and ‘bad’ olive oil at Masseria Macarone. Turns out I have consistently been buying the bad olive oil at home! We also took a tour of the stunning five-star Torre Coccaro, where apparently Madonna once spent her summer holiday.

Yep, even international pop stars hire holiday homes in Puglia!

Services & Amenities

Although we were largely self-sufficient during our stay, Raro Villas can organise literally any kind of service you need (including hiring Instagram-perfect vintage Fiats to drive around town!). From airport transfer services and in-house chefs to daily cleaning services, organised excursions, massages and more.

[author] [author_info]For more information on this villa including rates, take a look at the Bookings For You website [/author_info] [/author]

Getting to Corte dei Messapi

Corte dei Messapi is located on the outskirts of the Ostuni, the ‘White City’. The closest airport is Brindisi although owing to flight schedules, we flew into Bari, which is approximately 1hr 15min drive away.