EscapeToItaly: Holiday Property in Puglia

"... Pity we went to your place first, it has completely spoiled me for whatever else is to come on our middle aged stroll through the Italian countryside.

Your apartment was totally stunning... loved everything about it, the reno is amazing and the position is great, so close to the bars and places to eat. I loved the echoes of late night revellers heading home, and became good friends with Andrea, who owns the Eden Bar.

Annie also has written a diary note to self... back in Galatina in two years time. I loved the fact we hired a car and could get out to the coast every day, heading home to your incredible place every evening to get sozzled. Our daughter came over for a week and loved it too... we drove across Italy with her after leaving Galatina... she has gone home to storm-lashed Britain, while we are sitting on the beach drinking wine and contemplating another swim.

We also bought two Puglia cookbooks... one of which is for Chateau Galatina.

Best wishes to you and your families, and thanks again."

A review on Fodor's online holiday forum.

"I have to thank Kodi for telling me about this great apt in Galatina. We used this as a home base to explore the Salento and loved our apt and the charming town of Galatina. Galatina is about 20-30 minutes south of Lecce and about 30 minutes to either coast. It made a perfect spot from which to day trip and explore the area. We had easy parking near our apt and getting into and out of town was easy peasy.

BTW owners are fabulously helpful and easy to deal with - they are in England."

"Your apartment was very fine.

Galatina is an interesting place and we enjoyed the days there (wedding in San Catarina Church, signore Stefanelli and his store, also).

Apartment is large, clean and is very well equipped. It was very hot (30-35 deg C) and air conditioning was very useful. Apartment is quiet, but well situated in the centre. There was always a place for the car. Beds are comfortable and the kitchen is very well equipped. Cristiano was very friendly and helpful.

You see: we were very satisfied and we haven't any proposals for improvement. Thank you also for your maps and other useful information."

"It's a beautiful place! You've done such a great job of modernizing for convenience while respecting the sense of place and its history ... we love it. Secondly, Cristiano is a great guy and gave us a great intro to the place. We tapped his knowledge of the town and general vicinity (restaurants ;-) and he was right on with the choice of "emergency food pack".

Awesome bed by the way - great sleep.

Galatina, and the apt, are truly welcoming and charming. Sadly, just when we were getting to know the locals, it's time to head home.

We truly loved the place and Galatina ... an unexpected Italian treasure.

Highlights:

The beautiful apartment and tasteful renovations which provide a nice balance of modern convenience with respect for history and surrounding,

The town's friendly ways, great food and lack of tourist fatigue,

Many drivable areas of interest (Lecce, the caves at Castellan and the Trulli dwellings in Alberobello etc),

Eros Bar's amazing Gelato,

Great food and restaurants within walking distance,

Cristiano and Jim/Paul are extremely responsive."

"We had the most relaxing holiday ever!!! The apartment is really lovely and is in a great position in town. Loved the sun terraces. Galatina is really pretty and everyone was so friendly. Good shops too! But it was just the relaxed lifestyle we loved so much. The family orientated culture there is just so different and refreshing.

I can only agree with what all of your other guests have written in the guest book. Restaurants and food fantastic! People were so lovely - complete strangers just wish you "good morning" as you walk along! Beaches and coast so beautiful and so easy to drive to. Driving is so much easier in the south! The main towns such as Alberobello, Ostuni, Otranto, Monopoli, Gallipoli are all so stunning but equally so are some of the the smaller towns and we spent 1 day just driving down one side of the coast then round the bottom of the "heel" and up the other side, stopping at smaller towns as we went along.

We have never been so unhappy at having to return home. We have visited Italy about 12 times now and been to different areas but there is something about the south - it has just got such a relaxed atmosphere as well as lots of beautiful architecture. We have always just stayed in hotels when visiting Italy previously but staying in your apartment was the best decision we made as it was so lovely to pretend it was our own home and we were living le dolce vita!! (Just for a short while).

It was just the best holiday ever!!!! And I wish I was back there!!!! You are so lucky."

"We had a great time despite the weather not being kind to us. Cristiano arrived with the key in an absolute deluge. We explored everywhere in the area and returned each evening to your lovely house and Galatina which we really liked.

The house was great, no complaints at all (Mike said a lift would be a good idea )!!! ... The bed was to die for, we slept like logs and couldn't get out in the mornings. It was so comfortable. We used the roof terrace a couple of times but the wind was cold so we preferred to eat in the kitchen on the couple of days we ate in.

We enjoyed your house very much. Thank you for letting us stay there"

"... [Our time in Galatina] ... was really wonderful. We had never stayed in an apartment which such an atmosphere and ambiente. We loved to have breakfast in the kitchen with the view on the terrace, in the late afternoon and the evening to sit outside enjoying the view and I liked the smell of the citron blossoms. The practical equipment for cooking is perfect, also the quantity of glasses and table-ware (Often in such holiday-apartments there are only few of them, so that you have to wash up after each meal). The only thing we had to learn was to remember ourselves where is the map or the camera - in the kitchen or in the living-room. If we forgot it, we had to take the steps.

We had no problems with parking the car. We enjoyed the short walks - in the morning to the supermarket to buy fresh bread - in the evening to the Piazza to look what's going on there. Based on Cristian's recommendation we have been in the little restaurant La Tana del Lupo. It was amusing (besides a good meal) as the owner speaks a perfect German and we remembered a lot of the 70's and 80's years (songs, entertainer, etc. of that time).

We made tours to Otranto, Leuco, Gallipoli, Nardo and naturally to Lecce. For that the informations we found in the apartment were very helpful.

But we also were interested in seeing the photos of the development of the restoration of the Palazzo. The architect and the interior decorator did a very good job.

Therefore we say thank you that we had the possibility to stay in your apartment. Good wishes and kind regards."

"I wanted to let you know we had the most wonderful time in Galatina. There were four of us there for the first week and then just John and I for the remainder of the time. We were extremely comfortable at all times.

We fell in love with the apartment and the whole area of Puglia, especially the Salentine Peninsular, which we thoroughly explored. The weather wasn't always great but we had enough sunny and bright days to see it at it's best.

We read the visitors book from cover to cover and found a lot of useful information. We didn't contribute to the book as there was nothing new to add except to endorse "Tana del Lupo" was a wonderful experience and I loved the markets.

All in all we had the most wonderful time in Galatina and we will never forget it. The apartment itself was more than we expected and added greatly to our experience."

"We had a really very good stay in your apartment and Puglia. As far as your apartment is concerned we found everything exactly as described, stairs included!

Concerning the restaurants we were really happy discovering Tana del Lupo and 5Sensi, both so different and excellent, with delicious antipasti! By the way your visitors book is quite useful!

We visited the principal towns of the area: Lecce, Gallipoli, Otranto, Sta Maria and loved the historical centers ... Galatina was the perfect place to visit all the Salento area.

All together we had a lovely stay in your place and are 100% satisfied. Thank you very much for your perfect organization and all the help you gave us through your emails and Cristiano in Galatina. We certainly will recommend your place to our family and friends."

"We really really loved our temporary home in Galatina. You did a great job with this charming apartment.

We found Galatina and its surroundings wonderful, especially Lecce, Gallipoli and the coast (although we found lots of people everywhere - August!!!).

The apartment fit like a glove - I felt instantly at home and the day before we left I was sure I'd move into the apartment and take on a job in a shoe shop or a gelateria in Galatina. Unfortunately the husband dragged me into the plane and back into real bavarian life....

Thanks a lot for providing this home away from home... I hope I will be back some day (be it as a shoegirl or again as tourist...)."

"We are gradually adjusting to being back in London - although we still miss the food, the weather, the beautiful town, the wine...etc etc! I am not just saying this but I can't think of any way you could improve the property, it really was gorgeous. Oh yes, and it shouldn't really be referred to as an "apartment". For the space you get it felt like a house to us!

We loved exploring Galatina and ate out at lots of different restaurants. I loved Tana del Lupo, what an experience! Every night there was something going on in the main square and we enjoyed amongst others: a ballroom dancing display, a traditional band, an eighties tribute band (!!), traditional dancing, and a wine festival.

We also discovered the beauties of Gallipoli this year, we definitely want to return to explore the Salento region some more.

Many thanks for all your friendly and helpful emails."

"I just wanted to let you know we had a fantastic holiday. It was just what we both needed. The apartment provided us with a lovely space in which to chill and unwind.

As promised the weather was fantastic. Glorious sunshine the whole time we were away. And now we are back to the expected daily rain!!

Many thanks for the opportunity to explore a great part of Italy. Both coastlines provided a varied experience of this beautiful area.

... Cristiano was brill and did everything he could to help us, including returning to Galatina on the night we locked ourselves out!!

We now have our photographs to share our already fond memories of this holiday with friends and family."

"We just wanted to drop you a note letting you know we had a fabulous time in Galatina. The festival was amazing: the elaborate street lighting, the music, the dancing and most of all the friendliness of the towns residents. The towns restaurant scene is great, we ate in town 5 of the nights, trying a different one every evening.

Your apartment is exactly as you described it - very comfortable, nicely decorated, well equipped and in a perfect location for discovering all of Puglia including both beautiful coasts. You guys have thought of everything, even an umbrella near the front door, which we grabbed one evening when it looked like it would rain! We could not have asked for better accommodations.

Many thanks for helping make our holiday one to remember for ages!"

"We really enjoyed staying at your apartment. Location is key here, the town at night (OK for a drink). Central to all of Salento, maximum 1 hours drive ... this suited us perfectly.

We found the apartment very well equipped especially as we cooked there most evenings, and excellent value for money.

Really enjoyed our stay there and would certainly return if we visited Puglia again.

Hope you don't mind we have put some videos on YouTube.

[see "A weekend in Galatina" on www.youtube.com]

"We had a really lovely relaxing holiday in Galatina. The apartment was everything we'd hoped for and it was so nice to have such a comfortable home away from home for a week. The roof terraces are definitely the selling point - we spent many a lazy afternoon having al fresco lunches in the kitchen and on the terrace, sipping on bottle after bottle of delicious local wine and prosecco (at the price, what is not to like?!)...

The area is also incredibly un-touristy ... While I think it is great that the area is unspoilt by tourism, I would have liked to experience more of what they have to offer, because there clearly is so much to offer! I guess coming from the wine region of South Africa, we are used to wine farms that are very much geared towards tourists.

We did make it down both coasts, but in the end it was by car, not by bike. Unfortunately we did not have great weather on the day we drove down the Ionian coast to Santa Maria de Leuca, but we had glorious sunshine on the day we went to Gallipoli and we had a fabulous seafood lunch in the old town, overlooking the water.

We certainly came back a few kilograms heavier (both ourselves and our luggage!) and really enjoyed making the most of the amazing local produce. I think the best meals we had were the ones at home on the roof terrace. The Thursday market was a treat - we were a bit concerned when we started walking past all the clothing stalls but eventually we got to the food area and we couldn't stop shopping! It's just a pity the market was not on the Saturday so we could have more time to eat all the good food!

We loved Stifanelli's deli around the corner from the apartment. We popped in there on the first day and bought lots of delicious goodies. Luckily for us the owner's son, Matteo, had just returned home from studying in Rome and he was able to assist us as he speaks English. Him and his father Selvatore were incredibly friendly and helpful...

... Thanks again for a great apartment. We were very impressed with the organisation and effort you all put into it."

"We have indeed had a great holiday. Interesting to read the visitors book and to see what different opinions people had. We enjoyed Raja and the very comfortable and somewhat classy furnishings, not mentioned in the book, who had a limited veggie range but were wonderfully helpful as were the 3 graces. Zona Franco was also friendly with good pizzas and a great range of international beer.

Loved Lecce and our favourite seaside, S. Maria al Bagno.

The supermarket Pennywise, out of the apartment and straight over the lights, was very good for things you did not want to carry far.

Toured pretty much everywhere from the Trullies, grotto's and down to Leuca. Enjoyed everything especially not being around tourists.

Apartment was well equipped and a great base. No problem with anything and loved the terrace.

Will suggest it to our friends."

"We had a great stay in Galatina and found the apartment an excellent base for visiting the area. We thought it was very comfortable and well equipped. The bed was really comfortable and there was plenty of storage space. The kitchen had everything we needed ...

... We particularly enjoyed using the projector in the evenings; our own private cinema! Cinema Paradiso was especially good seen this way.

Altogether we really enjoyed our stay, so thanks for all the information you gave us, it was all very helpful. Christiano was also most helpful in showing us where everything was when we arrived."

"We had an absolutely fantastic holiday in Galatina and "the heel" of Italy. It is one of the best locations and apartments we have ever stayed in - and we have stayed in a lot!

I have written in the guest book and added our thoughts to everyone else's comments. We had some truly beautiful weather (clear, sunny days) and thus enjoyed fantastic seafood lunches down in Gallipoli and elsewhere on the coast - this was the highlight for us....

... a truly wonderful and memorable stay."

"Just want to say what a fantastic time we had. Despite the horrendous travelling conditions on the way (3 day delay due to snow then on the tuesday we finally did travel it was a 9 hour train journey to London) finally got to the apartment and we were so glad to be there!

That apartment is gorgeous - love the whole traditional feeling of the place, the beautiful ceilings, roof terraces, just lovely and so very comfortable. Christiano was very helpful and bought in a good food package for us. He was on hand any time of day that we needed him (unfortunately we did lose all lighting one evening and he was there on the spot to sort it out).

Galatina was lovely and the Christmas decs in the town beautiful. We visited all the little local shops and found everybody to be really helpful and they were all so proud of their local produce. It does help alot that ricardo speaks reaonsable conversational Italian! The salumeria (cant remember the name but the really fancy one with the 6ft provolone in the shop) was a fantastic find - beautiful cheese and cured meats. The owner was very keen for us to have samples of everything to try before we bought which was nice.

We visited alot of the surrounding area, the coast line around San Foca/Otranto, just beautiful. Took a trip down to Gallipoli and also found a buffalo farm on the edge of Calimera and bought the best tasting mozzerella I've ever had!

I could go on and on - think you get the impression tho that we had a fantastic time.

Happy New Year to you both (or should i just say Auguri!)"

"Galatina, and the villa, and Puglia, were great. As I couldn't find a company around Napoli willing to hire me a Vespa and allow me to ride it to Puglia (I tried 4 separate companies) we ended up hiring a Fiat 500 instead which was heaps of fun. Perhaps this was for the best, given there was some rain during our time in Puglia!

This is our 4th villa hire, and the level of fitout, fittings and quality of fittings of your villa was very much appreciated. We like to cook and having decent knives, proper wine glasses, colander and all those little things helped a lot.

Loved the short espressos everywhere we had them, enjoyed Eros pastries, went to Cantina Valle del Asso who were kind enough to open their 2 best wines and allow us to taste them. And, after buying 3 bottles, when I told the guy there we were on honeymoon, he gave us the freshly opened bottle to take home to have with dinner!

FYI, our best meal of our 3 weeks in Puglia was at the farmhouse restaurant of Masseria Barbera in Minervino Murge, a tad out of your way. We booked for Sunday lunch, of course this ensured it would be busy, and there must have been 300 Italians there. Because of this and it's Sunday, it's a set lunch for E35 each, which includes bottled house wine, a 10 course antipasto, 2 courses of pasta, big serve of carne alle bracia, dolce, frutta, caffe and grappa, and takes about 4 hours (like others, we had a walk in the garden in between courses).

Anyways, fantastic place you guys have created there; I have no idea where (villa wise) we would have stayed in Puglia as everything else we looked at was significantly below the standard of your place.

Must run, thanks again for a lovely rental"

"We both really liked Galatina and your apartment in particular! We picked up some contact details of a few property agents in the area before we left, so we think that we will explore the possibility of finding a property to buy in Galatina! We don't suppose for a minute that we are the first (or last) to say this, but if you decide to sell the apartment, please give us first refusal!!!

With regards to the apartment, everything was perfect with all you need in place. We felt that the layout is fantastic with the kitchen on the top floor and easy access out onto the lower terrace for eating al fresco. (Which we couldn't do because of the weather!!). It really felt like a home rather than a holiday apartment and we loved being there. We have been to Puglia three times before and love Italy and Puglia in particular. To stay in such a lovely house was fantastic, as we have always stayed in hotels on our previous visits.

We also enjoyed a hot Sunday afternoon at the coast, taking in a few of the villages along the way and we really liked Porto Cesareo with it's bustling fish markets.

All in all we had a great holiday and you guys have done an excellent job in respect of everything to do with the apartment. We certainly hope to go back again soon! We very much hope to keep in touch and when we are looking to visit the area again, we know where we will be looking to stay!"

"Well we're back from sunny/rainy Italy. The weather on Saturday and Sunday was gorgeous and we actually did some paddling in the sea :-) Monday was a bit of a let down as it rained all day, but we did do some sight seeing within the confines of the car. I think we managed to see the whole of the heel of the boot of Italy along the coastline. We had a fab time and really didn't want to come back to work.

The food was excellent, as the scales told me so on my return. We loved the Lupo restaurant and all the different courses to eat, oh and the wine was never ending. Plus I had a 3 litre bottle of vodka plonked on my table to help myself! As you can imagine we staggered out very full and very tipsy!!

The apartment is lovely, but must admit I think my leg muscles are a lot stronger now after all those stairs. Roof terrace was fab, we had breakfast and drinks outside on both Saturday and Sunday.

Just like to thank you for letting us stay at your lovely apartment and may be one day we may return in the summer months."

"We had a wonderful time, thank you. The flat is absolutely lovely - couldn't be nicer. We loved Galatina and enjoyed all the restaurants. Luckily, the Wolf's Lair was shut for the holidays, else we'd be the size of houses. The owner of Tre Grazie was very helpful when my mobile didn't work, letting me use his phone to get in touch with Cristiano [our Property Manager].

We'll certainly recommend you to our friends, and may come back some day.

Thank you VERY much."

"Just got back into the UK yesterday, after one of our best holidays for many years, so we're feeling a bit flat at the moment! We loved Puglia and Galatina in particular. It was refreshing to visit somewhere so genuinely unspoilt - I think we heard English voices twice in our week in Salento.

We had two great nights in Tana Del Lupo - i told Francesco that the visitor's book in the apartment is full of glowing reports. Several evenings, we didn't need to eat in a restaurant, as we were so well supplied with "aperitivi caldi" in the bars!

The apartment was ideal and wonderfully fitted out. The roof terraces were a great place to relax after a day of sightseeing and the weather was so good that we spent a couple of sunny afternoons up there.

We can't think of anything that could have improved our stay. There was everything we needed in the apartment; we never really used the lounge, as the weather was so good, we spent most time on the roof.

We are seriously contemplating buying something of our own out there, partly as a rental business as you have done, but partly so we can spend more time there. Whatever we do, we have learnt a lot from your professionalism and obvious enthusiasm for your property and the area. Are you thinking of selling??!

We spent one night in Lecce and, if any of your guests are interested, we can thoroughly recommend L'Orangerie D'Epoque; a fantastic B&B in the centre, but set in a beautiful quiet garden, full of orange trees, at 90 Euros a night for two. More expensive, but also recommended, was the Ostuni Palace hotel, in Ostuni - what a fantastic place!

Thanks for helping make our holiday so memorable, for all the right reasons!"

"We had an absolutely fantastic time! The weather was superb and the apartment was fabulous! After only a day or 2 the apartment felt like home, so it was a wrench to tear ourselves away yesterday! Can't really think of any way you could improve the apartment, we found it had everything we could wish for, and more! Also, in a great location for seeing the area, spending time at the beach and with excellent restaurants within walking distance.

We found the locals extremely friendly and welcoming, they must have been laughing at our pigeon Italian, but we think the fact we made an effort to speak the language almost endeared us to them a little (especially the guy in the Polleria round the corner who was giving us free tasters of his range of salamis!).

The kitchen facilities were great, we stayed in and cooked lovely local food on a few nights, and loved the terraces during the days and at night with a glass of prosecco or 2.

All in all it was a perfect holiday for us, after holidaying in various parts of Italy over recent years we really think we've found one of our favourite regions! We wish to express our great thanks for making it a 2 weeks to remember, we would definitely love to come back!

Best wishes and thanks so much again!"

"We've had a great time in Galatina! We love it to be in the middle of the Italian life, not one made for tourists. And this we've found at your apartment and its surroundings. To have breakfast on the terrace with absolute blue sky, the noise of a Vespa or a ringing bell was absolutely amazing. Everything was like in your discription and we enjoyed it very much.

Galatina is the best place to start from to all coastlines and cities. This part of Italy is one of the nicest we have seen before. Only the flight was not so ideal for us from Northern Germany - we had first to fly from Hamburg to Cologne and later from Cologne to Brindisi. But the 2 weeks in Puglia were worth of it.

I hope so much one day to come back to Galatina, your apartment, to "Tana di Lupo" and "Eros"-Ice."

"I have to say we had a fantastic time and loved the apartment. We spent quite a few hours on the roof terrace reading and watching the world go by, and were astonished that whilst we were sunbathing the locals still had their winter woollies on! In the evenings if we didn't go out we watched DVDs - all those ones you get in newspapers and never have time to watch at home.

The weather was very kind to us and I swam in both seas, albeit quite briefly! We loved the area, and the town of Galatina. The people were friendly, to the extent that the Tana del Lupo proprietors bipped their car horn and waved at us on passing.

We didn't go to Galatone to the celebrations on the Monday as we were very tired that evening but I was pleased to watch the firework display from the upper terrace - we were woken up by the explosions at midnight... a bit different from staid England.

Just a couple of suggestions and comments. It may be a good idea to warn visitors arriving on the Sunday flight that there may be a long wait for food in the evening as most places don't start serving until 7.30-8. We also feel a lot fitter from walking up the steep stairs regularly! Well we had to, to counteract the effects of enjoying the Salento wine.

Thanks very much again"

"We have nothing but praise for the way we were looked after by Cristiano on arrival but especially by Paul who was a great help and comfort especially on the last days ... [unfortunately David & Bernadette were effected by the ash cloud].

As for Galatina, we got what we were looking for; a delightful town in which we were able to live like citizens of the place, making friends with local tradesmen and enjoying their produce. My wife's fluency in Italian was a great advantage in that respect. She particularly wants to thank you for the excellent kitchen facilities. The train service to Lecce and Gallipoli was very convenient for the little tourism we went in for...

Thank you very much for all your help; we shall certainly recommend the place to friends and a return visit is certainly to be envisaged."

"We loved the flat. Our time in Galatina rescued our Christmas; we had longer days, warm weather, fresh, locally-grown food and wine.

The weather was excellent -- it was warm for a while every day and even a bit hot on the last day. We made little day trips to Gallipoli where we bought a fresh fish for dinner. We went to Otranto one day, and Nardo another day along with Santa Maria del Bagno on the coast for lunch. All amazing little places. Galatina was the perfect little Italian town. We just walked around a different bit of it, trying to get lost, every day.

The flat is gorgeous: quiet, small but spacious, surprising. We used the kitchen and terraces every day and evening. Ate fresh oranges, greens and pasta. Drank nice local wine and prosecco. Cristiano [who did the meet and greet while Paul returned to the UK for Christmas] was nice, efficient, dependable.

I don't have a bad word to say. I'd be really curious to see what it's all like in the spring/summer/autumn. There were no problems with the flat. We knew it was going to be cool at night, and it was. The space heather was useful every once in a while to warm things up, but we slept throughout the night with no heat no problem.

Thank you very much for making it all so easy to arrange and navigate."

"We thoroughly enjoyed our stay despite the variable weather. The apartment was very comfortable, well equipped and the perfect location for us. It was also nice to meet Paul who was particularly friendly and helpful.

Galatina is an interesting and historic town that we had great fun exploring, including sampling the local specialty cake (probably too often) and eating at the many restaurants and bars. We found the locals friendly and helpful and also very patient when trying to understand what we were saying.

A great holiday and we look forward to a return visit when the better weather comes."

"We were delighted with the apartment. Everything was there that we needed as well as the lovely environment to live in. Thank you very much for that and also the extra advice and help we got whenever we needed it, both before the holiday, and while we were there from Paul.

If we go back to the area in the future we would have no hesitation in using the apartment again. So we may well be in touch again sometime in the future."

"My sister and I adored Galatina. Exploring the town center provided us with many hours of amusement -- drinking coffee and eating rustici, visiting with shopkeepers, getting lost and finding ourselves again (and again), trying to sort out the customary closing hours, using our meagre Italian phrases and so on.

We were astonished at the range of shops in such a small town and basically shopped ourselves silly. We had a wonderful time!

We used the local train to take day trips to Lecce and Otranto and that worked just fine for us. I know there's lots and lots of exploring to be done in the region (and we'd love to be able to do that in beach weather someday), but we totally enjoyed our car-less visit.

The apartment was everything we expected -- your web site does an excellent job of presenting it and it is really lovely. The bed was comfy, bedding plentiful, the place wonderfully roomy! We cooked a couple suppers and really appreciated being able to make tea, do our laundry and spread out. We also appreciated the basics on hand in the kitchen -- cooking oil, tea, etc.

We would both love to return someday and to bring our husbands and families."

"We introduced ourselves to the Wolf Restaurant [Tana del Lupo], which was amazing, but so was the one next door (forgive me, I can't remember the name!). And the tarantula restaurant ... Oh and the bars on the square, the coffee shop round the corner ... And the hairdressers! lol!

We went over to Torre dell'Orso, but found we preferred Baia Verde near Gallipoli! Very boring, but we enjoyed the sunshine here for 3 days!!

We had a bit of rainy weather, so made our way through the David Attenborough DVD's, which were welcome :-)

All in all, a great holiday, and one I will recommend!"

"We had a wonderful time travelling around Puglia. Galatina was special because we enjoyed your apartment so much. The apartment had everything that we needed that made our stay totally enjoyable. Roy and I especially loved cooking great food in your well equipped kitchen and sitting outside on the terrace in the evenings eating and drinking the local wine. I really cannot recommend any way to improve the apartment, it was perfect for us.

Thank you for your help when we arrived. You gave us just the right amount of assistance and attention; we appreciated your recommendations for places to visit and eat. We tried some of them but I think our favourite place to visit was the botanical garden (can't remember the place name but I wrote it in the visitors book in the apartment).

We will visit Puglia again and would definitely wish to return to your apartment."

"We had a great time in Galatina. In terms of the apartment, it was furnished to a very high standard, much more than we might normally expect. We also loved the location and other features of the property, in particular the roof terraces.

I know that you won't always be able to meet and greet as Paul did for us, but this also reduced the stress of arriving and leaving greatly, and where that's not possible, just having an English speaking voice at the end of a phone is something I'm sure other guests will appreciate in case of problems.

We really hope to visit again in the future. Thanks again to both of you for all your help before and during our holiday."

"We really enjoyed the apartment, and loved the small town feel of Galatina. Even in the 30 degree heat outside, we were able to get the bedroom cool with the air-conditioning, and the shutters on the bedroom window functioned as black-out blinds, allowing us to sleep blissfully.

Having the ability to prepare food was really useful, especially during the siesta period when most places closed. The roof terrace was amazing: we were sat out one night after a great evening in Lecce and saw shooting stars.

Galatina itself was perfect for us - no crowds of English tourists, no 'tourist menus' at restaurants; just genuine regional food and the ability to walk peacefully around the town amongst the locals.

Thank you for all your assistance - we did hire a car in the end, and visisted Torre del'Orso (peak season crowds...) and Lecce: the rest of the time we were happy to relax and enjoy Galatina and the apartment."

"We found the apartment fantastic - extremely comfortable and ideally situated, both for the town, and for visiting various other parts of the peninsular. Having looked a couple of times at the TV programme, we're sure that you made a very wise choice.

When we left Galatina, we moved north to Martin Franca for a week. Our two weeks in Puglia were very relaxing and enjoyable, and certainly a welcome break from the rigours of London life."

"We had a super time and the apartment was great. The bed was comfortable, great to have the
two bathrooms, we enjoyed using the terrace off the kitchen and spent lots of time reading
on the comfy couches.

We had a car and think that it gave us a lot of leeway to explore. We enjoyed buying the local food and cooking in the apartment every evening after our days' adventurer so for us the cooking utensils were a must.

We had a truly lovely week. Paul was extremely welcoming and of help through out the week, which made being in such a foreign environment much easier. And the apartment was really beautiful, comfortable and stylish ..... you guys did a really great job of making it welcoming.

I would definitely suggest others visit and stay in your place ..."

"We had a superb holiday, I absolutely loved it! The apartment was perfect - even better than I thought it would be from the pics - plus had all the amenties you could want.

Great food, wine and beaches! Paul was really helpful too. Oh, I want to go back!

Thanks so much for helping make our holiday relaxing and enjoyable. I will definitely reccommend to family and friends!"

"We had an excellent time in Galatina, this was due to yourself and Paul's help. Your detailed information and assistance made sure we were off to a good start.

We loved the apartment and Puglia itself, sadly there wasn't enough time to do everything we wanted in the time we had.

We would definitely like to stay at the apartment again in the near future as we are currently learning Italian at college."

"We had a great time in Galatina. The apartment was well equipped and comfortable. Paul explained the new projector to us, so we were able to watch the DVDs on offer. We always found somewhere to park and enjoyed the week very much.

The sun terrace off the kitchen is convenient and very private - ideal for eating outside or just sunbathing. The welcome pack you sent us is extremely useful and well thought out - very clear and practical.

Thank you again for all your help and please send on our thanks to Paul for his welcome and advice!"

"We had such a great time in Galatina. The town is lovely, very Italian and not at all touristy. We got by by being able to count to 5 in Italian and being able to smile and shake our heads, or nod as necessary!

The town house was great, and the perfect bolt hole for us. We even managed to get the digital projector working and watched a few of your DVDs! I already miss the roof terrace, and am sat in my study now wishing I could have breakfast out there!

We did lots of exploring, thanks to your guide book. I think the biggest surprise was a beach we found north of Gallipoli, past Porto Cesareo. It was like the Caribbean, bright blue sea, powdery white sand, the sun was shining and we were the only ones on it. Bliss!"

"I enjoyed my stay very much and the website shows and describes the apartment exactly as it is ... Everything was very comfortable, and everything that I needed in the kitchen was provided.

I loved La Tana del Lupo restaurant! Francesco and his wife were very kind, and I very much enjoyed the food. I also loved the various pastries I bought in Galatina, particularly the pasticciotti for breakfast!

Many, many thanks to you and Paul for all your kindness and a wonderful stay. Who knows, I might well return one day."

"We spent a lovely relaxing week in this well-renovated apartment and enjoyed every minute. The old town of Galatina is very historic and we could not have been more central. Despite having a very basic knowledge of Italian we managed to make ourselves understood as the locals do not speak English. Everyone is very friendly though so it didn't matter.

The facilities in the apartment are really good, the kitchen being the place where we spent most of our time as it leads on to the private roof terraces. We made some gorgeous meals after we found the local fish market and good meat counters in the local supermarkets.

If you like historical places, and no Brit tourists this is the place for you!"

"Firstly we would like to thank you for a truly fantastic holiday. The service we received from point of enquiry through to booking the holiday was excellent.

Andi and I had a great holiday and it was exactly the special experience we were hoping for. My advice for future visitors to Puglia would be don't spend time trying to find recommended beaches, just drive down either coastal road and explore to find your own version of paradise, that said Torre Mozza (public beach) was our favourite beach.

My holiday mantra is "there is a big beautiful world to explore so never visit the same place twice" however we both had such a wonderful experience I believe we will return one day. We will be gushing about our holiday to all our friends and family and recommending your apartment.

Once again many thanks for helping to make it such a memorable holiday."

"We had a wonderful time in Galatina and the quality of the apartment was instrumental in our having a great holiday. We were very sorry to leave. The apartment was well stocked with the basics such as towels and kitchen necessities which added to us feeling at home. We really appreciated the attention to detail and how sympathetically the apartment had been renovated.

... Any future holiday tenants may be interested to know there are great fish mongers selling at the indoor market opposite the old theatre.

It was a comforting feeling to know you and Paul were at hand for any queries or concerns. I would be very interested to know if you have any other properties to let within Italy as we were so impressed with your service."

"We had a really great time at your apartment and I've already recommended it to several people. Loved Galatina too and all the suggestions of places to eat. That made a big difference to the holiday. Can't think of anything I'd really change about the apartment as it was perfect for us.

The drive down [from Rome to Galatina] was great. We stayed just outside Rome the first night at Grottaferrata but probably could have got further as the flight was on time. The next night we stayed at Barletta which we really liked although the guidebook didn't. There were tons of places to eat and there was a real party atmosphere so I'd like to go back there. We came down the Appian way for a while so diagonalled across the country. One stop would have been enough and I expect you could do it in one go but it would be a bit tiring.

On the way back we went up past Taranto and then on the motorway up through Basilicata ... Basilcata was very quiet roadwise with mountain scenery. I think it could be done in one go ... probably about 7 hours of driving.

We'd love to come back to your apartment again. I'm quite keen to come in cooler weather to do some walking, although the beaches were so good the summer is attractive too. All in all it was a great holiday!"

"We loved the apartment and can't fault it at all. It's well equipped with everything you could need. The roof terraces were great ...

Galatina was a fantastic base and we can't believe how much of Puglia we managed to see. The town had plenty going on and we really enjoyed seeing Buona Vista Social Club in the main sqaure.

We would recommend the apartment to friends and family and would consider booking again in the future. Hopefully we'll return to Puglia, we really enjoyed it. We found some fantastic beaches, towns and had some fantastic coastal drives ...

Thanks for the experience and hopefully it won't be our last visit."

"... the holiday was good. The apartment good with all round good amenities.

In your details there should be included the fruit and veg shop a 5 min walk left out of the entrance to the main road. Plus straight on if you miss the first supermarket there is a good one further down which has excellent choices of cheeses, meats etc. It's a nice walk (10 mins) and interesting to see the flour mill on the left.

Excellent for getting around the lower part of Italy. Went all round. So a memorable visit. Would (and will) recommend it to others. Good value."

"We had a really enjoyable week in Puglia and found plenty of places to visit, there is a lot to see and a week is probably not long enough ...

The apartment was just as we expected from your website ... The outside patio area with the lovely plants was very pleasant at night after we got back from eating out, and the awning was definitely a good idea as it was very hot. Thank you again for being very helpful and accommodating. We would recommend it to friends."

"We thought Galatina was the nicest and most interesting of all the towns we visited in the area during our holiday. All the narrow winding streets close to the apartment are great to explore and you feel like you're getting an authentic taste of real life in southern Italy. We also loved the roof terrace of course!

Oh, and if you don't speak much Italian but happen to speak German then you'll find more local people speak German than English."

"A wonderfully situated apartment in the old town of Galantina. Perfect for exploring the peninsula.

Take time to go into the centre of the local towns and exlore the narrow cobbled streets. Sant'Isidoro was the top beach to visit (recommended in the information pack) and the drive from Isidoro to Taranto was probably the most scenic although the Adriatic Coast was also very pretty. Sant'Andrea cove was also very picturesque and worth a longer stay."

"We had a great time and enjoyed the apartment, particularly its location which is so central to the town ... The roof terrace is fantastic our only disappointment is the weather which did not allow us to use it. As far as equipment the kitchen has everything and is easy to use...

The local police gave us a tour in their police car after I started to talk to them and tried to find out about internet cafes, agriturismos etc. We had great fun! We felt we discovered Galatina. We thought the apartment was great and ideal for exploring the towns like Gallipoli, Lecce, Otranto etc. I am sure we will return one day and would love to stay in the apartment again."