VILLA WITH PRIVATE POOL, IN CASALABATE, PUGLIA, NEXT TO THE ADRIATIC

We are a family of five and we really enjoyed our stay at Villa Rosa. From the first email every communication with Debbie and Bob was informative, friendly and professional. The instructions they provided to the villa were clear and straighforward. Upon arrival we were surprised by the generousity of the welcome basket which meant that we were well provided for our first night. The villa itself is well stocked and the pool is magnificent! We found that both the guide book and the guest book in the villa were rich sources of detail about local beaches, restaurants and surrounding towns and villages and we found that this really informed our visit to Puglia. This is a top notch holiday home and Puglia is a fascinating region that should be visited before it becomes any more developed.

We are a family of four and had a great, first visit to Puglia. The Villa Rosa was a good anchor for our many travels around the area. The owners, Debbie and Bob, could not have been more helpful - both before and during our stay. All descriptions online of the villa are accurate, and it's very nice to have the beach towels, dvds, games, and very extensive quide books provided with the house. We cooked a lot with local produce and fish. The kitchen is well stocked. The welcome basket is wonderful, full of fresh food and fun treats. The villa is quiet at night for sleeping and very sunny in the day for the pool.
We loved the fun-filled Sun Beach in town, full of Italian families and walked the promenade very night eating gelato. Day trips to Lecce and Oria were beautiful with delicious lunches. Do the drive from Otranto to Leuca, spectacular. With very little Italian, we managed well everywhere. The people here are much friendlier than in some other more crowded areas of Northern Italy. Need a car. Thank you Debbie and Bob!

If you have ever thought about visiting Puglia then my advice is to book this villa now. All the financial arrangements beforehand were handled in a polite and professional manner and any questions we had were immediately answered. Instructions on how to get there were clear and easy to follow and the villa is a short and straightforward drive from Brindisi airport. The villa itself is fantastic: clean, cosy and comfortable. As other reviewers have mentioned it is superbly well-equipped – the only thing we added to the kitchen was an extra large lemon squeezer to tackle the huge fresh lemons growing in the back garden! Bob and Debbie (the owners) were so kind and helpful. They gave us our privacy but we always knew they were there to offer help and advice – I think this level of service would make this a particularly good villa to rent if you were a first- timer to the region, or even to Italy. Casalabate itself is small seaside resort but we there is a good restaurant and shops 5 minutes walk from the villa and many more a short drive away. We were amazed at how reasonable prices were and we also enjoyed using the wonderful, cheap local produce to cook our own meals. Puglia itself is amazing. The Salento region is not glamorous or upmarket but it has beauty and enormous charm. We needed our Italian phrasebook as few people speak English but the locals were always friendly and helpful. We alternated between relaxing and enjoying the fantastic pool or nearby beaches and visiting towns in the area. In particular we fell in love with Lecce which is a must see. I cannot believe this area is not full of tourists from all over the world, I have a feeling in the future it will be! So do yourself a favour and go there now whilst you can still have the feeling of discovering a new and wonderful part of Italy.