Booking process was smooth and easy.

On arrival at the agreed time however no one was there to meet us. We had to go into the local town to find the man who looks after the property but had to wait an hour for him to appear - on a very hot day with 2 young children aged 2 and 5.

He was not welcoming in anyway and made us feel as if we were putting him out by being there.

The property itself was unfortunately not as clean as it could have been. Dishwasher filthy, smelly and lots of ants.
Upstairs sink was blocked and backed up.

Worst was the outside area - patio dirty and had cigarette buts/bottle tops. Tables not cleaned.

The garden are by the pool had numerous piles of animal faeces - unfortunately found first by our toddler.....

The owner was friendly and tried to remedy what she could from afar. However our visit was tarnished by trying to clean these things up and get them sorted. We were given a small refund as a gesture of good will.

Plus sides are that it is a good size property with a lovely big pool.

The winning feature of this house is the large pool and the quiet, secluded grounds surrounding it. Good quality wooden sunbeds and lots of towels and lounger covers available. The house itself is fine and is equipped with everything you are likely to need for this kind of holiday. We noted that the kitchen was better stocked than most rentals (sharp knives, plenty of pans & wine glasses) and there is a large wine fridge which came in extremely handy ! We didnt find a juicer but bought one for about £10 from the large Auchan supermarket to make fresh orange juice each day.

bedrooms and bathrooms are functional rather than special but are certainly fit for purpose. The house is very quiet at night so a good sleep can be anticipated. One does feel secure !

house is 20 mins drive from Brindisi airport and very easy to find (we had to meet the man who looks after it in the village - no problems there at all).

the general area is lovely. We did most of our shopping Carovigno ( a lot nicer than San Vito in our opinion) - two wonderful pescherias and lots of great bakeries. For cheese and salami we recommend the Fattorie Grottamiranda - not easy to find but less than 10 mins drive (check it out on Google & trust it).

The produce everywhere is excellent so we cooked at the house and hardly bothered with restaurants but most seem very inexpensive and the ones we did visit were great.

in summary, we greatly enjoyed our stay here !

We picked up the car from Brindisi airport (you need to have a car) and got to the house very easily using the handy directions that the owners emailed to us.

The house was nice and clean when we arrived and Tonino, who lives in the nearby village, was very helpful showing us around the house and throughout the 10 days we were there. He has a store which is a short walk away so you can pick up essentials.

The house was spacious and the four of us had more than enough room. There are two bathrooms, both with showers, which is very useful and all rooms had air conditioning which was essential when we were there.

The absolute highlight of the house was the pool. It was cleaned regularly and had plenty of sun loungers and parasols to chill out on.

You definitely need a car to get around. The nearest beach - Torre Guaceto - is only 5 minutes drive away. It is a nature reserve and isn't too crowded. Caravigno is the nearest town with great family run restaurants.

Two real highlights for us were Ostuni and Mesagne. Ostuni has a great Saturday market in the main town where you can get loads of fresh food. The old city is beautifully whitewashed and a great place to explore. We went to Mesagne at night for dinner. It is an old fortified town with a lively (but not rowdy) ambiance. Perfect for having a drink and dinner out on the terraces.

All in all, a great relaxing holiday. I would definitely go back again and try and learn a bit more Italian.