A Perfect Gem in the Italian Countryside

Guest: Mary (Ashburn, VA)
Date of Stay: 10/09/11 Review Submitted: 10/31/11

My husband and I rented this delightful apartment for one month. It was absolutely perfect! We took the train to Lecce, where Ada picked us up. We were travelling with our bikes and that was no problem for her. When we arrived in Carmiano, a charmingly beautiful town in the Salento, our apartment was spotless! Even the sheets on the bed were ironed. Ada oriented us to the workings of the apartment, gave us a tour of the gorgeous garden, replete with plums, figs, lemons, limes and grapes, and told us to please help ourselves! Believe me, we did! We met Fonzie, their little dog, who was adorable! The owners live in the apartment next door, so they are always there to help (and bring you yummy Italian dishes, just out of the oven!) The kitchen is a typical small apartment kitchen, but it is fully loaded. Great gas stove and oven, fridge with a freezer that makes cubes in no time. Lots of hot water in the kitchen AND the bath. Plenty of cooking utensils. AND, Ada had stocked it up! Fresh bread, fruit, cheese, meat, wine, juice, crackers...I could go on. Perfect for the weary traveller who doesn't want to go shopping that night. There is a train station in Carmiano, but it is the FSE, not Trenitalia, so you have to check closely to see when trains come and go. But, just 7K away is the larger city of Lecce, that has excellent train service. Since we brought our bikes, we did not rent a car, but biked and trained all over the Salento as well as Basilicata. Carmiano is equidistant between the coasts, so a perfect location for day trips! We loved going the various little shops, the bakery, the fruit and veggie man, the meat man, the fish man...it was all SO fresh and delicious! The local folks were so kind and helpful to us, that we really felt like we were part of the town. You don't come here for the nightlife, so don't expect that, but if you want a TRUE Italian experience, this is the place for you! The weather was perfect (Sept/Oct), sunny and warm/cool. Only one day of rain. We have rented from VRBO many times and this was the best rental by far!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, age 55+, sightseeing.

Relaxing in Salento

Guest: linda and Roy (Wilberforce, Ontario, Canada)
Date of Stay: 03/11/11 Review Submitted: 06/05/11

My husband and I stayed here for 4 weeks in March/April 2011 and we loved it. Carmiano is only a short drive to either the Adriatic or the Ionian sea. The town is small but fine for food shopping and the small stores that Ada recommends eg. bakery and greengrocer are excellent and very friendly. Actually, everyone we met in Carmiano would make suggestions of things we would enjoy. We used the bus and train but also rented a car for 7 days. There is less traffic in this part of Italy and Ada will help you out with directions to avoid confusion. There are a lot of beautiful places to visit at a relaxed pace. Car rental was made easy with the help of both Salvatore and Ada and there is an agency in Carmiano.We strongly recommend car rental for at least part of the time since Carmiano is a well located place for sightseeing the area but is not a destination place on it's own. We felt so at home in this apt. with all the little extra touches that they add. We had a glorious spring, watching their fruit trees come into blossom,enjoying their gorgeous garden, reading by the fountain in the sun and playing with their cute dog Fonzie.My lessons in artichoke preparation from Ada were so helpful, I was able to make them as an antipasto dish when I returned to Canada. They made us feel like family while totally respecting our privacy too. They are wonderful people and we miss them!

Recommended for:Age 55+.

Carmiano

Guest: John and Ethel (Edmonton Alberta Canada)
Date of Stay: 10/29/10 Review Submitted: 04/06/11

All the other reviews basically say it all--friendly, helpful hosts, clean, well-equippped apartment, lots of delicious food provided, pick-up and drop-off at the train station in Lecce as well. A car would make visiting other places easier, but we managed with buses and trains.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, age 55+, sightseeing.

Ideally situated for visiting Southern Italy

Guest: Toothache (Surrey, England)
Date of Stay: 11/06/10 Review Submitted: 12/03/10

The hospitality of Salvatore and his mother was fantastic. As stated in other reviews the fridge and larder are well stocked on arrival with home made sauces, pasta and local wine. The apartment was spotlessly clean with a very comfortable bed. The kitchen was rather tiny but we managed. There is off street parking and a large garden to enjoy. We were also encouraged to pick fresh lemons from the tree and the most wonderful tangerines. Carmiano is a typical Southern Italy town and is ideally situated for driving to both coasts. We had a dental emergency whilst staying here and Salvatore and his mother could not have been more helpful, they really were wonderful. Thank you. We would really recommend this apartment for visiting the "heel" of Italy.

Recommended for:Age 55+, sightseeing.

A Perfect Vacation

Guest: Fred and Janet Borch (Virginia, USA)
Date of Stay: 09/04/10 Review Submitted: 09/21/10

My husband and I stayed in this wonderful apartment for 7 nights. Our experience was perfect from day one. The apartment is spotlessly clean and has all of the essentials for a very relaxing long term stay to include free internet connection. The bed is king-sized and very comfortable and the bedroom opens out onto a lovely fenced in patio that looks onto a garden of fruit trees. We rented a car and Ada let us park our car in the garage behind the locked gate. Before our arrival, Ada had the refrigerator well-stocked with fruit, cheese, juice, eggs, etc. along with wine, cookies, fresh bread,and homemade pasta sauces. We were able to see many sights in the Puglia region because of a car but there is sufficient public transportation to see many places without a car. We especially enjoyed swimming in the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, visiting wonderful towns such as Lecce, Gallipoli, Alberobello, Otranto and Oria and eating the very delicious specialties of this region. We hope to return to both the region and the apartment someday soon.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, adventure seekers, age 55+, sightseeing.

Go relax in beautiful Puglia !

Guest: Andi (Carmarthen, Wales)
Date of Stay: 08/08/10 Review Submitted: 08/16/10

My wife and I recently visited Puglia for the first time and were not disappointed. The location of Salvatore's apartment is most convenient for the beautiful city of Lecce, the Ionian and Adriatic coasts, 'Trulli' jaunts and many other wonderful aspects of life in Puglia. The apartment is super - quite simply, it's spotless, well presented and generously stocked with Puglian treats both on arrival and throughout your stay. Salvatore and his mother are readily available to assist but sensitively and without being obtrusive. All household appliances and conveniences are available including a most relaxing garden area. My wife and I enjoyed the city of Lecce greatly. An evening in Lecce will remain with you forever. We would rate it quite comfortably alongside Aix-en-Provence, Florence and Sienna. We are most grateful to Salvatore for ensuring our Puglian experience was a truly happy and memorable one .... diolch / thank you ... grazie !

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, age 55+, girls getaway, sightseeing, people with disabilities, families with young children.

Wonderful Apartment

Guest: Robert and Barbara (Seattle, WA, USA)
Date of Stay: 05/09/10 Review Submitted: 05/21/10

This is a lovely apartment with wonderful hosts. We recommend it highly. It is bright, very clean, comfortable and strategically located in a small town just outside of Lecce. It’s small kitchen is full equipped, and the lovely patio and garden are a quiet retreat. It is convenient to many of the most interesting and important sights in Puglia and tom the ocean. Salvatore and his mother and grandmother (who live in the same building) are caring, gracious hosts. We arrived on a Sunday when stores were closed, and they had provided more than enough for us to make dinner and breakfast the next morning. During our one week stay they brought us special regional treats from the bakery, and invited us to pick oranges and lemons from their garden. We couldn’t ask for anything more. We’d return in a heartbeat.

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A Great Stay

Guest: Melissa and Bernie (Richmond B.C. Canada)
Date of Stay: 03/25/10 Review Submitted: 04/20/10

We concur with the other comments. The apartment is everything we could ask for and more. Comfortable, spotlessly clean, with a small but complete kitchen, a lovely patio and garden from where we plucked fresh lemons and oranges. Salvatore started us out with a fully stocked fridge and later brought us local treats and food made fresh from his mother and grandmother (which were fantastic!) and he was always available to answer questions and give advice We were also provided with wireless internet access and a selection of movies/dvds. Carmiano is a typical small southern Italian town, not at all touristy but friendly as can be. We shopped every day for local meat, fish, produce, pasta and pastry. The shop keepers spoke little English and we, limited Italian but it wasn't a problem. The drivers are in just as much of a hurry as in Rome but, out of their cars, everyone we met had time for us. We were glad to have car as there are countless sights to see within a hour or so's drive and in every direction.

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Guest: Pamela and Tilliski Ramey (Athens, Georgia USA)
Date of Stay: 02/07/10 Review Submitted: 02/07/10

Laziness and a full calendar of travel kept us from reponding earlier. My son and I had a chance to spend May 2009 in southern Italy and then on to other parts of Europe. It was his graduation from university gift. Salvatore's home in southern Italy was one of our stops. His mother, Ada and his grandmother, Raffaela are fabulous. Salvatore explains that his family treats their guests the way they'd like to be treated if they were the guests instead of the host. I loved that. Absolutely the best place to stay if you enjoy being pampered. Cupboards full of food, fridge too. Everything from appetizers to desserts and local wines right there in the kitchen. Tilliski loved access to the internet and the washing machine. Kids! Go figure. We both loved Carmiano, a memorable family pizza restaurant we stumbled across - and we both have the best stories to tell of Carmiano, Lecce, and Matera. We experienced utter friendliness from townsfolks and even during our many misadventures in a bakery and a meat market and even a fruit market (great stuff - funny too). We stayed about 8 glorious days with the Family Vadacca and had no car. Salvatore insisted on taking us where ever we needed to go until we caught on to the train and bus service which is convenient and a lot of fun too. Salvatore's beautiful home was the highlight of Italy for us. HELLO SALVATORE AND ADA!!! - SORRY SO LONG IN POSTING A FEW DETAILS OF OUR GREAT HOLIDAY WITH YOU LAST SPRING. Pamela Ramey(Athens, GA) Tilliski Ramey (Chicago, IL) USA

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Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 10/13/09 Review Submitted: 10/13/09

We recently spent 6 nights in this apartment and were very comfortable. We arrived late our first evening but were immediately made to feel welcome by Signora Ada who had prepared supper for us and stocked the fridge with enough to keep us going for several days. She continued to present us with local delicacies and to be most helpful - providing us with beach towels and a reclining chair when we expressed interest in going to the sea - and generally being most attentive to our needs. We would recommend this apartment without hesitation.

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