Take it easy on a trip to luxurious hotel in Italy's stunning southern coast.
GO SLOW Take it easy on a trip to luxurious hotel in Italy's stunning southern coast.
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ENJOY a slower pace of life.
This was the first sign to greet us on arrival at the magnificent Masseria Fontanelle in Italy's stunning Salento region.
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Masseria Fontanelle is a stunning hotel in Salento, close to a beautiful beach
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Beautiful bedroms at Masseria Fontanelle
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Masseria Fontanelle's stunning grounds
Credit: @vito_solidoro
'An oasis of peace where everything is an invitation to reconnect with life and nature', says its website.
Before my wife Rachel and I had even checked in I knew this was going to be a ten out of zen stay.
Masseria translates into 'farm' but this was one unlike any other we have visited before.
Originally built as a convent around 1600, the farmhouse now has a new lease of life after being respectfully and carefully restored, bringing tradition and modernity together splendidly.
Here's another translation for you — 'dolce far niente' means 'sweet doing nothing'. Everywhere I turned I was being told to chill out, man. Life is 100 miles an hour at home so why the hell not get on board with the Masseria's motto.
We had flown into Bari 48 hours earlier. After an enjoyable Saturday night and all-day Sunday exploring the gallant old town we set off on the two and a half hour drive south to Salento.
If you follow our route I would recommend taking a slight detour to see the world famous trulli huts of Alberobello.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage site for a reason.
On arrival at Fontanelle — located between Gallipolo and Santa Maria di Leuca on the south west coast of Italy's heel — we were delighted to be greeted in our patio room with a bottle of Prosecco which we enjoyed overlooking the large courtyard typical of the Salento masserias.
The room had everything we needed — double bed, mini bar, and an excellent shower.
I've moved to hidden historic town where houses are the price of handbags & pints are cheaper than Tesco sandwiches
We enjoyed chilling by the stunning infinity bio-pools looking out to sea so much that we missed lunch – although we more than made up for it that night with an exquisite dinner at Le Serre restaurant.
You won't be surprised to hear by now the restaurant's motto is 'take it slow' and over two and a half hours we worked our way through a delicious three-course meal that included salad, prosciutto, cheese, focaccia, spaghetti with mussels and calamari.
Next morning the buffet breakfast was every bit as good — fresh fruit, juice, pastries, ham, cheese and delicious coffee.
Keen to explore the local area, we hopped on the hotel's bikes for the short journey down to the marina in Torre San Giovanni.
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James and Rachel lounge with some fizz at the pool
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James and Rachel took to two wheels to explore the area
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Masseria Fontanelle, , vivosaresort.com
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Dine at the nearby beach club where hotel guests have reserved beds on the sand
With 8kms of white sand beach and turquoise water it's no wonder it is known as the Maldives of Salento.
Included in our stay was beds on the waterfront and entrance to the Beach club for lunch.
After a couple of hours chilling — ok, dozing — on the beach, we got back to Fontanelle at 5pm just in time for a couples massage
Now, we've enjoyed some incredible spas but none quite like this. Built inside a natural CAVE that once served as a cistern to the local convent, it felt magical
And I can tell you, I felt magic walking back out an hour later.
By now it was well and truly wine o'clock and we got a lovely surprise from our kids back home who kindly had a bottle of bubbly delivered to our room to mark our 20th wedding anniversary.
Supping fizz with a glorious sunset behind us — and 20 years of memories — was a special moment.
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The hotel's spa is built inside a cav
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Sunset anniversary cheers
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James gets wine lessons from expert Alberto
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Le Serre restaurant served up the finest Italian cuisiine
But the fun didn't end there as we enjoyed a wine-tasting class with local expert Alberto, a graduate of Milan University who happily conversed — and educated — guests in Italian and English.
Our anniversary dinner was every bit as good as the night before.
This time I binged on fusilloni with swordfish then Lecce-style meatballs like I've never tasted before and now, being a wine connoisseur, washed down with a carefully selected Salento Rossi.
After a scrumptious omelette breakfast followed by chocolate croissant and coffee next morning our stay ended as it started — relaxing on a hammock reading a book with the sun sneaking through the forest trees. Bliss!
Living life in the slow lane was a delight. We won't be slow in going back.
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Take it easy on a trip to luxurious hotel in Italy's stunning southern coast.
Fabulous food is a given on any trip to Italy and Salento was no different GO SLOW Take it easy on a trip to luxurious hotel in Italy's stunning southern coast. Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ENJOY a slower pace of life. This was the first sign to greet us on arrival at the magnificent Masseria Fontanelle in Italy's stunning Salento region. 11 Masseria Fontanelle is a stunning hotel in Salento, close to a beautiful beach 11 Beautiful bedroms at Masseria Fontanelle 11 Masseria Fontanelle's stunning grounds Credit: @vito_solidoro 'An oasis of peace where everything is an invitation to reconnect with life and nature', says its website. Before my wife Rachel and I had even checked in I knew this was going to be a ten out of zen stay. Masseria translates into 'farm' but this was one unlike any other we have visited before. Originally built as a convent around 1600, the farmhouse now has a new lease of life after being respectfully and carefully restored, bringing tradition and modernity together splendidly. Here's another translation for you — 'dolce far niente' means 'sweet doing nothing'. Everywhere I turned I was being told to chill out, man. Life is 100 miles an hour at home so why the hell not get on board with the Masseria's motto. We had flown into Bari 48 hours earlier. After an enjoyable Saturday night and all-day Sunday exploring the gallant old town we set off on the two and a half hour drive south to Salento. If you follow our route I would recommend taking a slight detour to see the world famous trulli huts of Alberobello. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site for a reason. On arrival at Fontanelle — located between Gallipolo and Santa Maria di Leuca on the south west coast of Italy's heel — we were delighted to be greeted in our patio room with a bottle of Prosecco which we enjoyed overlooking the large courtyard typical of the Salento masserias. The room had everything we needed — double bed, mini bar, and an excellent shower. I've moved to hidden historic town where houses are the price of handbags & pints are cheaper than Tesco sandwiches We enjoyed chilling by the stunning infinity bio-pools looking out to sea so much that we missed lunch – although we more than made up for it that night with an exquisite dinner at Le Serre restaurant. You won't be surprised to hear by now the restaurant's motto is 'take it slow' and over two and a half hours we worked our way through a delicious three-course meal that included salad, prosciutto, cheese, focaccia, spaghetti with mussels and calamari. Next morning the buffet breakfast was every bit as good — fresh fruit, juice, pastries, ham, cheese and delicious coffee. Keen to explore the local area, we hopped on the hotel's bikes for the short journey down to the marina in Torre San Giovanni. 11 James and Rachel lounge with some fizz at the pool 11 James and Rachel took to two wheels to explore the area 11 Masseria Fontanelle, , 11 Dine at the nearby beach club where hotel guests have reserved beds on the sand With 8kms of white sand beach and turquoise water it's no wonder it is known as the Maldives of Salento. Included in our stay was beds on the waterfront and entrance to the Beach club for lunch. After a couple of hours chilling — ok, dozing — on the beach, we got back to Fontanelle at 5pm just in time for a couples massage Now, we've enjoyed some incredible spas but none quite like this. Built inside a natural CAVE that once served as a cistern to the local convent, it felt magical And I can tell you, I felt magic walking back out an hour later. By now it was well and truly wine o'clock and we got a lovely surprise from our kids back home who kindly had a bottle of bubbly delivered to our room to mark our 20th wedding anniversary. Supping fizz with a glorious sunset behind us — and 20 years of memories — was a special moment. 11 The hotel's spa is built inside a cav 11 Sunset anniversary cheers 11 James gets wine lessons from expert Alberto 11 Le Serre restaurant served up the finest Italian cuisiine But the fun didn't end there as we enjoyed a wine-tasting class with local expert Alberto, a graduate of Milan University who happily conversed — and educated — guests in Italian and English. Our anniversary dinner was every bit as good as the night before. This time I binged on fusilloni with swordfish then Lecce-style meatballs like I've never tasted before and now, being a wine connoisseur, washed down with a carefully selected Salento Rossi. After a scrumptious omelette breakfast followed by chocolate croissant and coffee next morning our stay ended as it started — relaxing on a hammock reading a book with the sun sneaking through the forest trees. Bliss! Living life in the slow lane was a delight. We won't be slow in going back.
