Real Blog

Investigating hotels in Puglia

Posted by Sarah Williams on 11 May 2012

Stephanie and I recently went on a whistle stop trip to Puglia to revisit some our favourite hotels there and to visit some new properties with the view of expanding our programme to the area.

Our first stop was in northern Puglia to a lovely eco-friendly hotel called Lama di Luna. The property is situated only 20km from the sea and is an old masseria with very nice views and a large swimming pool. There is a restaurant on site just for guests and all of the produce is from their farm or from neighbouring farms adding to their eco credentials.

Our next stop was to Matera, officially in neighbouring Basilicata. This town, known for the cave dwellings, is quite a spectacle and well worth visiting for a few days as part of a longer fly drive. We stayed in the beautiful L’Hotel in Pietra which is built into the caves and is quite amazing; our suite had a lovely view of the Sassi, the name for the pre-historic cave dwellings, and is well worth the supplement.

We then headed back to the Puglian coast to the Fasano area which has a collection of properties from the new resort, Borgo Egnazia to our old favourites Borgo San Marco, Masseria Torre Maizza and its’ sister property Masseria Torre Coccaro. We recommend all these hotels for different reasons, so please call us to discuss.

A new hotel inland near the trulli town of Alberobello was our next visit. The Abate Masseria is a small hotel with only 8 rooms, some of which are in restored trulli buildings, with a large swimming pool. We continued south to the Masseria Montelauro in the Salento region which we have been featuring for a while now, and although they were still at the height of their winter renovations which they do every year, it was as lovely as I remember it being.

Our last night was spent near Brindisi in a beautifully restored four room villa called the Villa Magnolia. With a large pool and a cycle ride away from the beach, as well as a short transfer from the airport, we both thought this would be a perfect place for a weekend getaway.

We will be adding the Lama di Luna, L’Hotel in Pietra, Abate Masseria and the Villa Magnolia to our website in due course, but please give us a call on 020 73593938 if you would like to discuss these, or any of our existing properties in Puglia and Basilicata, in the meantime.

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Traditional Malay receipe

Posted by Kate Edwards on 10 May 2012

Keen foodies here at Real Holidays we always relish visiting a new restaurant, tasting new flavours and challenging our culinary skills. Our suppliers in Malaysia have sent us a spicy chicken recipe that has left our mouths watering and our minds dreaming of cold beers and spicy curries in (considerably) warmer climes.

Rendang Ayam Klaskik Negeri Sembilan (try saying that in a hurry) is a traditional fragrant Malay curry rich in spices with a light fresh taste.

Enjoy and let us know how you get on.

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