Masseria Lamacoppa - luxury, fully-serviced villa with pool near Ostuni

Inside: the main gates of Masseria Lamacoppa open into a walled courtyard filled with Moroccan lemon trees, to one side of which is the main house.

The ground floor hosts a series of living rooms and the kitchen characterised by their high vaulted ceilings. The thick stone walls open out on each side to walled courtyards, ensuring a continuous flow of cool air even at the height of the most torrid summer. The living areas and reception rooms are sublimely decorated and furnished and include a TV room and various reading and relaxing rooms. Accommodation on this floor is completed by a guest bathroom and a spacious reading room that also doubles as a dining room when the weather does not permit al fresco dining.

The first floor is home to four double bedrooms and a twin bedroom, all of which have en-suite bathrooms and views over the courtyards and surrounding woods and olive groves. The sixth bedroom, a double with en-suite bathroom, is accessed just a few metres across the courtyard from the main house.

Not far from the main house is the charming guest house, finished to a very high standard and complete with three bedrooms: a double with en-suite bathroom, and a double and a twin sharing a bathroom. There is also a fully equipped kitchen and a spacious living room, which, via floor-to-ceiling windows, opens out onto a comfortably furnished shady patio. All bedrooms and the living room have air-conditioning.

Outside: arrival at Masseria Lamacoppa is via a driveway that weaves through the olive groves. Arrival is signalled by the imposing facade of the Masseria, which appears much as it would have done hundreds of years ago.

The main courtyard, with its Moroccan lemon grove, has several shady corners furnished for relaxation. On one side the original stables have been opened out to accommodate a long dining table. This area may be candle-lit to atmospheric effect for the evening.

The second courtyard, on the other side of the house, is also equipped with a shady dining table. The original stonework is beautifully contrasted by the emerald lawns and the olive trees. A gate from this courtyard leads out into the olive groves.

About 150 metres from the main house, past a pond (an excellent spot for morning yoga!), is the pool, so beautiful that even the hardened eyes of Huw and Rossella moistened the first time they laid eyes upon it! A gentle incline leads one into the refreshing waters, whose cobalt hue is given by the black pool lining. The pool is huge, and an ingenious canal leads to a Jacuzzi area that will fit a dozen people comfortably.

The pool is surrounded by lawns and a rich canopy of trees. To one is a stone building housing a kitchen, the gym, a Hammam with seats for ten and a massage table...