Location: Puglia, Italy
Why go: It's
luxurious and family friendly. With its peaceful
white washed courtyards, dinky Aveda spa and serene rooms decked in
cream sofas and local ceramics, Masseria Torre Coccaro, looks
like the kind of grown-up haven that might have a ban on kids. But
behind the glossy exterior there's a wealth of diversions for
little ones, including a tucked-away playground complete with
trampoline and a popular kids' beach club which runs from June to
September (there's also a year-round babysitting service). Ponies
are on hand for rides into the countryside or down to the
beach.
What's the
story:Family holiday company, Tots Too, offers
discreetly child-friendly, off-the-beaten-track
hotels. Masseria Torre Coccaro is one of their 'Little Gems'
collection.
The rooms: 33. You can chose from rooms in the tower (originally built to defend against marauding Turkish pirates) or one of the Flintstone-esque suites hewn into the rocks. Some have their own private pools and flower-filled gardens, making them ideal family crash pads.
Eating and drinking: Food is a big draw, and the Egnathia restaurant, housed in the star-shaped vaults of the old stables, serves up organic, delicious Pugliese cuisine (much of which comes straight from the hotel's very own verdant gardens). It should inspire the whole family to book a lesson in the brilliant on-site cooking school (kids will love Chef Cosimo's lesson on perfect pizza: trawling the gardens for fresh ingredients beforehand, making their own dough base and cooking it up in a 16th-century pizza oven).
Out and about: Jump
on a bike and whizz through fields of chicory and celery to the
local cheese farm, where you can see how mozzarella is made. Or
cycle a few kilometres to sample fish carpaccio at the chic
Pescheria Due Mari, before enjoying lunch under a tent on the soft
white beach at the Coccaro Beach Club. A visit to the Olive Oil
Museum is also a must, (you can try your hand at olive picking)
followed by a lunch at sister hotel Masseria Torre Maizza. Nearby,
there's the town of Alberobello, home to the historic Trulli houses
with their conical limestone roofs, and the historic white city of
Ostuni, with its steep, cobbled streets - try the local wines and
liqueurs in Osteria del Tempo Perso, a restaurant set within the
side of the hill in a natural cave.
Rates: Rooms start
from 270 euros (around £227) per person per night. Children under
two stay free, while two- to 12-year-olds are 90 euros (around £76)
per night. To book, visit totstoo.com/little-gems or ring 020
7284 3344.
