We absolutely loved our stay in Ostuni and in Il Belvedere! The apartment has lovely rustic Italian charm and is tucked down a little side street with balconies from both the sitting room and bedroom where you can watch the world go by. It's is a stones throw from restaurants and bars but is also quiet so has the best of both worlds. In fact I would say it is perfectly located. The real treat is the roof terrace which has plenty of space for sunbathing and sitting out having sundowners and has wonderful views of the sea in the distance and the surrounding countryside. The owner and agent are both very personable and helpful. We are in the process of booking to go back this summer!

Il Belvedere is a great little villa/apartment in the middle of the Centro Storico in Ostuni. We had quite cold and wet weather at the start of our stay and we had no issues with leaks or anything which had been mentioned in a previous review. There were 2 radiators in the apartment, one of which stopped working and the other of which tripped the electric if you turned it up full. I can imagine that this may have annoyed other's more than it did us - we have owned property in Puglia and are well aware of the vagaries of the electrics. Even though it was Easter weekend they did their best to bring around some more heaters. Fortunately it warmed up towards the end of our stay and the roof terrace really does have exceptional views down to the coast.

I wouldn't advise staying in this accommodation. I have booked hundred of places over the years with cold, damp, cracked cups etc and it has never bothered me, but this was on a new level of discomfort. We booked to stay there in April. We arrived and the apartment reeked of damp like a church crypt. We put the heater on expecting it to blow away the damp. Unfortunately the wall heater did not work and the one in the bedroom had no plug. We were freezing all night as the weather was still cold and rainy. Worse than the cold was the pervasive damp. The bed was actually damp and almost soggy. The toilet paper was wet, there was water on the inside of the windows. The next morning we contacted Francesco, the local person to ring if there are problems. He came over and said he couldn't fix the heater that day but he would get someone the next day. We couldn't face another night in the cold and damp, so booked into a B&B. The engineer came to look at the heater and said there was a major problem and it couldn't be fixed. We ended up staying in the B&B all week paying another 400 euros on top of the 200 we had paid for the damp apartment. We were perfectly polite about it all, and Francesco commented that we were so to the owner.
We decided to give the owner the benefit of the doubt and rather than write a bad review or report her to Trip Advisor, we thought we would try and come to an agreement. We proposed 2/3 of the fee in a refund as we hadn't been able to sleep there for 6 of the 7 nights. For the next few weeks she either ignored our emails or agreed to a refund but did nothing. Eventually we contacted Trip Advisor and they said the could not do a refund as we had entered into direct negotiations with the owner and not them. Bad move to try and be fair to the owner. At one point the owner came up with the incredulous story that her 'manager' had paid out B&B. I pointed out how impossible this was and offered to produce the receipt made out to us. Anyway we've never received a penny back from the owner and the lesson learned is don't try and do things the nice way. As I said, I've been in some pretty basic holiday places but never as bad as this one.

Ostuni old town is a very peaceful and romantic place, full of beautiful views, stone flagged streets, plants and tiny bars and restaurants. It is also kept meticulously clean - not something that can often be said in Southern Italy! As this apartment is in the centre of the old town, and is accessed off one of the narrow winding streets, it is perhaps unsurprising that it has many of its qualities. The interior, which has recently been refitted to a high standard, combines original features with modern conveniences. There is a small balcony at the front, and a roof garden with particularly stunning view, although it was a little windy to spend much time there when we visited. We enjoyed our time at Il Belvedere immensely, and were very impressed with the helpful attitude (and perfect English!) of Francesco. As our hire car broke down, we arrived in Ostuni well after midnight and very stressed. Francesco was very sympathetic and helpful, took us to the apartment with our bags and helped get some milk for our daughter from the restaurant opposite. Full marks all round.

This apartment is right in the middle of the historical part of Ostuni. There are lots of restaurants and bars nearby, but it is still pretty peaceful. The view from the rooftop is amazing and you are just a short drive from the beach. Bari and Lecce are also quite near and make a nice day trip. You'll need a car to get around the area, but you can't park next to the flat. (If you have mobility issues access to the old part of Ostuni is not easy in general.) There is parking nearby, however.

The apartment itself was in good condition and clean, and Francesco who met us there was really helpful if we had any questions. We happened to have freak thunderstorms when we were there which did cause a small leak, but the owner and Francesco were apologetic and even offered us alternative accommodation. I'm sure that will be fixed after our visit.

In short, we had a great time here and were happy with the apartment.