Planning a SS13 holiday? Looking for luxury with a relaxed rustic feel? Or are you searching for well being and yoga retreat not far from the UK? Whatever the occasion head to Masseria Torre Maizza in Puglia. We sent writer Kerry Robinson and her family to discover this Italian treasure.

It’s rare to find that elusive of holiday destinations – luxury enough to feel special, but warm and welcoming enough to feel like a home-from-home. Masseria Torre Maizza in Puglia is exactly that. Tucked away in the heel of Italy, Puglia is an unpsoilt, undeveloped and unpretentious hideaway. Long-adored by the country’s natives, but only recently discovered by the rest of Europe, it’s hard to believe that just 2.5 hours on a plane from London you can find such a hidden gem. As you drive along the coast, acre upon acre of olive groves are revealed – the area produces 80% of the country’s oil, and when you taste the local varieties you’ll soon understand why.

A winding gravel road leads you to the gates of this grand, fortified farmhouse. Endless bright whitewashed walls and distinctive deep blue shutters show off this lovingly restored 16th century in all its rustic glory. This is ancient charm wrapped up in cool, contemporary chic. Balance the old and the new with an elegant, yet relaxed service and you have the makings of a truly memorable luxury experience.

Nothing is too much trouble at Masseria Torre Maizza – even for a family with a boisterous two year old. The people are so warm and genuine, taking the trouble to remember your name, your preferences, your likes and dislikes – small things that make a world of difference. Then there is the effortless, invisible service – a highchair ready and waiting at your favourite table, your preferred babysitter already provisionally booked for the same time as the evening before, your toddler’s pasta ready and waiting at 6pm even though the kitchen isn’t officially open.

For a hotel with just 28 rooms, the Masseria feels indulgently spacious with plenty of room to explore. The bedrooms are elegant and beautifully furnished, with vast vaulted ceilings and cool stone floors. The bathrooms are modern, light and luxurious, and are well stocked with olive oil soaps and bath products made from the hotel’s own oil. Some rooms even have their own private walled garden – perfect for basking in the Italian sun while the kids nap peacefully indoors.

Walking around the estate’s grounds is a truly olfactory experience. The shaded walkway from the main tower is laden with warm grapes ready for harvesting, entwined with fragrant jasmine. The heady smell of sun-ripened tomatoes and garlic, mixed with freshly baked bread, drift from the restaurant kitchen, and row upon row of rosemary line the path to the bedrooms. The pool is something special. Wind your way through the hotel’s walled garden and orangery, and step out onto a gravel path, lined with stone columns, vines hanging overhead and beautiful linen hammocks swaying in the breeze. Two decked, pool-side terraces, plus a secluded raised terrace with vast ancient olive trees mean there is plenty of space and privacy. And even when the hotel is full, it never feels busy by the pool. There was no sense of annoyance at our toddler being, well, a toddler, from either the guests or the staff. It is known that Italians love kids – but Torre Maizza’s warm and generous staff went out of their way to befriend and entertain our little girl, making us feel welcome and at ease.

If the pool isn’t enough to keep you entertained, there’s the hotel’s 9-hole golf course, orchards and olive groves to explore, a beautiful Aveda spa, bikes to ride along the coast or up in the hills, and even a cooking school. On the morning course, you cook up a four-course feast that you can then enjoy for lunch or dinner later that day. Master the dark art of pasta-making with some of the local specialities – cavatelli (pretty easy) and orechiette (rather challenging) – and a fresh fish consommé so simple you could actually create it at home, if only our local fish was plucked out of the Adriatic just a few hours ago.

At sunset, with views over the surrounding orchards, olive groves and nearby coastline, the Masseria’s Moroccan rooftop terrace is the perfect place for a sun-downer. High white-washed walls lined with bright bougainvillea shelter a row of vast Balinese sofas that invite you to put your feet up and enjoy the chilled out music.  The perfect pre-dinner spot.

Dinner at Le Palme is an event. The menu offers a modern European selection, as well as a local Pugliese cuisine. The food in this region of Italy is the best we have ever had: hearty, rustic, unfussy, seasonal and quite simply, delicious. Maizza’s chefs blew us away, every night. What better treat after a day of running around after a little one than to sit down to the most mouth-watering feast you can imagine. Then there’s the wine, oh boy. The hotel’s local reds (Primitivo and Negroamaro) are full-bodied, rich, fruity and dangerously moreish. The waiters are all incredibly knowledgeable about the food, the ingredients and the wines – you sense that this is not just a job for them, it is their passion, which really adds to the experience.

Given the feast on offer in the evening, it’s a surprise that you would ever have room for breakfast. But you will. (If you don’t, go for a run and work up an appetitie – it’ll be worth it.) Breakfast here is a vast spread of freshly cooked pastries, tarts, muffins and cakes, platters of fresh, delicious fruit, fresh juices and smoothies, cheeses and hams, fresh breads and a selection of home-made preserves and jams. Most of the ingredients they use here couldn’t be more local – they grow them all in their own groves, orchards and gardens. Working off a pastry or three is easy if you head to the beach for a swim. Just a ten-minute shuttle bus ride away is the hotel’s private Coccaro Beach Club. The coolest of cool lounges nestled among the sand dunes offers parents a relaxing retreat and kids a safe place to let off some steam.

If you fancy a change of scene, Puglia’s many pretty hill-top and coastal towns are all a short drive away and make great family trips out: Ostuni, Monopoli, Alberobello, Martina Franca, Locorotondo and Lecce are all beautiful and worthy of a morning or afternoon visit. The short flight and year-round warm climes (actually still in the high 20s and low 30s in September) mean this is a great place for a family Summer holiday or a quick Spring or Autumn break, or what the hell, even a Winter long-weekend. It’s not every day you fall in love with a place so much so that you spend your last few days here daydreaming about when you can next come back. As soon as humanly possible please.

Need To Know: 

• Rooms: 28, including 8 suites.
• Rates: Double rooms from £208.99 (€258), excluding tax at 10 per cent.
• Facilities: Two heated pools, spa, gym, library, DVD library, golf course, horse-riding centre, bike hire, private beach, free WiFi, laundry service, flatscreen TV, CD/DVD player, air-conditioning, minibar, safe, locally made organic toiletries.
• Check-out/in: Midday. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
• Children Kids are welcome at the hotel – though, during August, only over-10s are allowed to stay. At other times of year, though, baby cots (€25 a day), extra beds (from €80 a day), babysitting (€18 an hour) and a children’s menu are all available.