One word: luxury. An intoxicating mix of
old and new, this beautiful 15th-century
house used to be the summer residence of
Dubrovnik’s aristocrats and is a registered
Croatian National Heritage monument.
It now sits behind high white walls and
overlooks the aquamarine water of Zaton
Bay, a quiet, stylish little seaside village
about 20 minutes away from the bustle
of Dubrovnik. We advise setting aside thefirst hour of your stay here
to simply run around each
bedroom, the grounds, the
pool, the huge terrace, the
professional kitchen, the lemon
grove (yes, you read that
correctly) and the 16th-century
chapel in the garden while squealing at
your friendsI CAN’T BELIEVE WE LIVE
HERE NOW. The rooms are a mix of
marble, glass andwood, some split into
two levels with huge walk-in showers and
sofas to retire to ifyou need to take stock
of just how fabulousyour life currently is.
Soak up the rays by the pool in complete
privacy or hike up and over the local
cliff to find a secluded rope swing into
the sea. This villa also comes alive at
night, with beautiful lights illuminating
glass walkways. Fill the booze fridge and
head up onto the front rooftopterrace for
sundowners. Then get a taxi
intotown for local wine-
tasting at D’Vino Wine Bar
in Dubrovnik Old Town
(Dvino.net). You happen to
be in the heart of Croatia’s
wine region so, really, it
would be rude not to.Take a private boat tour with
Adriatic Explore from the jetty
downstairs for around £245all-in (Mycroatiacruise.com). This villa
sits directly in front of the marina, so it
basically feels like you’re James Bond/part
of the royal family and this is your own
private yacht come to whisk you around in
the only way there really is to travel when
you live in a house this fabulous. See the
coastline, the archipelagos and the sunset
while attempting to take selfies with your
crew without losing your phone overboard
(harder than it sounds).Well, it sleeps 12 comfortably – but there’s
extra space for two more if a couple of your
pals see your Insta collateral and jump
on the first flight out to join you. Prices in
low season (when it’s still gloriously warm)
start at £11,364 for seven nights, which,
for 14 people, works out at £811 each in
total. Croatia Gems will sort everything for
you and you’ll have all the trappings of
a five-star hotel, but in blissful privacy.
What could be more rock star than that?
For information on the villa, visit
Croatiagems.com/villa-pugliesi-zaton-
bay-dubrovnik-rivieraWHAT’S THE USP?
ANY HAVE-TO-
DO HIGHLIGHTS?
AND HOW MANY MATES
CAN I TAKE WITH ME?
VILLA
PUGLIESI
DUBROVNIK,
CROATIA
VILLA
PUGLIESI
So nice even
the trees have
lost their heads
Sleep like a
log AKA near
lots of wood