Hilltop Retreat in Motovun

Facts

- thoroughly restored 18th century house (200 sqm)

- on four floors there are a characterful entrée, three bedrooms, a living room with high class kitchen corner and two bathrooms.

- two terraces with domestic olive trees, fig tree and tasty lavender and rosemary herbs.

Design
You’ll find a very cosy mixture between restored antique furniture and high class local craftsman work such as beautiful built-in closets, original stone walls, handmade doors and windows and oak floor.

The house with the ancient breath encloses modern facilities, like beautiful bathrooms, smeg cooker and fridge-freezer and comfy boxspring beds.

It’s a perceptive melange, a play with antique, a design and vintage compilation which makes this place so homelike.

A game where the beautiful art deco lamp in the entree meets the painted concrete floor, where grandmas dinette greets the modern lounge.

Just enough and not too much - felicitous.

Around
Motovun is in the center of Istria and offers truffels, wine, wild asparagus, istrian olive oil. It’s an idyllic old hilltop town with shops and restaurants. 

Try the truffle dishes at the Konoba Mondo or visit the winery Benvenuti in Kaldir.

Day trips to Rovinj (Hotel Lone), Pula or the town of artist Groznjan are recommended as well as taking walks through the beautiful woods. 

For swimming we highly recommend Kamenjak, a national park with awesome beaches and bays about an hour away.

Conclusion
It was a very diversified stay at this astonishing place and the homebase in the hilltop retreat felt like a good „downer“ after exciting day trips and experiences in Istria

We enjoyed the privacy and the unobtrusive interior of the house very, very much. 

An unique place for reloading your batteries. :-)

The Hilltop Retreat 

A beautifully-restored 18th Century house for rent in the protected hilltop town of Motovun in Croatia. This 3 double-bedroom, 2 reception, 2 bathroom, terrace and garden home offers plenty of room for 6 and overlooks the truffle-packed forest below.

Location
Motovun is in the heart of Istria, a Northern coastal region of Croatia, christened 'Terra Magica' by the Romans, and 'The New Tuscany' by travel-writers is a land of truffles, wine, olive oil and bucolic bliss. It was part of Italy until World War II and has great restaurants Italians now cross the border to savour.

When to go?
Perfect all year round, not just Summer. Spring for truffles and wild asparagus. Summer to escape the crowds, swim, BBQ and fall asleep in the garden. Autumn for white truffles, porcini mushrooms and long walks. Winter for seclusion, log-fires [or central heating] and cosiness -- Motovun is a great alternative family and friends Christmas & New Year Break.