Villa Noelani

The villa

A tiny, beautiful place with a peaceful beach, Brsecine is home to Villa Noelani, an exceptional holiday with panoramic views out to the sea and nearby islands. Consisting of two separate buildings which can accommodate up to twelve guests, this is the perfect choice for a larger group to explore Croatia’s coast, around 25km from Dubrovnik.

A courtyard connects the two buildings, and share a lovely 8m x 4.5m outdoor swimming pool, lined with sun loungers which look straight out to the ocean. The pool is easily accessible via Roman steps and has a designated spa section and poolside shower. A children’s play area offers young guests a swing, see - saw and sandpit, while older ones can enjoy the sauna, fitness room or billiard table.

Another fine place to relax in the covered seating area which overlooks the pool, one of several terrace areas the property offers. Inside, there’s a Mediterranean feel with cooling stone, parquet flooring, pastel hues and wooden beams.

The lower house features two twin bedrooms, each with air - conditioning and en - suite shower. There’s a dining room with Juliet balcony on the first floor, along with a kitchen, and a double bedroom with shower room.

The upper house has a slightly different configuration, with a twin, double and single bedroom on the first floor, all of them air - conditioned. The twin has an en - suite bathroom, and there’s an additional shower room on this level. Another is found downstairs, along with a kitchenette and a living and dining room with a pool table, television and DVD player. Both buildings are beautifully appointed throughout and enjoy incredible views.

Fewer than 100 people live in Brsecine, and its peaceful beauty made it a favourite with Dubrovnik’s nobility many centuries ago. Its most famous building is the historic mansion of poetess Cvijeta Zuzorić, which dates back to the 1500's. Hidden by the surrounding hills, the tranquil beach is a delight few people discover, yet it’s easily accessible just off the main route from Dubrovnik to Split.

A real hidden gem, Brsečine is small cove in the south of Dalmatia, around 25km from Dubrovnik. Tranquil and charming, its beach is well worth uncovering. Few people know it, and possibly fewer still know that Brsečine is also home of an underwater archaeological site.

It would be easy to overlook the village completely as you speed through from Dubrovnik towards Croatia’s second city, Split. Home of around 100 people, it’s an unassuming place with a couple of small churches, but what it lacks in facilities it more than makes up for with some beautiful sea views which become all the more apparent as you head further into this village in the hills. Its most famous building is the former home of noted beauty and poetess, Cvijeta Zuzorić, whose work in Italian, Croatian and Latin was highly regarded in the 16th and 17th centuries. In a time of great inequality, she was regarded as one of the first feminists of Dubrovnik, and an art pavilion in Belgrade now bears her name as a tribute.

Another area of great natural beauty lies a little further down the coast in the direction of Dubrovnik, in the form of the Trsteno Arboretum. If it starts to look familiar, it may be because it has been used as a filming location in Game of Thrones, but its real history is just as fascinating anything television could conjure up. Two Oriental Plane trees, believed to be more than 500 years old, stand on the Trsteno marketplace and survived attacks during the Croatian War of Independence in the early 1990s and more recent forest fires. Stretching right down to the edge of the Adriatic, with a stunning view thereof, the arboretum is one not to miss.