Mind, Body And Soul Soothing Experience
We had our 5th wedding anniversary at "La noi - in Vale". Just us 2, as far away as possible from city noise. We were treated to an introspective, absolutely quiet and soul soothing experience!
I Hope This Place Never Changes!
1. THE LOCATION is unbelievable. Is one of those HIDDEN GEMS, you only hear about in documentaries.
It is hidden through the hills, and trust me, you wouldn't find it without a map. We were standing right on top of it and were not realising.
The premises of the tent is the yard of the hosts.
The yard itself is absolutely surprising, and arranged with great taste considering where it is hidden. (reminds me of ATRA a little bit)
The tent is positioned facing the orchard and the valley.
The view from the entire yard is stunning, across the valley, all the way down to Zigoneni Lake and the Zigoneni village on the hill across the lake. During the night, the village lights up, and you have a beautiful night-time light show that you can see while sitting comfortably in the bed, in the middle of the tent. However, you'll want to sit on the wooden deck of the tent throughout the day and night.
2.The tent is clean, with absolutely modern amenities: fully functional bath, with hot shower, air conditioning and a heated stove. (alternatively there's an electric radiator available, which we decided not to use since the stove experience is 30% of the entire experience, especially during cold winters). Tent is insulated, no need to worry from that perspective.
3. The Tent's deck has plenty of space for a chaise-longue a blanket, a hot tea, a book, and that pitch-perfect quiet moment you see in any inspirational movie scene! Breathless!
4. The stove! Chills are running down my spine as i'm writing this review. Sitting near the stove, and having to cater for a fire, so close to the orchard, to the snow outside, is ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL and curative.
5.The food, 100% locally sourced, was absolutely delicious and very far from ordinary (that was another surprise)! Out of comfort, we went for buying the additional meals (lunch and dinner) from the hosts and it was another great surprise! It was obvious the hosts learned a lot of recipes from the vegetarian cuisine, and although we're not vegetarian and we had normal, meat included dishes, you could taste the great flavour and texture combinations usually found in the vegetarian cuisine. Next time we'll go full vegetarian, just to try it out! I think it will be even better!
You can probably eat something in the nearby city in Curtea de Arges, but i can guarantee it will not even come close to what the hosts have to offer! BEAR IN MIND, you have to order all your meals before you arrive!
6. The hosts were really friendly. As in "lovely friendly"! They don't permanently live there, only when they have guests. I have a lot of appreciation of the fact that our privacy and alone time was respected rigorously, as we requested minimum interaction, yet all our requests were accommodated and we were not missing anything.
7. Things to improve exist, of course, but really nothing comes top of mind wile writing this review so it's not worth mentioning. Go and focus on the experience and be grateful for it!
The whole experience, was ABSOLUTELY perfect! We loved feeling the winter cold in the middle of the orchard, gazing the scenery and charging the batteries to 200%. We loved making the fire and sitting down next to the stove and chat. We enjoyed yoga sessions on the deck (Yes, at 4 degrees, it's brilliant!). We loved the food and the tartes.
As a BONUS, i got to spend several hours COMPLETELY alone with my djembe, down in the orchard, at sundown, with nothing but a small forest in front of my eyes! These moments alone were worth the entire trip.
TO CONCLUDE: Book it! Book it now! Nevermind the season! Any season works, really! Make sure it doesn't rain so you can enjoy the tent's deck but there's really nothing else that your body, mind and soul needs. You'll see what a truly MINDFUL experience looks and feels like.
We'll be returning with our hearts and kids as soon as possible!