Service
Someone is always here.
The house makes its own water and its own power. The people make it somewhere you can simply arrive. Richard, Emilia and Tiwonge look after Grotto, and two of them live on the property — which is the part that matters most. There is always somebody here who knows how everything works, so you are never the one who has to work it out.
Who is here
Richard and Emilia live on the estate and have looked after this house for years. Tiwonge works alongside them. Their week runs Monday to Saturday, with Sunday off, and because two of them live here there is somebody on the property at any hour. On a mountainside twenty-five minutes from the city, that is worth more than any lock.
Photography November 2026
The house, kept
Tiwonge cleans five days a week, Monday to Friday, and irons anything you would rather not. If you would prefer fewer visits while you are here, say so; it changes nothing about what you pay. The washing machine and dryer are in the garage, and Richard or Emilia will take that off your hands entirely if you would rather not think about it.
The fire, already lit
Richard lays the fire in the herb garden in the evenings and brings wood in for the fireplace indoors. Tell him when, and it is burning by the time you come outside. It is a small thing, and it is the one guests mention afterwards — the difference between a house where you build the fire and a house where the fire is already going.
Photography November 2026
Eggs at the door
There are laying hens and a garden that produces more than the household can use. Richard and Emilia bring eggs and whatever the season is giving to your door, unasked. The herb garden in front of the living area carries rosemary, oregano, thyme and bay for the kitchen, and lemon verbena, pelargonium and wild rosemary for the gin. If you would rather they did not, they will not.
The long table
The kitchen is built for cooking and most guests do. For anything beyond that we arrange a caterer — dinner for twelve at the outdoor table, cooked here, billed separately. Ask when you book and it is settled before you land.
What it is not
Grotto is not a hotel. There is no front desk, no turndown card, nobody in uniform, and nobody hovering. What there is instead is a household that has run this place for years and the working assumption that you should never have to ask twice. Guests who want the estate entirely to themselves can have that too — say so, and the household keeps its distance.
For the whole estate — all three houses, up to twelve people, staff on site — tell us your dates and we will come back with a firm total.