The Duplex is a two stories apartment with a total area of 100 sqm comprising a living room with fireplace, a kitchen, a toilet and a large terrace on the first floor and a bedroom and bathroom on the second floor connected through a nice wooden staircase from the living room. The terrace built in a traditional local style faces the river and the mountains panorama. Suitable for maximum 2 persons.
The apartment is part of a villa built in the traditional Neo-Romanian architecture specific for the area, in a superb location with a view over the country's biggest inner river, Olt. The property is bordered south and north by walnut and acacia forests and benefits from one acre garden with beautiful landscape.
In the villa’s garden there is a seasonal pool complimentary offered to the house guests, a large pond with an waterfall and a small river, surrounded by benches and a swing, a gazebo with couches and armchairs, a sitting place nearby a small waterfall, a BBQ (summer kitchen) area with a large dining table, an outside living room with a large fire place, an outside tennis table, darts, other outside games. There is a fitness room with performant treadmill and multi-gym available for a charge. Free sheltered parking is available for all guests.
The villa is located in one of the most beautiful areas in the country
There are famous old monasteries to visit on an area of few miles of which most important are:
o Cozia (1387) with a museum exhibiting old art: old manuscripts and prints, embroideries and objects of worship. The monastery hosts the burial of Mircea I of Wallachia
o Hurez (1690) founded by Prince Constantin Brancoveanu, known for its architectural purity and balance and the richness of its sculpted details
o Curtea de Arges a very large and elaborate mausoleum, built in Byzantine style by Prince Neagoe Basarab
o Cetatuia (XV century) where Radu of Afumaţi, a ruler of Wallachia and his son Vlad were executed.
- There are wellness locations nearby:
o The salt mines Ocnele Mari is 10 mile away, situated at 225 meters above sea level. The saline aerosols inhaled in the mine treat various health matters, in particular breathing problems.
o Calimanesti and Olanesti resorts with thermal water pools, hydro therapy with sulfurous mineral waters indicated for the treatment of digestive and hepatobiliary diseases.
There are several vineyards in the area which could be visited for wine tasting and traditional meals, for instance one owned by the family of Prince Stirbey for more than 300 years and regained after the communist era by his niece, the baroness Ileana Kripp-Costinescu
One hour driving away is
o Tg Jiu, the hometown of Brancusi, one of the most famous world sculptors, author among others of The Endless Column, The Silence Table, The Kissing Gate all exhibited outside several parks where could be visited free of charge, and famous sculptures exhibited in various museums: Mademoiselle Pogany, Bird in Space, The Kiss (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
o Sibiu, one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and, in tandem with the city of Luxembourg, designated as European Capital of Culture for the year of 2007.
o Horezu touristic area with several famous monasteries (Arnota, Bistrita, Polovragi, Govora, Surpatele, Stanisoara), caves (Polovragi and Woman’s cave), gorges (Oltet - 2 km and Bistrita – 1.2 km), the Trove Open Air Museum (troves, or "growing rocks", up to 6 - 10 m in circumference).
o The two most spectacular cross-mountain roads in Romania, with breathtaking landscapes, astonishing serpentines, hairpin curves and incredibly steep slope, conveying the visitors through the majestic peaks of the Carpathian Mountains, the Transfagarasan (the most famous) and the Transalpina (the oldest, yet recently modernized)
For those who want to spend a relaxing time without travelling too much
• There is a summer kitchen on the property were guests could learn making bread in a brick oven or cooking traditional recipes. The villa has also a wine cellar with about 1000 bottles of wine from various regions of the country where wine tasting could be arranged for a fee.
• A pottery course and practice could be arranged for guests willing to spend a week in the location