Fact: Virtuoso reported a 40% increase in demand for private homes and villas among luxury travellers last year. Fact: in a post-pandemic world, (U)HNWIs are prepared to invest in more space and privacy than ever before. Fact: we have just the solution. From exclusive-use country manors to stand-alone suites at the world’s most exclusive hotels, these are our five favourite luxury private-hire properties around the world right now.
Various at Villa d’Este
Lake Como, Italy
Best for: old-world glamour
If we had to spend one perfect day in Lake Como, we’d spend it here. Because, with a lakefront location like this, it would be easy for any hotel to rest on its laurels. But not Villa d'Este. In fact, Villa d’Este ups the ante on every level possible. Sights that shouldn’t surprise you here: George Clooney dining at the Grill, dogs decked out in designer gear, and one of Lake Como’s best luxury spas.
Villa Cima at Villa d'Este
And when the glitz and glam gets too much? Retreat to the privacy and comfort of your private villa. From a magnificent mansion discreetly designed by Loro Piana to a one-bedroom bolthole that’s ridiculously romantic, there are four properties here: Villa Cima, Villa Garrovo, Villa Malakoff, and Mosaic House. Just picture your favourite foods always plated up for you at the dining table, your loved ones lounging around in the drawing room, and your music playing from the Sonos. It doesn’t get better than this.
Sleeps 2–13 | from €3,790 per night | villadeste.com
Royal Villa at Chablé Yucatán
Chocholá, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Best for: spirituality and seclusion
Seeking spirituality at Mexico’s most luxury hotels? Look no further than Chablé Yucatán – a colourful 19th-century hacienda surrounded by jungle and centred around a sacred cenote. The setting alone is special enough to evoke a sense of spirituality. But its endless experiences – from cacao ceremonies led by the resident Abuela to poolside cocktails containing rare Melipona honey from the resident bees – really seal the deal. Its collection of over 3,000 tequilas helps, too…
Royal Villa at Chablé Yucatán
Chable’s sense of spirituality is always served with a slice of serious seclusion when staying in its Royal Villa. Days here are spent swimming in your private pool, booking a bespoke treatment in your private spa cabin, and curling up in front of a film in your private cinema. Your only company? The sounds and smells of the jungle. There are three private villas at Chablé Yucatán, but the Royal Villa is by far its most exclusive – and a stay here feels like an otherworldly escape.
Sleeps 6 | £5,433 per night | chablehotels.com
Various at Domaine de Vieux-Mareuil
Périgord Vert, France
Best for: a countryside escape
When Madame Laëtitia Morlat restored four historical properties around the Périgord – France’s forgotten province – into the private villas that make up the Domaine de Vieux-Mareuil collection we know and love today, everything changed. They’re each a living, breathing fairytale. The kind of places that make you want to don a floaty dress and frolic through the nearby sunflower fields and vineyards. Except the real fantasy is the five-star service that allows you to switch off like nowhere else.
Domaine de Bagatelle at Domaine de Vieux-Mareuil
The stars of the show are Château de Chanet (a honey-hued home), Domaine de Bagatelle (an open-plan and airy estate), Domaine de Lavy (a meticulously manicured manor), and La Roussie Villa (a former farmhouse). Each property tells its own story. There are dry moats, giant chess sets, secret caves, sun-lit Orangeries, cosy libraries, grand pianos, local honey – the list goes on. Your only job is to choose the one that speaks to you and let them take care of the rest.
Sleeps: 8–23 | from €3,000 per night | domainedevieuxmareuil.com
The Muraka at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
South Ari Atoll, Maldives
Best for: blowing the budget
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island saw every other resort in the archipelago and decided to raise the stakes – by having not just one island, but two (linked by a long footbridge surrounded by that signature shade of Maldivian blue). Everything else here is just as blissful as you’d expect from a five-star Maldives resort – from overwater bungalows and underwater restaurants to movie nights beneath the stars and Champagne toasts with your toes in the sand.
The Muraka at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
As undeniably dreamy as it is above sea level, the Maldives truly shines below the surface – and this hotel knows it. Because its private villa, The Muraka, was the Maldives’ first ever underwater residence (and is still the most mind-blowing). This submerged suite is where reef sharks, rays, and technicolour fish swim past your windows as you sleep. It’s a bit like a Bond lair – but with a private chef, butler, jet ski access, and a fitness trainer on call.
Sleeps 6 | $9,999 USD per night | conradmaldives.com
Azuree Villa at Eden Roc Cap Cana
Cap Cana, Dominican Republic
Best for: multi-generation family holidays
If there’s one place that knows how to level up your family time, it’s Eden Roc Cap Cana – Relais & Châteaux’s only hotel in the Dominican Republic. Cupped in an enclave on the white-sand shores that slowly slip into azure waters, this sprawling resort is the very best of European elegance and Caribbean charm. From golf clubs to kids’ clubs, there’s something for every age and interest here. It's 30,000 acres of tropical paradise.
Azuree Villa at Eden Roc Cap Cana
Which brings us to Azuree Villa – the private villa that gets its name from the colour of the sea mere metres away from its façade. It’s a six-bedroom showstopper, where every single room comes with a view. Here, you’ve got your very own secret cenote, a cinema-style lounge for post-beach movie marathons, and a private butler on speed dial. Need a golf cart to get around? Done. Fancy a freshly grilled lobster by your private pool? The chef’s already on it.
