These are the villas you need to book now, before it's too late
If you want to book a summer holiday with one, two or even three generations of your family or get away with a big group of friends, hiring a villa where you can hang out as a group and save money by self-catering is ideal. But trawling through websites such as Air BnB can take hours, especially if you're looking for something different or a rental that really wows. To save you time, we've found (and tested!) five of our favourite villas in Greece, Italy, France, Spain and the UK . . .
Best villa for friends
GREECE Villa Ino, Lefkas
You’ll find this striking, ultra-modern villa on top of a steep cliff overlooking Nidri Bay and the glittering Ionian sea. An impressive property that sleeps eight in four bedrooms (all spacious, with king-size beds and sea views), Villa Ino is a great option for hosting glamorous parties on the sunny terrace or beside the infinity pool.
We loved the huge outdoor kitchen with a grill for barbecues and a fridge to keep wine chilled. Inside, the concrete interiors are chic and elegant, with a large open-plan kitchen, living and games room (complete with a football table) connected by an impressive spiral staircase (best climbed before an Aperol spritz!).
Head to vibrant Nidri, down the rocky road from the villa, for a girls’ night out in one of its many lively restaurants and late-night bars – try The Pinewood for seasonal small plates, or El Greco, a traditional taverna, for Greek dancing. Egremni Beach, on the other side of the island, is well worth a visit.
We took a portable hob from the villa to cook a snack of garlic prawns on the sand – just one example of how this stunning property has everything you need to self-cater in style.
BOOK IT: Solmar Villas (solmarvillas.com) has more than 2,000 villas in 30 destinations worldwide.
Best villa for multigenerations
SPAIN Villa Alaró, Mallorca
This huge, secluded finca with extensive grounds in the heart of Mallorca sleeps up to 14, so it’s perfect for a large group. With seven bedrooms, most with an en suite, and three distinct areas (including a basement apartment with an outdoor hot tub), there’s space for all to have their own ‘wing’.
The main bedrooms on the top floor have terraces, and you can request cots and high chairs for the little ones. Stunning landscaped gardens feature a citrus grove, bright pink and purple bougainvillea, cacti, olive and fig trees, a huge lawn with fountains and a separate pool terrace at the back.
There’s even a resident peacock that wanders around without a care in the world, which is how you’ll feel after a few days here. For big gatherings, there’s an alfresco kitchen with sofas on one side and a dining table on the other, where we enjoyed a massive seafood paella cooked by a local chef one evening. With plenty of seating areas and hammocks inside and out, there’s always a peaceful spot to relax with a book. The setting, in a peaceful valley on the southern slopes of the Tramuntana mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is stunning and the rocky cliffs glow in the evening sun.
It’s just a 20-minute walk from the traditional Mallorcan town of Alaró, for food shopping and a glass of sangria in the buzzy main square; and within an hour of Mallorca’s capital Palma, celebrity hotspot Deià (Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé and Kate Moss have all visited) and the sandy bay in Port de Sóller.
BOOK IT: The Luxury Travel Book (theluxurytravelbook.com) has over 1,000 one-of-a-kind properties in Europe. It offers a bespoke client experience team and an app providing local information.
Best villas for couples
ITALY La Casetta di Collazzone, Umbria
This two-bedroom townhouse on the edge of a small village in the rolling Umbrian hills is perfect for a romantic retreat. If you do have a small family, children over 10 are allowed – but this place is so special you’ll probably want to keep it all to yourself.
Set over three storeys with a nod to 1970s Italian design, the house has sand-coloured terrazzo counters and floors, two bedrooms – one with an en-suite bath, the other with a rain shower – and indoor and outdoor kitchens. In the morning, you’ll hear the chimes of the church bells at San Lorenzo, a good cue to join the locals for an espresso in the piazza. Alternatively, make one yourself and enjoy it in your private terraced garden, planted with fragrant rosemary, sage, jasmine and lavender.
On the first terrace is a huge table under a pergola, near the outdoor kitchen, and on the next is a pool with incredible views of the Apennines. A short drive away is the town of Todi, where you’ll find historic Roman and Etruscan sites as well as handy local supermarkets. Deruta, another nearby town, is revered for its Renaissance majolica ceramics – a type of tin-glazed pottery decorated in rich colours on a white background – and you can book tours and private painting lessons through the villa owners.
They can also sort pasta-making classes, truffle hunting, wine tastings and meals prepared by a private chef – ask them for a steak made from prized Chianina beef, with locally made Baci (which translates as ‘kisses’) chocolates for dessert.
BOOK IT: Visit La Segreta (lasegreta.com) for all booking information.
Best villa for kids
FRANCE Château Les Carrasses and Château St Pierre de Serjac, Languedoc
Tucked among the vineyards of two historic wine estates in southern France are a range of villas combining the frills of a luxury hotel with the privacy of self-catering gîtes. It’s a short drive from either château to the salt flats along the coast near Gruissan, home to flocks of wild flamingos, or one of the many pretty terracotta-roofed villages that bask sleepily in the sun.
The original outbuildings of these two elegant châteaux have been transformed into 66 self-catering properties (36 at St Pierre and 30 at Les Carrasses), ranging from cosy villas that sleep two to those sleeping up to eight – perfect for big families with kids. Each has a private terrace or garden, and some have their own pool (heated from the end of May to the end of September). All have huge living areas stylishly designed with chic French furniture and flatscreen TVs, and fully equipped Italian kitchens (which you can put to good use after visiting the bustling local markets at Pézenas, Narbonne and Béziers), as well as en-suite bathrooms for every bedroom. Kids will enjoy a visit to the mini farms to meet ponies and lambs, and the Canal du Midi is a short ride from Les Carrasses on the hotel’s bikes.
But what makes these properties unique is the access to the estate’s hotel facilities (which have eight luxury suites in each, popular with grandparents looking for peace), including bigger, heated infinity pools, a spa at St Pierre and a treatment room hidden in the vines at Les Carasses, a clay tennis court, a barbecue area and a boules pitch. You can walk to one of the hotel restaurants for delicious dishes made from produce grown in the estate’s kitchen garden and once a week, chefs fire up the barbecue for an alfresco feast of octopus, grilled Mediterranean red tuna, local sausages and Aubrac beef as you take in views of vineyards and the distant Pyrenees.
Need some you-time? There’s a kids’ club at each château, and babysitters can be arranged in the evenings. At St Pierre, order fresh baguettes or a grill-ready ‘barbecue box’: less time in the kitchen means more time on that sunlounger...
BOOK IT: Domaine & Demeure (domainedemeure.com/en) offers a one-week self-catering holiday for a family of four with four nights at Château les Carrasses and two nights at Château St Pierre de Serjac.
Best villa for families
ENGLAND Undercastle Cottage, New Forest
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more quintessentially English, picture-perfect country cottage than Undercastle in the New Forest. Thatched roof? Tick. Roses around the front door? Tick. Serene riverside setting, cosy fireplace and range cooker in the kitchen? Tick, tick, tick! Stay in winter and it’s even better than the cottage in The Holiday (the only thing missing is Jude Law).
Stay in summer and you’ll feel like you’re in The Wind In The Willows with the New Forest’s free-roaming ponies, deer, otters and kingfishers as neighbours. You can learn how to fish (from £250 for two people) for carp, pike and trout on the Hampshire Avon River, one of the best for fly fishing in the UK, as the cottage sits along 2,500 metres of its gently sloping banks – also home to a family of elegant swans. One episode of the BBC series Gone Fishing was filmed at the cottage, so if it’s good enough for Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse... Plus, if you’d like the chance to meet Mr Badger, there’s a hide nearby that keen photographers can hire (from £100).
Originally a salmon-keeper’s cottage, Undercastle, which is also dog-friendly, has been lovingly restored by the owners, who live locally and have added exposed oak beams from France to the double-height vaulted ceilings, underfloor heating beneath chunky flagstones, a roll-top bath and antique beds from Hampshire bed restorers Victorian Dreams. It sleeps six, with two cosy double bedrooms in the main cottage and a twin bedroom that’s perfect for teenagers or grandparents in the Fishing Lodge, which has en-suite, TV and tea-making facilities.
We were left a generous welcome basket full of local produce including sausages, bacon and freshly laid eggs for a slap-up breakfast. It was all we needed to set us up for a two-hour walk through the forest (there are lots of maps in the cottage) and a delicious meal in the cosy Horse & Groom pub nearby.
BOOK IT: Visit Undercastle Cottage (undercastlecottage.co.uk) for all booking information.
GH VIP Members can WIN a three-night weekend or four-night midweek break at Undercastle Cottage for up to six guests and two dogs by entering our competition HERE if you'd like to upgrade your membership or join our community sign up HERE or by calling 01858 438410.
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