18 Jaw-Dropping Private Villas Around the World Where You Can Book Your Next Vacation – TownandCountrymag.com

Let's call this story what it is: Villa Porn. After all, it's the ultimate travel fantasy: to call home, if only for a week, a to-die-for house in a legendary place. Fully staffed, of course. Here are some suggestions:

Arise in the master suite at Villa Astor (pictured above) and you will see, through three double doors, Mount Vesuvius, Sorrento, and the island of Ischiasurely how William Waldorf Astor used to start his day. He bought the clifftop estate from an Italian noble-man in 1905, when he was the American ambassador in Rome, and he filled it with classical and Renaissance objets. When todays owners, Russian migrs who are art collectors themselves, acquired the mansion in 2012, they restored-every marble wall and Neapolitan fresco to its original splendor. So though it is now a rentable villa, its really a sixbedroom private museum, with a chef from Don Alfonsos, the legendary local restaurant. Check your e-mail in the villas Libreriaif you can ignore the collection of priceless ancient artifacts. Youll find more bits and-pieces of Magna Graeciacolumns, statues, fountains, urns, pottery shards, fragments of sarcophagiin the enclosed Roman gardens. And your plunge pool is a seafront grotto consecrated to the nymphs in ancient times. Scroll down for booking information.

Bent on preserving Italys artistic legacy, the owners of the villas Astor and Balbiano have just completed refurbishing another faded landmark: Villa Clara, an abandoned four-bedroom mansion near Romes Villa Borghese.

Courtesy Homebase Abroad

Interior designer Jacques Garcia has reimagined it in sumptuous Art Deco style, and it is dazzling. Its 9,500 square feet of marble and semiprecious stone surfaces, including amethyst on the walls and Siena yellow marble around the indoor pool, hold antique columns and statues and an art collection that includes a Klimt. It is available to rent for the first time this month. Scroll down for booking information.

Courtesy Homebase Abroad

Ideally, a villa here should come with one of those beautiful Venetian water taxis for exploring the lakeside villages. You can get one at Villa Balbiano, plus a footpath for quick walks into town. Fair warning: You may find it hard to leave the six-bedroom villa, filled as it is with artworks and precious 18th- and 19th-century books. Cardinal Durini, a man of arts and letters who lived here in the late 1700s, embellished it with an art collection and a library, and -hosted literary salons and concerts. You may be tempted to do the same: The villa has a Steinway concert grand.

How to Book: Italy

Contact Mara Solomon of Homebase Abroad, which specializes in fine houses in Italy (mara@homebaseabroad.com, 781-639-4040, homebaseabroad.com). For a pre- or post-villa hotel stay in Rome, the Eden is in an excellent location, a short stroll from the Spanish Steps and the Villa Borghese.

The precise location of the property known as Peninsular Estate is a closely guarded secret. But we love it, and heres what we do know: Its owned by a shipping family, it was built in 1960, Jackie and Aristotle Onassis were guests, and three generations of the same family have run it. Which means the staff will ensure that you find the classic Greek island life the house was designed for: breakfast -under ancient olive trees, and a sail on your yacht (but of course), a classic 40-foot wooden schooner with a captain who will guide it into hidden coves for swimming and water sports.

DEA / ARCHIVIO J. LANGEGetty Images

He might go snorkeling for sea urchins to use in the picnic he whips up in the galley, then deposit you in a village where youll find coffee and ice creamand no touristsbefore getting you back to the villa for siesta. Cocktails are at 8 on one of the terraces, dinner is by candlelight, and the staff goes home at 10, leaving the house all yours: family portraits, shipping insignia, old photos of ships, bookshelves with tomes in five languages, Dufys and Dubuffets on the walls, and a guestbook filled with the names of CEOs and international celebrities. Scroll down for booking information.

This glamorous 10-bedroom villa, Aleomandra, was designed by Lebanese architect Patrick Helou, and it stands out even on an island full of fabulous villas. Its terraces and pools, jacuzzis and daybeds, cover 9,000 square feet, and the pools are strikingly lit at nightjust the thing to inspire a pre-sunrise dip if youve been dancing on tables in Mykonoss clubs all night. The kicker for us is the sea and sunset views from everywhere. Scroll down for booking information.

GEORGE FAKAROS "UNIQUE IMAGING

Villa Olympia, high above the water but just a minutes walk from it, was built for a prominent Greek politician, so it was meant for entertaining, with a palatial reception area, vast terraces, and a helicopter pad (naturally). The new owner added a gym, a thalassotherapy spa, a hammam, and a jacuzzi big enough for 14. Scroll down for booking information.

Courtesy Five Star Greece

Porto Heli is the Hamptons of Greece, where Athenians have their weekend homes. The sprawling compound called Porto Heli CF sleeps up to 18 and is located on a private headland with its own harbor, beach, marina, and waterfront pavilion for shade. The sea is calm, so you can swim or paddleboard from the house or take your speedboat out for waterskiing. For nightlife, the chic island of Spetses is just a hop away on the boat.

How to Book: Greece

Contact Ileana von Hirsch of Five Star Greece, which specializes in Greek villa vacations (Ileana@fivestargreece.com, fivestargreece.com). For a pre- or post-villa hotel stay in Athens, we love the Grande Bretagne, the classic on Syntagma Square.

Luckily, for those of us without-noble pedigrees, Lismore Castle, the Duke of Devonshires home near Waterford, is available for rent. It dates from 1170 (both King John and Sir Walter Raleigh owned it at some point), and the dukes family has had it since 1753. Your Irish breakfast is served in the same dining room where JFK (whose sister Kathleen married the heir to the 10th duke), Fred Astaire (whose sister Adele married the son of the ninth duke), Cecil Beaton, Lucian Freud, and Dominic West have eaten. The staff has been here for decades, and their knowledge will enhance your stay. The head butler will set you up with archery, falconry, riding, hikes on the moors, golf, or salmon fishing (for which Lismore is legendary). And, yes, you can make a party of itthe castle sleeps 27. Scroll down for booking information.

Borthwick Castle, near Edinburgh, is a true 15th-century fortress, with holes from cannonballs fired by -Oliver Cromwell to prove it; Mary Queen of Scots took refuge here during another battle. While it may be the medieval castle of romantic imaginationgiant stone fireplaces, lofty ceilings, and steep stone spiral staircasesBorthwick, which sleeps 24, is also thoroughly state-of-the-art, with modern appliances hidden within the solid oak Renaissance furniture. Scroll down for booking information.

Courtesy Loyd & Townsend Rose

Courtesy Loyd & Townsend Rose

For the ultimate modern take on a Scottish castle, theres Corrour Lodge, which has pyramidal glass towers built in 2003 that look out at 57,000 acres of remote Highlands wilderness (the closest airport is Inverness, a two-hour drive). Designed by Moshe Safdie, its a rare example of world class 21st-century architecture in Scotland. It features a sauna overlooking a loch and a rooftop hot tub. It sleeps 14 adults, and 14 children in a bunk room. Scroll down for booking information.

When a castle seems a bit much for your holidayand a mere manor will dolook to England. Cowdray House, built in 1874 and owned by the eponymous viscount, is set on 110 acres of parkland in West Sussex; it has its own polo and cricket fields, a bowling alley, and indoor and outdoor pools. It sleeps up to 44. Scroll down for booking information.

Courtesy Loyd & Townsend Rose

Cornwell Manor, a 17thcentury estate in the Cotswoldswith an entire private village, a croquet lawn, 12 bedrooms, and a ballroom that holds 70is the childhood home of the actress and director Rachel Ward (granddaughter of the third Earl of Dudley). Its straight out of a Jane Austen -novelas long as you ignore the heated outdoor pool. Scroll down for booking information.

Courtesy Loyd & Townsend Rose

How to Book: British Isles

Contact Andrew Loyd of Loyd & Townsend Rose, which specializes in castle vacations in the UK and Ireland (Andrew@ltrcastles.com, ltrcastles.com, 011-44-1835-824642). For a pre- or post-castle stay, try the Goring, steps from Buckingham Palace, or Dukes, for its traditional top-notch service and famous bar.

Once you experience the food markets of this part of the Dordogne, you may never get to its cultural sights (the prehistoric caves, the Roman ruins). Especially if you put yourself in the hands of Angle, the cook at the Chteau de la Bourlie. The truffle market alone is a religious experience. As is the 13th-century, six-suite chteau, the property of Cyril de Commarque, a sculptor, and Ortensia Visconti, a writer and cinematographer. It has both a farm and an artist-in-residence program and, naturally, countless poetic spots to eat. Breakfast? The rose tree garden, because of how the early sun lights it. Dinner? The candlelit courtyard, where tapers adorn even the lime treesas beautiful as Angles lime flowerblossom ice cream. Scroll down for booking information.

The Chteau des Anges, a 10-bedroom estate built in the 17th century among the idyllic villages of the Luberon, produces its own superb wine and olive oil, and youre welcome to get your hands dirty, if that sort of thing (or the intense flavor of the first-press oil) moves you. If not, chef Lorenzo can take you shopping, and your butler, Thierry, will make sure each meal is set against dreamy table decordifferent plate patterns, napkins, flowerswhether youre dining in the lavender field, by the 18th-century pool pavilion, or on the small island in the lake filled with swans. Scroll down for booking information.

Courtesy Unique Properties and Events

The Domaine de Soulias, a recently renovated 13,000- square-foot farmhouse on an island in the Rhne, will be available in 2020 for groups who want to eat off the land and learn to prepare macrobiotic organic cuisine in the huge professional kitchen. No worries if you get other cravings: There are three twoMichelin-star restaurants (and 16 one-stars) within an hours drive of the house.

Courtesy Unique Properties and Events

How to Book: France

Contact Cdric Reversade and Paul-Maxime Koskas of Unique Properties and Events, which specializes in luxury villa vacations in Europe (cedric@uniquepropertiesandevents.com, 44-20-7788-7815, uniquepropertiesandevents.com). For a pre- or post-villa night in Paris, we love Le Bristol: the food! The service!

Five hundred miles from Rio, Trancoso is Brazils hottest seashore town, a laid-back fishing village with unspoiled white sand beaches, art galleries, and rustic-chic restaurants where multimillionaires go to pretend theyre fishermen. Sure, international celebrities come for the New Years parties, but otherwise everyone goes barefoot and dines in their swimwear.

Courtesy Matuete

Its the ideal place to experience Brazils beach life, and the best way to do it is at your own villa. You could rent Anderson Coopers, in the towns historic center, but Trancoso Villa 17 (five bedrooms, staff of eight) has it all, including a larger-than-life owner, Flvio Marelim, a former restaurateur and bon vivant who designs beach houses for Brazils rich and famous and can connect you with everyone whos anyone in town. The villas 24/7 concierge can double as a babysitter, and as you stroll to a party hell treat your offspring to make-your-own pizza in the outdoor oven and a nightclub in the sand, featuring the villas state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. Scroll down for booking information.

A remote take on the billionaire boating life can be had in Angra dos Reis, a bay with more than 100 car-free islands about a half-hour by helicopter from Rio or So Paulo. Youll find virgin forest, hidden coves, and the weekend homes of Brazils top money managers. Villa 16, on an -island with plenty of trails through primeval nature, is a unique over-water bungalow that sleeps 10 and has a staff of four. Its see-through floor is best admired with a caipi-rinha in hand.

The weekend destination of Rios elite, Bzios has white sandbeaches ideal forwater sports and winds perfect for sailing. It also has a 400,000-square-foot beachfront estate with a 12bedroom horizontal-plan villa, RW, that has a pedigree unmatched by any rental home in Brazil.

Courtesy Matuete

Designed by two of the countrys top architects, Thiago Bernardes and Paulo Jacobsen, it is made entirely of eucalyptus from reforestation areas, it has ocean views from every room, and its filled with works by such famous Brazilian artists as Vik Muniz and Adriana Varejo. When youre not in the -water, have lunch at the beach gazebo or hit the massage room and dream of retiring here somedaythat was the plan of the Rio-based art collector who built the property.

How to Book: Brazil

Contact Martin Frankenberg of Matuet, which specializes in luxury villa vacations in Brazil (Martin@matuete.com; matuete.com; 011-55-11-3071-4515). For pre- and post-villa hotel stays, he recommends Hotel Fasano in Rio de Janeiro for its Ipanema Beach location and the best service in Rio.

This story appears in the October 2019 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW

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18 Jaw-Dropping Private Villas Around the World Where You Can Book Your Next Vacation - TownandCountrymag.com