Unless your clients are particularly well connected, it’s unlikely they’ll be bunking up with Brangelina in their French pad or borrowing Camp David from Barack Obama this year.
However, it is possible for them to take a break courtesy of an A-list star – and not all of them will break the bank. Many celebs have invested in hotels over the years, so it’s perfectly possible for clients to jet around the world staying in properties owned by big names.
Branson
The most obvious candidate is Virgin boss Richard Branson.
As well as the infamous Necker Island, there are another four marginally more affordable properties in the Virgin Limited Edition collection.
Sa Terra Rotja is a four-bedroom luxury villa hidden in the countryside on the northwest Majorcan coast. Backed by mountains and with a private pool and views over the ocean, it’s a real retreat.
Private safari lodge Ulusaba sits in its own Sabi Sand game reserve on the borders of South Africa’s Kruger National Park. There are 21 rooms and suites: choose from the treehouse style Safari Lodge on a dry river bed, the Rock Lodge perched high on a hill with views out to the Drakensberg Mountains or the exclusive Cliff Lodge.
Kasbah Tamadot is an opulent 24-room Moroccan hideaway in the foothills of the High Atlas – great for star-gazing or relaxing in a traditional hammam.
Or if snowy alpine living is more their thing, how about The Lodge, a deluxe wooden chalet with nine rooms and suites in Verbier?
From February next year, clients will also be able to luxuriate on the Necker Belle, a new 32-metre, four-cabin catamaran with seven crew, which they can charter to explore the Caribbean for a cool $88,000 for seven nights.
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola, most famous for directing the Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, also owns four resorts in South America.
Blancaneaux Lodge and Turtle Inn are both in Belize, the former a mountain lodge in the tropical forests of Cayo, the latter a beach paradise on the coast near Placencia.
In Guatemala, the 10-room La Lancha lodge is set in the rainforest high above lake Peten Itza, near Tikal. Jardin Escondido is a boutique retreat in Buenos Aires, which can be hired in its entirety. There are three levels of gardens, a pool and terrace, making it an oasis in a busy city.
The US
Many US stars have purchased hotels in the US. If handsome, weathered Americana floats their boat, clients will love Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort.
Lodges nestle into the forests, made from rough-hewn fir and decorated in warm tones with Native American accents. Think wood-burning stoves, baskets of fircones and locally sourced, organic produce. The skiing is great in winter; in summer guests can hike, bike, ride and fly-fish.
Happily, New York’s The Greenwich Hotel has a softer touch than its part-owner, Robert De Niro. It’s unlikely that the staff in this extremely upmarket, gentleman’s club-type establishment will ask if you’re talking to them. The 88 rooms and suites are decorated with Tibetan silk rugs and English leather settees, and bathrooms are of Moroccan tile or Carrera marble. It’s located slap-bang in the heart of Tribeca for a true Manhattan experience.
Another Hollywood legend hotel owner is Clint Eastwood. While many celebs may see their involvement as purely an economic investment, the Dirty Harry star bought the historic Mission Ranch property in Carmel, California, when it was under threat of being torn down.
Eastwood had been stationed at For Ord in the 50s and had often eaten at the restaurant there, a relaxed eaterie popular with locals.
When he bought the property he was also Mayor of Carmel, and invested heavily in bringing the ranch back to life. Rustic, old-world lodges surround the restaurant and piano bar, set among picturesque pastures.
Australia
Grease star Olivia Newton-John is part owner of Gaia Retreat and Spa, nestled in the lush rolling hills behind Byron Bay in New South Wales.
Decked out in neutral, natural earth tones, it’s a peaceful, low-key-luxe retreat with a strong focus on wellbeing. The extensive spa offers mud wraps and massages, there are yoga, tai chi and cookery classes, tennis coaching and personal trainers, and the on-site organic garden provides ingredients for the renowned restaurant.
Just down the road on the Gold Coast, but world away in terms of style, is the Palazzo Versace.
The brainchild of Donatella, the tone of the hotel is Renaissance viewed through bling-tinted spectacles.
There are 205 rooms, 72 condominiums, three restaurants, a marina, a spa, and – of course – a Versace boutique. There is now also a Versace Hotel in Dubai, too.
Europe
Visitors to Dublin can have a beautiful day at The Clarence, the boutique hotel overlooking the Liffey owned by Bono and The Edge of U2. The rooms are decorated in the hotel’s signature colours of crimson, royal blue, amethyst, gold and chocolate, but it’s in the wood-panelled Octagon bar with its signature skylight that guests can celeb-spot.
If clients prefer a spot of Abba, send them to Stockholm to stay in the Rival Hotel, owned by the band’s Benny Andersson.
The rooms are works of crisp Scandinavian design with blond wood and large movie-inspired artworks. Log on to the website to see the staff of the hotel perform a ditty penned by Andersson and his Abba writing partner Bjorn Ulvaeus.
