It turns out that sometimes you can have your cake, and eat it too. If you’re staying in a private villa on the grounds of a luxury hotel, the chef will prepare it, the butler will deliver it, the maid will slice it and then they will all leave you alone to enjoy it in palatial and solitary splendour, and you won’t be forced to share it – or your sun lounger – with anyone else.
Yes, luxury hotels with villas provide a best-of-both-worlds scenario, where clients can benefit from the attentive service and extensive facilities – think spas, gyms, golf-courses etc – of a hotel, but with the privacy, convenience and sheer space of a villa, where they will have their own pool, kitchen and living areas. Here are a few properties to consider.
Close to home
Porto Zante Villas, Zante
This is one for clients who want to forget the outside world exists. Though less than a mile away from the nearest village, all-villa Porto Zante (pictured, above) has its own private beach lapped by the Ionian Sea, and offers stunning views of Kefalonia and the Peloponnese peninsula.
The villas have one to four bedrooms, all with private heated pools and gardens, sun loungers and umbrellas, Jacuzzis in the bathrooms, Bulgari toiletries and Armani Casa robes. All the villas are on the beachfront, with some even offering private areas on the beach, too.
There’s a restaurant, but the resort offers 24-hour in-villa dining for those who don’t want to leave their room. Even the spa treatments are all performed in-villa. There are private yacht excursions available around the island too, so there’s really no need to share anything at all.
Lands of Turnberry, Scotland
Turnberry’s Ailsa links course has hosted four Open Championships, and the hotel a multitude of big-spending golf fans. Last month, the first phase of a new self-catering part of the resort opened.
Lands of Turnberry features eight deluxe apartments with every home comfort, and a range of cottages will also open next year. The apartments range from two to six bedrooms in size and are available for three-night lets over the weekend, and four to seven-night stays during the week.
Guests have access to all the hotel’s facilities, including the golf, spa and an extensive children’s activity programme. Visitors can choose to eat in the hotel’s restaurant, the pubs and restaurants in the local area, or cater for themselves in the fully-equipped kitchen.
Aphrodite Hills Villas, Cyprus
Aphrodite Hills Resort is well known for its extensive amenities, including a golf course, tennis courts, riding school, spa and fitness centre, a village square with bars, restaurants, shops and a wedding chapel, a children’s club and playground, mini golf and two beaches.
Alongside the InterContinental Hotel, there’s also a range of villas and apartments spread throughout the resort with views of the golf course, mountains, or the Mediterranean.
Apartments have one to three bedrooms, private balconies and a communal pool. Junior Villas have two or three bedrooms, are semi-detached and have either a communal or private pool, and the two to five-bedroom Superior Villas all have private pool. All have
fully-equipped kitchens.
Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque, Tenerife
These 40 one to two-bedroom villas are tucked away from the rest of the resort and even have their own reception and concierge, as well as their own private pools and terrace areas, and a butler to cater to every whim, such as ferrying clients down to the beach in a golf buggy, or delivering breakfast.
The villas are close to the hotel’s three-level Espa Spa, which has open-air treatment cabanas, and clients can use all the property’s facilities, including the nine restaurants, which offer a range of cuisines.
Deli at Cotton Bay Village, St Lucia
Further afield
Cotton Bay Village, St Lucia
Set between the sea and the only 18-hole golf course on the island, Cotton Bay Village is a villa-only resort. There are 74, with smaller villas surrounding the main pool and other, grander properties, which have private pools and gardens, plus a butler service.
All have full kitchens, and while most guests head to the supermarket in Rodney Bay for big purchases, the on-site deli stocks essentials and nibbles, and also serves breakfasts. There are two restaurants, in-villa dining services, and a spa, and for younger guests, a kids’ club and a clubhouse for teens.
Families are well looked after, with everything from father and son activities such as playing cricket with the locals or deep-sea fishing to a ‘bring the baby, not the baggage’ service that allows parents to pre-order everything from Johnson’s baby products to Pampers.
Parrot Cay Villas, Turks and Caicos
This 1,000-acre private island is an unspoilt, natural haven with a mile-long white-sand beach. It’s a 40-minute speedboat ride from Providenciales airport, and has the air of peace and tranquillity that guests have come to expect from Como Resorts properties.
The hotel’s one, two and three-bedroom villas all have their own stretch of beach, heated pool, sundeck with teak loungers and a large hammock, plus the services of a private butler.
Beyond the hotel grounds there are larger villas on the Parrot Cay Estate, a five-minute golf buggy ride away. The spa is award-winning, and activities include catamaran sailing, deep-sea fishing and diving.
Jumby Bay Villas, Antigua
Want to stay in a villa but also go all-inclusive? Jumby Bay offers the best of both worlds to guests who stay in its 16 villas and eight estate homes. The villas are in three locations across the island, some right on the beach, and many with private pools.
The estate homes dotted around the island are even grander; they have large pools and private beaches, and some have tennis courts and croquet lawns. All-inclusive services include nightly movies, sunset cocktail cruises, non-motorised water sports and dining in four restaurants.
Les Villas de Beau Rivage, Mauritius
Beau Rivage’s signature thatched roof look extends to its 12 luxurious villas. These wrap around their own private heated pools and secluded gardens. All have sea views, 24-hour butler service, private gazebos and wireless internet access.
They’re very spacious and elegantly decorated with a range of influences from Africa, Asia and Mauritius. The villas feel entirely exclusive, but clients will want explore the rest of the resort, if only to sample the cuisine offered in the four restaurants, including Le Langoustier, a speciality seafood option.
Many water sports are offered free of charge on the beach, as are tennis, mini golf and pétanque.
Trisara, Phuket
Trisara means third garden in heaven, and guests may feel they’ve reached nirvana when they stay at this hotel overlooking its own private bay. Although only 15 minutes from the airport, it’s hidden by the jungle and feels secluded.
As well as 39 hotel rooms and suites, there’s also a selection of huge, pavilion-style two to four-bedroom residences set on the headland, all with private pools, live-in maids and a cook.
Most of the villas are a short walk from the beach, the spa, and the hotel’s two restaurants and bar. There are yoga classes, tennis coaching, a kids club and a range of luxury motor yachts that guests can use.
Sample packages
Caribtours offers seven nights in a two-bedroom villa with pool at Jumby Bay, Antigua, from £4,195 based on four sharing, including flights, transfers and lounge access at Gatwick.
Book it: caribtours.co.uk, 020 7751 0660
W&O Travel Tropical Locations offers seven nights’ half-board in an Oceanview Villa at Beau Rivage, Mauritius for £2,405 based on two adults sharing, including Air Mauritius flights and transfers. Valid for stays between May 1 and July 14, and August 25 and September 30.
Book it:wandotravel.com, 0845 277 3310