TC Travel
Transcription
TC Travel
N&COUNTM F\F fr L) J-J SPR ING/SUMMER J Thrillr inth \rILL An Inside Guide to theWorld's Vacatir Rental Exce Best Breaks e) PLUS:LI C9 TOP SURF TOPVIU CAMPS FOR BEGINNERS EXPER ITAL] Beachy Secr GRTAT DETOX * AFRIC ' For Gastronau HAMAIIA Getaw >-: .i*\deRoccA : j .".'.: {t -l'E Mystiq ' itf, 7f, *te # qH .\ k-'fl ,IW S WHAT'S YOUR DESIRE? A \=s\ffis*-* ROSE-STREWN DRIVEWAY? \hy A SOCCER STAR TO COACH YOUR LIITLE DARLING? YOUR VERY OWN DOMED OBSERVAIORY? WELCOME IO IHE WILD, MONEY RUN AMOK WORLD OF LUXURY VACAIION RENTALS *ff BY LAUREN LIPTON ILLUSIRATIONS BY JEAN-PHILIPPE I)ELt|OMME ffi t{ (,r"', "rt\' . *{# w *,#M ",9 #,@ #{ '%. *M 'l'helanishing A West Coast billionaire's family renting a villa on Corfu requested a daily doggie chauffeur and a staff always at their service-but invisible. The bushes came in handy. SPRING/SUMMER zor5 | 87 milestone celebrations. Another common demographic: adult fi:iends, such as Solomon's client New York fashion designer Dennis Basso, who organized an Italian villa rental last summer with his husband Michael Cominotto and four other couples. The property, Villa di Torno, is a neoclassical waterfront home from whose rooms one can hear the gentle lapping of Lake Como against the private doch directly below. There are a chef, a housekeepe4, and a laundress, and two housemen/waiters; Bassot group also had a captained boat at their disposal day and night. "It was amazing," Basso says. "l always say,'If itt not going to be equal, bette4 or more interesting, I would then prefer to stay at home."' HE SAUDI PRINCE WANTED A winter wonderland. He was yearning for romantic European Christmas i deux, complete with roaring fire, big gifts in little boxeg and lavish holiday decor. There was just one obstacle: It was October. a Thewomanwith whom he wouldbe vacationing "was not his wife, you see," says Sylvia Delvaille fones, founder of Villas & Apartments Abroad, which sets up travelers in luxuriotu vacation rental homes all over ' the globe. Because December z5 was reserved for family, the prince wished to celebrate in advance with his leggy Welsh mistress. Could fones make Christmas come early? She could. She contacted the owner of the rzth-century Water Castle in Lower Austria. "We both laughed," fones sayg "and then she got all her friends to come dress her casrle with lights, richly decorated trees-the whole nine yards." The prince and his mistress were able to enjoy a storybook holiday two montix early in "their own" beautifirlly appointed home. For travelers who crave total privacy, unique amenities, and personalized service beyond their wildest dreamg private villas are the new five-star hotel. More than a third ofvacationers with annual household incomes of g5ogooo or more stayed in a rental home in the past two years, and nearly half were interested in that option as an alternative to a hotel for frrture trips, according to a zor4 survey by MMGY Global, a Kansas City travel and hospitality marketing firm. It's not hard to see why. Increasingly, the villa-loosely defined as a stand-alone property rented to a single guest or group at a time-has come to define everything moneyed vacationers are looking for. Whether a centuries-old European estate. a modern beachllont mansion, or a self-contained island compound, the best villa offers all of the comforts of someone else's home. Staying in a private villa is about "getting something thatyou otherwise dont have access to," says Mara Solomon of Homebase Abroad, which specializes in historic Italian properties, "because it doesnt exist anywhere else. It is the best of everything from centuries-every single silk on the wall, every single fitting in the bathroom, every single piece of art or antique, down to the family's own china of the most extraordinary quality" As do similar companies', Homebase Abroad's guests make up, Solomon says, "a percentage of the one percenters" in the United States and other parts of the globe. They run the gamut {?om the phenomenally rich and/or famous seeking total seclusion and safety to prosperous, multigenerational families that want to play house en masse, to groups gathering for important 88 I TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM ECAUSE BASSO ISN'T THE only guest who feels this way, the boutique agencies that handle these properties do much more than just MIND YOUR MANNERS Five tipsfor being a good renter: #l You break it, you bug it. Accidents happen, and if you have one, it's best to own up to it right away. ''You're more [ikety to be treated [enientty if you're proactive," says one agent. And because it's standard operating procedure for house managers to check for damage, it's not a good idea to turn over a white couch cushion after spilting red wine, to move a chair to cover a scratch on a wood floor, or to try to glue the head back on a marbte statue"-a[[ of which have been tried. #2 Do not redecorate. A vi[[a reflects iis owner's styte and taste, and you're a guest there. "We ask that you not rearrange paintings, bed, configurations, or furnishings," says one speciatist. accept security deposits and pass over the house keys. Increasingly, these firms, as well as some of the properties' gracious and accommodating owners, have carved a niche for themselves by granting requests f?om villa guests that range from the low-key to the lavish. For Elizabeth Dorros, an events manager in New York City, a trio of milestone family birthdays during a single week in May zor3 had her puzzlingover how and where to entertain 3o members of her welltraveled clan, who were expecting a once-in-alifetime spectacular. Dorros contacted Marina Gratsos of Carpe Diem Luxury Travel, a London company specializing in glamorous excess. Gratsos not only arranged for the group to stay together at two private residences in Umbria over the course of a week, she put together a party at each. The first was a Zoth birthday fete set against the picturesque medieval and Renaissance ruins on the estate grounds; it included jugglers and flag wavers in period costume. The second celebrating the 4oth birthdays of Dorros's husband and his cousin, centered on a wine-stomping competition-even though grapes were out ofseason. "Marina still made it happen," Dorros says. "The entire family dove into barrels fitfor zo people, rolling up white linen pants and beautiful silk summer dresses, which were getting splashed with grape juice." On the last night Gratsos organized a private home performance by local opera singers, and members of the villa staffconcluded the evening by breaking into an impromptu rendition of "Memory" from Cats. Dor ros's family was bowled over. So was Dorros-who now works as Carpe Diemt U.S. liaison. "We understand all angles of a client's needs and requests, no matter the level of demand," she says. For these companies many requests are fairly fulfill. In Italy Countess Simonetta Brandolini easy to d Adda, who represents about Zo for-rent estates (mosdy owned F F F F 0 = N F z F F F tI a F ui F SLEEPfNG WITH THE STARS them out. Interested? Just ask the villa rental pros Sting I I Pal agio, (see page 9z) Lelsface*:ceteb*iesownsomeofthemostover-the-topuacationhomesaround,Manyatsorent f they repraent any such prEefties. Here are afew. MartinVilla au Soleil, sr. BARIs After renting it himsel.f in 2008, the comedian/art coLlector/movie star took the uttimate step and bought this isLand-coLoniaL-styte estate-carved wood f urniture and a[[. Martin has now put Vitta au SoLeiI back on the market, with an asking price of $8.6 milLion. {lf you're interested, the Iisting is being hand[ed by St. Barth Properties Sotheby's lnternationaL.l WhiLe it awaits its next owner, the estate is avaitab[e for rent. Situated on a hiLL in Lurin, the viILa has 180-degree views of St. Jean Bay, aswe[[ as four bedrooms, a two-leveL infinity poo[, and Stere ruscaruv Have a hankering to record your own rendition of ''Roxanne"? Lay it down in the studio at this 16th-century viLta, which beLongs to the music superstar and his wife Trudie Styler. The 900-acre compound includes a main residence and outbuiLdings, sleeps as many as 50 guests, and can host events for up to 400. Aside from the recording studio, it features gardens by renowned [andscape designer Arabetla Lennox-Boyd, a working farm that produces honey and olive oit, a biodynamic vineyard that yieLds wines named after Sting hits ["Message in a Bottle," 'Sister Moon"), and a chessboard with tife-size pieces. Book through: The Best in ltaty, Simonetta Bra ndoli ni d'Adda. si m onetta(dthe besti nita [v. com. 0 1 1 -3? - 055 -223-064 a gazebo. Book through: St. Barth Properties, Peg WaLsh, pegwa[sh@ stb a rt h. co m. B0 0 - /,2 1 - 339 6 W Donna Karan 'fhe Sanctua{y, ruRKs AND cAtcos Located in Parrot Cay, a private Luxury resort development, this 1O-acre beachfront compound has a spa house, a dramatic infinity pooL, and the Eastern-inspired architecture and cedar interiors you'd expect from the noted fashion designer and yoga enthusiast. lNaturatly, the property aLso has a yoga studio.l The house is fitl.ed with antiques Karan has cotlected on her globetrotting excursions. lf you fatL in love with the oversize custom teak furniture, you can buy similar pieces at Karan's Urban Zen boutiques in New York City and Sag Harbor. And if you want the uLtimate souvenir, two of the estate's three residences are on the market for $39 mil.Lion. Book through: VitLas and Apartments Abroad, Sytvia DelvaitLe Jones, [email protected],212-213-6435 Joe Francis Casa Aran'tar.r, PUNTA MlrA, MExlco Perhaos the name of the creator of the notorious Gids GoneWildvideos is not one you want to drop. But his estate has hosted the [ikes of Jennifer Aniston, Eva Longoria, Courteney Cox, and Demi Moore. Kim Kardashian, who rented the vitla in 2014 (and, naturat[y, Instagrammed bikini seLfiesl, raves aboutthevit[a's privacyand security. lt sits on a beach that has been carefuLty c[eared of rocks, and it has a movie theater, a gym, a business center, a professiona[-grade frozen yogurt machine, and a speciaI ANYTHING button on every phone. Press it 24 hours a day for "anything you can think of, anytime you want it, anywhere you want." Book through: Casa Aramara, [email protected], 31 0-522-4960 L.L. SPRING/SUMMER 2,ori | 89 ,:li '%'"'' -)lt:., li iW '1 h&"*M p _"** -,,.- ^- -k rr3 f, ,,,'M Mre ' l ! ''q: l:4, by her friends) can arrange a private dinner in fiont of the David statue at the Accademia Gallery in Florence, or a visit to a fiesco or sculpture restoration project in progress. "People love to go up on the scaffolding" she says. Other villa agencies, in places ranging fiom Europe to Greece to the Caribbean to California, connect guests to locals for a more authentic experience. There have been cooking lessons with private chefs, mushroom-foraging outings with expert mycologists, and excursions to tiny out-of-the-way farms, cheesemakers, and wineries. A local host in Croatia, upon hearing that her American visitors had roots in the country, spent hours tracking down two of their relatives and served as translator at a traditional meal for the long-lost family members. The reunited kin are still in touch. HERE'S ALSO AN ENTIRE category of child-related requests, from keeping kids entertainedsay, by arranging to have a local professional soccer player drop in and put them through their paces-to simply making sure they're safe and calm. That might mean having a property thoroughly babyproofed, ridding the pantry of any foods to which the little darlings are allergic, or even ensuring that the children are Here, my deflf The only thing a villa specialist could not deliver in the Austrian castle a Saudi prince rented for a storvbook Christmas with his Welsh mistress was the snow-it was October. MIND YOUR MANNERS #3 Reward tlte stqlf The chefs, housekeepers, and others who make your stay exceptionaI re[y on gratuities for their Livelihood. Tip appropriate[y but generousty, according to LocaL custom and each person's Level of expertise. A Michetin star-caLiber chef, for exampLe, wi[L command a four-figure gratuity. wouLd be better not to tip him at atL than to hand him $1 00," says one agent.l lf you're in doubt about whom and how much to tip, ask your traveL speciaIist. |t never without their preferred brand ofcoconut water. That last, in fact, is a routine requirement for Holl1' Cao and Bob Hellman. The Atherton, California, parents, who are both in private equity, fiequently stay rn villas from a company called Exclusive Resorts. To keep their twins, Tucker and Cartef three, well rested and on schedule, the couple enlists the companyt concierge team to help recreate the kids'room at home, including bedding, sound machine, stuffed animals, photographs, and familiar smells. "There's an unbelievable number of things we've asked fol" Cao says. "But traveling n'ith young kids, any little thing could cause a disaster" Calamity was averted during a zor4 villa vacation ln Maui, thanks to the on-site concierge. Before the famill ar:rived, he went looking for Harrnless Har-vest roo% Raii' Coconut Wate4 the discerning toddlers' favorite. (lt s one ofthe few brands, Cao explains, that tastes like real coconut.) But it wasnt available in Hawaii. Thinking on his feet, the concierge bought z5 fiesh coconuts. "He had them cracked and the coconut water put in a jug for us in the fridge, and it was ready to go," Cao says. "Crazy, right?" Not as crazy as some requests. The staff of a villa rn the Sri Panwa development on Phuket, in Thailand, once T z G TH E ANTE lrfnity pook, outdoor dining areas, and spectacutar views are about as standard. in rhe high-ena vilta wortd as running UPP IN water and electricitJ). Bat some properti.es come with, well, a little something extra. z 1 J F = l,-l_, o : F I o ^. Andros 4LMGreece Leobo Private Reserve Mas Mateu.Spaln Casa Bahia Majorca THE PROPERTY: Located on Andros, Sourh THE PROPERTY: This 1 Bth-century THE PROPERTY: Enjoy extreme an island that isn't on the beaten THE PR0PERTY: Owned by an EngLish tourist path but that attracts tech dntrepreneur, this 23,000acre estate north of Johannesburg combines vernacuLar and modern design, including a chandetier made from a hippo sketeton. estate in Girona has atmost 30,000 square feet of living space, muttip[e fireplaces, and views of privacy and around-the-clock security at this contemporary sixbedroom home, which has indoor and outdoor pools and a view of the Mediterranean. a number of Greek shipping famities, this vi[La steeos 20 and includes a pooL, a Jacuzzi, and a tennis court. THE EXTRA: Ouzo time! When you re o z I c n ready to unwind, take the etevator from the viLta's third ftoor down to the fuL[y equipped bar and party area righi on the beach. B00K THROUGH: Five Star Greece, lle ana von H i rsch, I Lea na@f ivesta r qreece.com, 01 | -44-208-422-4885 Afica THE EXTRA: Think James Bond in the bush. The heticopter and alL-terrain vehic[es are pretty sweet, but the estate's dome-roofed observatory, complete with research-grade tetescope, is out of this wortd. B00K THR0UGH: Handpicked Africa, Kate C o [e ri dg e, kate co te ri d g eg ha nd pickedaf rica.co. uk, 0 1 1 - 44-777?41 -0481 the Pyrenees. THE EXTRA: Bring along your OLdenburg or Dutch Warmbtood: The THE EXTRA: Who's up for a drive? property includes a state-of-theart equestrian faciLity that is used to train Spain's nationaI dressage team. IProfessionaL instructors can atso provide Lessons.J You're welcome to get behind the wheeI of any of the 10 gLeamrng luxury cars ILamborghini Gatlardo, Spyker C8 AiLeron, Maserati GranCabrio Sport, Aston Martin Rapide S...) awaiting you in the pristine garage. B00K THR0UGH : VilLas and Apartments Abroad, Sy[via Delvai lte J o n e s, sy Ivi a.j 21 2-21 3-6435 o n e s@va a ny c. co m, B00K THR0UGH : Et Sol Villas, M a ry Va i ra, m a ry@e Iso lvi IIa s. co m, 800-474-5765 L.L. SPRING/SUMMER zol5I 9 IIPS & IACIICS THE VILLA RENTAL SPECIALISTS Want the u[tinate from y0ut viila vacation? Here are the and sone of their standout prooerties. pelple t0 call- ST. BARTH PR0PERTIES Peg l{alsh, [email protected]\n, are: #4 Relinquish control. CARIBBEAN Who they MIND YOUR MANNERS Live Your Dream" is 800-4zt-JJgd the motto of this agency and concierge service, run by an American who fe[[ in [ove with St. Bart's in the 1g8os and nott' spends hatf her time on the istand. Watsh can arrange anything from vacation activities to spectacu[ar destination weddings; properties in the firm's Grand Cru coltection offer hotet-$yte services. Standout properties inctude: Vitta La Ptage, a seven-bedroom beachfront home with an enormous semicircutar swimming pool and a hidden private gate entrance from Lorient Beach. ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRETAND L0YD & T0WNSEl{D RqSE Andrew Loyd, [email protected], 0n-44-tBJ|-BL4-642 Who they are: .lonathan Townsend Rose managed British historic estates for three decades; Loyd, his partner, has a degree in hotel management and spent his earty career working with weatthy American famities. The two joined forces in 1999 as besp0ke traveI ptanners, arranging classic British vitta hotidays. Stand0ut properties inctude: A Grade A [ishd Pattadio-$yte mansion that "noblest ctassicaI country house," with a Whiskey Library and historic portraits of the house's owners going back centuries. lTett your friends they're your ancestors.J has been calted Scottand's GREECE & THE GREEK ISLANDS FfVE STAR GREECE l[eana von Hirsch, lleanaqfivestargreece.com, ur44-nB-4n-4885 Who they are: A pi0neer in the high-end Greek vitta rentaI market, von Hirsch has been in business for 15 years and is impeccabty connected. ''We understand what our ctients expect and aim to go beyond that, to create the ultimate Greek istand vacation," she sals. Standout properties inctude: Vitta Skin0s, a 400-acre estate on lthaca that has received such visitors as Jacquetine and Aristotte 0nassis. Part ofthe pteasure of staying in a private house is the chance to live [ike a native. So embrace the customs. Eat dinner at the locatty normaL hour, adopt the locaI habits, don't insist on doing everything exactly how and when you do it in your normal Life. Otherwise, you're missing the point. As one agent puts it, "lf you want it to be Like home, stay at home." / #o RcsDect the neiqhbors. "W6 do not recoi-rmend driving your sports car 80 mites an hour down a private one-way tane or practicing with your rock band at 2 a.m.," one speciatist says. lf your own ideas of good citizenship and common sense don't keep you and your guests in Line, the locaI po[ice may. delivered 3o bottles of Louis Roederer champagne to a high-profile guest celebrating an anniversary. The staff, naturally didnt ask what one couple was going to do with so much bubbly Housekeeping came into the room the next morning to find the tub filled with it. And for a wedding several years ago at the villa Don Arcangelo all'Olmo in Sicily, the Thinking Tiavelle4, a London company that specializes in Mediterranean propertie$ had a r,ooo-pound Steinway concert piano trucked in so that Lang Lang, the world-renowned pianist, could play it at the event. Even those assignments were garden variety compared to this request from a couple who stayed for a month last summer at Villa Nel Bosco in Sonoma County, California. The Manhattan foodies had always dreamed of preparing meals with vegetables picked fiom their own garden. They wondered if the agency could plant one and even supplied a list oftheir desired crops: heirloom tomatoes, arugula, green peppers, broccoli, onions, various lettuces, herbg peaches, and strawberries. None of this would have been a problem, except that the guests were due in two weeks and the seeds hadnt even been sown. So the agency scoured the area's growers for fully developed plants, including a peach tree. They had garden beds, an irrigation system, and deer fencing installed. By the time the couple arrived, the garden was perfect, if ever so slightly jerry-rigged. "When you're moving plants, they dont always arrive intact," Liza Graves, of Beautiful Places, says. "We were trying to get the pepper plants symmetrical, and one or two peppers had fallen off. Yes, there was Krazy GIue involved." ITALY THE BEST ll{ llALl Sinonetta Bnndolini d'Adda, sinonettaqthebestinitaLy HILE THE CONCEPT .con, 0n-39"055-22306/+ Who they are: Countess Brandolini d'Adda, an American married to an Itatian, $arted her business in the early 1980s after she began renting her own property near Siena to a handfuI of friends and friends of friends. Since then the business has btossomed; Brandotini now manages more than B0 of omnipotent specialists who can make a garden grow overnight is relatively new, villa travel isnt. It has its roots in the vi[[as, casttes, and other residences in various regions of ltaty, many owned by her friends. Standout properties inctude: Vitla det Lago, a pair of vitlas on Lake Como that face the Vitta d'E$e hotet, on the opposite side of the take; La Masseria, a unique nationaI historic [andmark in Pugtia course and a bocce court. that has its own four-hole golf Icotrnrueo ot pace toa] Greekdrama A former pumice factory, super-chic Santorini Hideaway, represented by Five Star Greece, comes with views of the white houses of Oia and all the water toys imaginable. i.l :i..,' . centuries-old custom of the Grand Tour, in which members of the British ruling class would travel for months or years through Europe, snapping up paintings, antiquities, and other pricey souvenirs, a practice later embraced by the American upper class as well. Discriminating sojourners recognized the charms of the villa, in which, Henry fames wrote in his Gilded Age travelogue Italian Hours,one "might Iive over again in them some deliciously benighted life of a forgotten type-with graceful old sale, and immensely thick walls, and a winding stone staircase, and a view fiom the loggia at the top; a view of twisted parasol-pines balanced, high above a wooden horizon, against a sky offaded sapphire." The modern iteration of villa travel began to take as a trend about tlrree or four years ago, around the Airbnb, the gro billion online busineis that allows to list and lease their apartments or houses, became most talked-about development in bargain travel. they tend to attract different ends of the market, accommodations and exclusive villas share a off time users the Though Airbnb similar : ! : t= Z 9 Theyve gotjuice For a milestone family celebration at a villa in Umbria, the renters requested a wine stomping competition-even though grapes were out of season. I a FI I they isolate themselves. "lt takes us back to the days of Rome, except that the rich are richer now than anyone could possibly imagine," says Adams, the author of On Luxury: A Cautionary Tale, areflectron on the morality of excess. An arrangement in which a tiny minority is able to demand and get anything it wants-"a whole system built on absolutely limitless consumption"-cant last, he says. And the idea that one can segregate oneself in a plush fortress is an illusion anyway. "It's trying to control your environment completely," he says. "But you cant control anything once you get beyond the boundaries of the villa. There are too many uncertainties." ''4w r"fr EVERTHELESS, THE TREND continues. Eight percent of people $r million. and almost 30 percent of those rvorth more than $25 million, spend g25,ooo or more a year on leisure travel, according to Spectrem worth at least N ,'II IAKES US BACK TO THE DAYS OF ROME, EXCEPT THAT THE RICH ARE RICHER NOItl| THAN ANYONE COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE IT'S A WHOLE SYSTEM BUILT ON ABSOLUTELY LIMITLESS CONSUMPTION IAND] IRYING TO CONTROL YOUR ENVIRONMENT COMPLITELY'' appeal. Private residences can offer a deeper experience of a location, often away {iom the typical tourist destinations. They're also often found in places hotels cant penetrate. In Sonoma County, for example, it would difficult for a variety of reasons to "build new hotel with zoo rooms on top of a hill in wine counuy with an amazing view," says Graves, of Beautifirl Places. But you can have that with a private estate. Some observers warn that this trend has a dark side. The historian and lecturer William Howard Adams says villa travel only accentuates the "totally depressing" gulf between those who gobble up every possible be extremely a extravagance, the subordinates r'r'ho indulge them, and the teeming, impoverished multirudes from whom Group, a consulting firm in Illinois. Five percent of rhe latter group shells out groo.ooo or more. To attract that kind of spender, a number of upscale hotel chains are adding villa-style accommodations to appeal to discriminating, deep-pocketed guests. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts recently appended "and Residences" to the titles of its properties in Vail, Jackson Hole, and Whistler. (Each already included separate villa-like accommodations and wanted to be sure potential guests knew it.) The upscale chains Vicerol' Hotels & Resorts and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts are also adding villa options. While hotels are cribbing Iiom the villa business, the villa business has learned a thing or two from hotels- in particula4 branding. In April zor5 an invitation-onl1' consortium of exclusive agencies and some individual properties will launch a new partnership called UltraVilla. The idea is to guarantee a certain level of quaiity-to be the Relais & ChAteaux of the villa world. That may come in handy when a villa stay doesn't go as planned, as fames Martin, a New York businessman, discovered during a trip to Buenos Aires a few years ago. He and his friends had rented an "amazing" go million property and were on their way to it when they got a call from their rental specialist The house had burned down in an electrical fire. "lt was a big, smoldering pile of ash," Martin says. Though nobody had been hurt, there was still the question of where Martin and his group would stay. His agency scrambled to find them a series ofhouses along the Rio de la Plata. "Of course, these homeowners had not been prepared for guests, so we literally went in with their laundry still in the washing machines," Martin recalls. "It makes for a good story." o SPRING/SUMMER zor5 | 93