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Two luxurious, secluded Caribbean villas
Two resorts on the Turks & Caicos Islands which offer the levels of luxury and privacy demanded by Hollywood celebrities - at star-studded prices.
Fashion designer Donna Karan, model Christie Brinkley, Keith Richards and Bruce Willis all own homes on this private island resort. The Caribbean island is home to a hotel with 43 rooms, 12 beach villas, several private homes, and nothing else, so it offers truly luxurious seclusion.
How they rate it
Parrot Cay has everything "the discerning sybarite could possibly want, delivered with exquisite levels of service", says Karen Robinson in The Sunday Times. "This is where the A-list can relax." While the hotel rooms are sumptuous, for a truly exceptional experience, book one of the beach houses, which come with their own pools and butlers.
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"If you think you're too down-to-earth for the butlered lifestyle: you're wrong." Yes, you could do it all yourself, but "it's just that little bit nicer when your man does it for you".
The Lotus restaurant serves Caribbean, Italian, Asian, and super-healthy dishes, but the local delicacy, conch, is the thing to pick, "like calamari, only tastier".
The cost
A room costs from £460 per night. A villa will set you back upwards of £1,640 per night. To find out more, visit: www.parrotcay.como.bz, or call 00 1 649 946 7788.
Amanyara
This opulent palace of a hotel is attempting to attract celebrity guests with the opening of its 'artist's villa', which has its own recording studio and cinema. Will Smith, Rihanna and Sienna Miller have already stayed at the Amanyara and more celebrities will no doubt follow.
But if you're more interested in relaxing than star-spotting, don't worry the Amanyara's private villas are surrounded by dense vegetation, so it's easy to get a bit of privacy.
How they rate it
This is "the hotel of your dreams", says Amy Grier in Stylist. "It's a temple of pared-down opulence with glass-walled rooms or 'pavilions' and the biggest infinity pool you're ever likely to clap eyes on." The hotel's buildings are an "architectural triumph", says Ed Victor in The Sunday Telegraph. Built from a "beautifully coloured mahogany", the pavilions have four separate buildings housing "extremely luxurious" bedrooms clustered around a private pool and a spacious lounge and dining area.
The menu
The private chef at Victor's villa prepared grilled lobster that was "the finest we've ever eaten". The main restaurant is also "excellent".
The cost
Prices start from £782 per night. Visit www.amanresorts.com, or call 00 800 2255 2626 to find out more.
Alan Ayckbourn: My dream holiday
"I love nothing better than hiring a barge and going cruising," says playwright Alan Ayckbourn in The Sunday Telegraph. His favourite spot is the Burgundy Canal in France, where he hires a "fabulous" three-cabin canal boat called Le Papillon (www.hotelbarge.com). It sleeps six and has a crew of four, including a cook, someone to steer and someone to "generally keep things shipshape".
What the travel writers are saying
Stylist has reviewed 'the best holiday villas in the world'. The Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse runs the kitchen at Domaine des Andols in Provence. The resort has nine luxury houses that sleep two to six people. Rooms are "crammed with furniture from the likes of Philippe Starck, while the walls are hung with art and David Bailey photography". All the houses share the restaurant, which serves "amazing" Provencal dishes. Prices start from £460 for two, with a minimum two-night stay (www.domaine-des-andeols.com).
Guests at the Danai Villa on Halkidiki in Greece can enjoy dinner on the private beach surrounded by candles. Or you can just stay in your villa, enjoying the views over the Aegean Sea through your floor-to-ceiling windows. The villa is "bright and airy with a private infinity pool". A stay costs from £595 per person per night with four sharing (www.lhw.com).
Mas Mateu in Catalunya, Spain, sleeps 20. The "sheer size of its estate is mind-blowing". There is a summer house, equestrian centre and cinema room. And you are surrounded by Michelin-starred restaurants, including El Celler De Can Roca. Prices start at €40,000 per week or £2,000 per person per week based on full occupancy. See www.masmateu.com.
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Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.
