Four Airbnb bookings as seen on TV
The small screen has lent added glamour to these luxury apartments. Chris Carter reports.
An “awesome” apartment
Fans of the hit BBC series Killing Eve know that Villanelle, an assassin played by Jodie Comer, is a “total monster”, but she’s also got “one awesome apartment”, says Stacey Leasca for Travel and Leisure. And the space is no Hollywood set, but a real apartment located in Barcelona and available for rent. Its “low-key” listing describes it as a “very spacious and unusual Art Nouveau ‘Modernista’ flat with reception hall, studio, two bedrooms, glassed gallery, kitchen, bathroom, dining room, and separate living room”.
The building was built for the Ramos family in 1906, hence the name Casa Ramos, and it is located in the central Plaza Lesseps. The apartment also has access to the building’s garden and private swimming pool, and comes with a private balcony with “killer views”.
The team behind Killing Eve aren’t the only ones attracted to the flat’s detailed ceiling mouldings, floor-to-ceiling windows and mid-century modern decor. Filmmakers Alan Parker, Pedro Almodóvar, and Wim Wenders have apparently all filmed here too.
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From £232 per night, airbnb.co.uk/rooms/959089
A thriller villa in the Balearics
Good news for fans of the gritty new Netflix thriller White Lines, about a Manchester DJ found dead on the island of Ibiza, says Ted Thornhill for the Mail Online. The home of character Marcus Ward, played by British actor Daniel Mays, is available for holiday rentals. Villa Can Pirata, as the luxury seafront property is called in real life, is actually located in Cala d’Or on the neighbouring Balearic island of Majorca. It can accommodate up to ten guests in five bedrooms, with four bathrooms. There is a swimming pool and the villa enjoys direct access to the pier. Villa Can Pirata also has private terraces and a porch with a lounge and dining area. It is located away from the main touristy area, yet still within easy reach of the restaurants and bars.
£1,151 a night, airbnb.co.uk/rooms/17127404
An old farmhouse in the Italian countryside
Most of the BBC drama series Normal People is set between Dublin and Sligo in Ireland, but viewers also see the on-off relationship between Marianne (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) unfold against the backdrop of a beautiful Italian villa, says Ella Alexander for Harper’s Bazaar. “There’s an excruciatingly awkward al-fresco dinner in the villa’s garden, a huge argument in a rustic kitchen, and an intimate, streamy moment in one of the pleasingly sparse bedrooms.” That villa, an old farmhouse, is Il Casale, and it has been owned by the same family for 150 years. It lies close to the “pretty” village of Sant’Oreste, just under an hour’s drive north of Rome. There are two bedrooms, one bathroom and a swimming pool with views over the countryside.
Around €50 a night, airbnb.co.uk/rooms/10848912
Behind the scenes of reality TV
The ten participants of Netflix’s reality TV dating show Too Hot to Handle are crammed into one bedroom at Casa Tau (casatau.com) on Punta Mita, on the southwest coast of Mexico, says Kara Godfrey in The Sun. You, however, can choose any of the 12 bedrooms on the five-villa estate, which includes a master suite. Built less than two years ago, Casa Tau has ocean views, a gym, spa, Jacuzzi, and a private path to the nearby sandy beach. There is also a chef on a hand, a butler and a 12-person team of waiting staff to serve you drinks as you lounge by the infinity pool. The contestants on the show aren’t allowed to take advantage of what the area has to offer, but guests enjoy access to the three beach clubs, golf course and tennis court. None of this comes cheap, mind you.
Around £12,115 a night airbnb.co.uk/luxury/listing/30417501
Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.
Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.
You can follow Chris on Instagram.
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