The best villas and residences to book this summer

Villa holidays are the talk of the summer for UK travellers in 2022, with searches for “villa holidays” up 130% in the past 90 days (Google Trends). The freedom to enjoy your own space and to also have enough room for the whole, often extended, family are just some of benefits of a villa holiday. Here are some of our favourites, with availability this summer:

Best for family reunions and missed celebrations:

*NEW* “Villas Della Marchesa” at Hotel Santa Caterina

The iconic 19th century Hotel Santa Caterina, located in the Amalfi Coast, is opening their Villas della Marchesa this summer. The new villas can sleep up to 14 people and offers panoramic views directly out to sea from every room and suite.

The villas boast vast garden terraces which have been newly landscaped, a 36m swimming pool with a solarium and a wine cellar. The space offers guests their own private sanctuary amongst the Amalfi lemon groves and makes it ideal for those travelling in larger groups, with plenty of space for guests to celebrate with exclusive lunches or dinners. It is possible to arrange personalised home cooking and wine lists from the hotel brought to the villa.

The main villa consists of three bedrooms - two junior suites and a front sea view double room. Nearby (accessed by steps or elevator) you have a further two separate Executive Junior Suites, bringing the maximum capacity of the entire complex to 14 people. All rooms and suites have clean lines and muted tones, dotted with splashes of Mediterranean colour for that classic Hotel Santa Caterina appearance – that the hotel has become famous for over the years.

In addition to the villas, guests will also be able to enjoy the hotel’s flagship restaurant, Glicine, which has been awarded a Michelin star three years in a row. Hotel Santa Caterina is the only Leading Hotel close to Amalfi that benefits from direct sea access, with two private elevators carved into the rock of the coast that lead to their private beach club, where guests can soak up the Mediterranean sun and swim in the heated pool.

Prices of the villas start from 4,000 euros per night.

Best for Beachfront Living:

Martinhal Sagres Beach & Family Resort

Located on the eastern tip of Portugal’s Algarve coast, Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts’ flagship hotel, ‘Martinhal Sagres’, remains the leading light in luxury family holidays. With award-winning kids clubs, a huge variety of activities ranging from mountain biking to surfing and sleek and stylish design, Martinhal keeps even the most active of kids entertained and gives even the most stressed of parents a chance to breathe and unwind. Martinhal Sagres is incredibly spacious, with the facilities and green areas spread out over 220,000 square metres and with its own access to a 700m beach.

Individual houses and villas at Martinhal Sagres, some with their own private gardens and private heated swimming pools, allow families to enjoy their own little space in the Algarve. Families can choose from stylish townhouses with impressive views over the Sagres peninsular and park, Ocean Houses with private verandas perfect for al fresco meals overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Garden Houses and the exclusive private collection of Luxury Martinhal Villas, each with sea views and private garden with swimming pool.

Martinhal also understands that a multi-generational holiday is great way to reconnect and spend quality time with your loved ones. Their Extended Family Package includes a 30% discount on a double room when booking a 2 or 3 bedroom Village House. This special offer is valid for travel until 28th December 2022.

Prices from: €428 per night for a 2 Bedroom Ocean House

Best for Culture:

JW Retreats with JW Marriott Venice

JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa is an oasis away from Venice’s labyrinth of canals and bridges, set on its own private island ‘Isola delle Rose’. JW Retreats – a cluster of residences set apart from the main hotel offering another level of seclusion with their own private gardens, with select properties including private pools. Villas include the ‘La Residenza Pool Deluxe’, a collection of one bedroom villas with plunge pools, offering stunning rooms that seamlessly open onto a deck with plunge pool and private garden, where guests can recline with views over the lagoon and Venetian skyline.

Larger groups can book the ‘Villa Rose’ – a luxury private villa with a swimming pool, entirely secluded within the island resort’s own gardens. All interiors are finished in designer Matteo Thun’s fluid style, rooms filled with light and air, merging with the surrounding nature. This is a large private home which can be configured for up to seven guests.

The first floor has views over the lagoon towards the Venice skyline and the two master bedrooms each have sleek light-filled bathrooms, one even complete with a soaking tub. The extensive living area with a sitting room and dining room, and separate kitchen make up the ground floor, with a further small lounge that can be converted into a third bedroom with its own ensuite bathroom.

The villas, just a short boat ride away to St Mark’s Square, make an ideal base for exploring Venice’s cultural scene. Launching this week and running to the 1 May 2022, guests can visit the renowned Homo Faber Event, a celebration of creativity, design, and contemporary craftsmanship.  The event will welcome 15 immersive exhibitions curated by 22 curators and designers, 350 master artisans, rising stars and designers, with a special focus on Japanese National Living Treasures.  Also taking place from 23rd April 2022 is the famous Venice Biennale, held in the Castello district of Venice.  Founded in 1895, it is an international art exhibition featuring architecture, visual arts, cinema, dance, music, and theatre – the ideal family day out.

Prices for the JW Retreats start from 701 euros per night.

Prices for the Villa Rose start from 5,111 euros per night.

Best for a City Break:

Martinhal Cascais 

Martinhal Cascais luxury resort combines the best of Cascais, Estoril and Sintra, whilst being within easy reach of Lisbon. Martinhal Cascais offers an amazing experience for the whole family, providing a five star hotel as well as a selection of stylish luxury family villas – a perfect home from home that allows families to enjoy the best of both the city and coast.

The contemporary 2-bedroom villas provide modern conveniences and have been designed with families in mind. The villas feature loft-style double height living spaces, with an open plan kitchen linking to the private terrace. Each house has its own parking spot and all villas are located just a short walk from the main hotel, right next to the Kids Clubhouse and heated pool.  

As a leading family resort, Martinhal knows that sightseeing with the kids can be a challenge. Their Family Concierge team are on hand to help guests experience the best of Portugal’s vibrant capital and recommend activities that little ones and parents will love. With plenty of family-friendly museums, castles, tropical gardens, aquarium and more, there is a lot to keep everyone entertained in Lisbon.

Prices from:  €553 per night for a Grand Deluxe Villa

Best for Getting Back to Nature:

Upgraded Glamping Sites at Luxury Family Hotels’ Woolley Grange Hotel, Bradford Upon Avon

For those families looking to swap the usual villa walls for an escape to the countryside under canvas, Luxury Family Hotels is delighted to announce the return of Woolley Grange’s Glamping suites from 2nd April, with several upgrades and new additions for 2022.

 New For 2022:

• This year families no longer have to leave their furry friends behind, now the site is fully dog-friendly, meaning staycation fun for little ones and furry friends alike.
• The hotel’s pop-up café and bar ‘The Hideout’, has been transformed into a woodfired pizza experience, where guests can opt to dine in or take away to enjoy on their own private terrace or even a picnic in the sun.
• All glamping suites have been fitted with woodburning stoves to keep guests cosy and warm on those chillier evenings.
• The launch of the UK’s first ever pop-up spa in partnership with all-natural British wellness brand Bramley, offering guests of all ages an exclusive menu of al-fresco inspired natural spa therapies, featuring exclusively-crafted, Woolley Grange essential oil.

Luxury Family Hotels’ glamping suites bring new meaning to spending a night under canvas, with a large master bedroom, twin bedroom, bathroom (with an all-important flushing toilet and shower), lounge with woodburning stove, and private terrace with outdoor seating. Each morning, glamping guests can enjoy a fresh continental breakfast from The Hideout from 7.30am. Homemade treats such as muffins, overnight oats, fruit and granola pots, and freshly made tea and coffee, will set the whole family up for a day of adventures in the outdoors.

Guests at Woolley Grange Glamping site also have access to the hotel and its facilities, including heated indoor and outdoor (in season) swimming pools, spa, OFSTED-registered childcare and the Woolley Grange Restaurant.  A staple of all Luxury Family Hotels properties, all bookings come with 90-minutes of complimentary childcare per night stayed. 

Rates for Woolley Grange’s Glamping Suites start from £445 bed & breakfast basis. Minimum two night stay.

Best for Exclusive Luxury:

The Langham Nymphenburg Residence, Munich 

Langham Hospitality Group and Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg offer the most exclusive residence in Munich. With an unrivalled location featuring a direct view of the majestic 490-acre imperial estate of Nymphenburg Palace, unique handcrafted artworks in every room, and interiors that are elegantly appointed, The Langham Nymphenburg Residence, Munich was a defining milestone for The Langham Hotels and Resorts’ expanding European portfolio in 2020. Steeped in royal Bavarian history and adjacent to the world-renowned Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg, the residence offers luxurious comfort, privacy and exclusiveness. 

The 18th-century manor was meticulously restored and revived in 2020 as a bespoke private residence for guests. Inhabiting a spacious 9,000 square feet, The Langham features seven bathrooms, four bedrooms, three living rooms, an airy dining room, a fully-equipped kitchen, fitness centre, conference suite, home cinema and wine cellar.  The private sun-dappled terrace allows guests to relax in the middle of a beautifully landscaped garden and further offers enough space to seat 100 guests, if it is desired to organise an exclusive outdoor event.

From the ground floor, guests enjoy a direct view over the magnificent estate to Nymphenburg Palace. The home cinema, furnished with an inviting lounge, comfortable armchairs and a large screen, is perfect for private viewings and the Royal Bavarian Spa on the first floor reflects its truly regal setting for relaxation. Alternatively, guests can maintain their fitness regime in the gym furnished with Technogym equipment and includes an en-suite spa-bathroom comprising a treatment cabin.

The Langham Nymphenburg Residence, Munich sleeps eight guests and costs from €35,000 per night.