Why Choose a Private Rental?

By Jan Gamm

The world is full of wonderful hotels with state of the art facilities, so why opt for a private vacation rental, you ask yourself? Some of the advantages in renting a private home for your holiday instead of checking into a hotel are that you will enjoy all the freedom and privacy on offer, without any of the inconvenience of constantly being on view to other guests and under the supervision, however discreet, of hotel management.

Many of the world’s more exclusive private rental homes offer similar facilities to that of a seven star hotel. Resident chefs produce mouth watering meals on demand, housekeepers turn down beds and run baths at just the right moment and invisible housemaids whisk away your laundry, returning it mysteriously while you are away from your room, pristine clean and pressed and ready to wear again, the art of silent service at its very best.

Linens, tableware, and displayed art, are very much to the taste of the owner and usually of a better standard than anything you will find in hotels. Some of the more expensive homes on offer are owned or were formally owned by celebrities. It is quite possible nowadays to stay in Marilyn Munro’s California home, James Cagney’s former home which he managed to lose in a game of poker, or even to charter the Christina O, Aristotle Onassis’ legendary floating palace, where Winston Churchill propped up the bar in company with John F Kennedy.

You can stay in the beautiful Chateau Vilette in Paris where Tom Hanks filmed the Da Vinci Code, or take the time to appreciate the true English elegance of St Catherine’s Court, Jane Seymour’s outstanding country home in Bath.

Many private rental homes offer a full service package with the rental, such as use of cars, boats, and even the groceries are already purchased and waiting for your arrival. Chef will whiz up a tasty breakfast and have it served on your private terrace adjoining the master bedroom, sir. Yummy. Would Madam be requiring the driver this morning? Oh yes please. This is the stuff real holidays are made of.

Other private homes, not less comfortable but perhaps of lighter profile, are easily affordable and sometimes are far better value than a hotel package. Provided you take the precaution of booking your rental with a reputable company you can be sure you will want to return again and again.

www.selectvillarentals.com has a wide range of such properties to browse through and dream about.

Jan Gamm writes reflections on life with an emphasis on world travel. She has lived in many countries and traveled extensively in the Far East, the Middle East, America, South America and throughout the South Pacific. She writes for fun and for money whenever she can manage it.