The best of both Worlds

25 villa hideaways with all the comforts of a hotel.
There’s a penalty for the privacy that villas afford. It’s called housework. And after a few days even if you know there is nothing more important than quality time spent with your nearest and dearest, it may strike you that something is missing. A convivial bar to rest your elbows on, perhaps, or a masseur, tennis coach or golf caddy. Possibly, after rustling up dinner yet again, you dream of room service, or long for a knowledge conceirge after getting hoplessly lost looking for that hidden gem of a restaurant someone told you about. Fortunantly, there is a situation: make sure your villa comes with a very nice hotel attached, somewhere you can dip in and out of at will. Ideally, your villa will be set sufficiently apart to feel private, yet not so far as to deter you from popping out for a message, or a facial, or a night down at the bar. To help you find peace of mind, we have selected 25 top villas of the world that will leave you feeling cocooned, and also secure in the knowledge that anything your heart may desire is just a short stroll away.

The Americas
Mexico
Casa Caryes, Costa Careyes
Casa Careyes has one of the most spectacular loactions in Costa Careyes, an exclusive community of private homes on Mexico’s Pacific coast. To make the most of the climate and cliffside views, the villa is grouped around a dramatic, thatched, open-air living area with a free-form swimming pool. There are five air conditioned bedrooms (four in the villa, one in a seperate cottage with its own priavate garden), four bathrooms and a full time staff of eight, including a chef and chauffeur. Close by is the Careyes Hotel and a polo club, where villa guests can make the most of the restaurant, bar, spa, tennis court and riding stables. Access to the hotel is a down hill and through the two acres of lush private gardens. Sleeps 19. Suitable for polo players (and their admirers) who get a kick out of sleeping in beds priviously occupied by Tom Ford, Francis Ford Coppola, Claudi Schiffer, and Oprah Winfrey (all on seperate occasions, of course) Distance from hotel: a five minute walk or a two minute buggy ride.
Cost: US$2,500-US$3,100 per day
Contact: Overseas Connection (00 1 631 725 9308, fax 725 5825;
Website: (www.villasoftheworld.com)

The Caribbean
Anguilla
Cerulean, Barnes Bay Beach
The two-storey Cerulean represents the very top end of Cerulean villa life, with seven coolly elegant bedrooms and bathrooms, two living rooms, gym tennis court, 40ft pool and direct access to sandy beach. To cap it all, the villa is staffed with chef, ‘server’, concierge, maids and a gardner. This 13,000sq ft, Moroccan - influenced enclave is more private hotel than villa, somewhere you can order crab spring rools with a peppered-pineapple salsa, or make a cheese and tomatoe sandwich yourself. Villa guests may also use all facilities at the nearby Cap Juluca hotel (shortly to reopen after hurricane damage).
Sleeps up to 14. Suitable for the deepest pockets.
Distance from hotel: Cap Juluca is a 10min drive away.
Costs: US $19,500-US $31,000 per week.
Contact: Overseas Connection (00 1 631 725 9308, fax: 725 5825;
Website: www.villasoftheworld.com