Vacation Villas Our Guests Loved Most in 2025 | Haute Retreats
Luxury vacation villas were the trips our guests booked—and rebooked—most in 2025, because the week simply ran the way it should.
In back on 2025, the luxury vacation villas were our guests’ top pick and they kept coming back for more, because they essentially got the service they paid for. Well-known by the middle of the year, the requests we received started to sound very different: people weren’t asking for “a beautiful villa” anymore, they were asking for the week where everything goes according to plan. They want their car to show up when they need it, the keys to be exactly where they’re supposed to be, and a house that makes sense for their group, be it kids, grandparents, or friends who need quiet mornings and friends who need a second fridge by the time the day winds down. It’s the sort of luxurious service that doesn’t need to draw attention to itself, it just sorts out the problems. Our most popular villas are located in the Caribbean, Mexico and Italy, and have one thing in common, they have cleverly designed spaces that don’t penalize large groups, excellent service that is there but doesn’t feel like it’s doing a show for anyone, and an inviting setting that draws people out of the house onto the terraces, down to the sand, out to a pool that has become everyone’s go-to spot. The villas that stood out this year were at a private peninsula in the Dominican Republic and the silvery calm of Lake Como.
ÀNI Private Dominican Republic
ÀNI is what you book when you want the ease of an all-inclusive resort but the intimacy of a private home—and you don’t want to share either with strangers. Set on its own slice of coastline, it’s designed for one group to take over completely: more than one place to swim, space to spa, courts to burn off jet lag (tennis, pickleball), and a team that runs the week around your rhythm rather than a timetable. If you’re travelling with teenagers, it’s one of the rare places where they get a world of their own and you still see them at dinner. If you’re travelling with grandparents, it’s the kind of environment where everything is close enough to feel easy, and private enough to feel restful. The headline is privacy. The real story is how little you have to think.
Dune House, Turks & Caicos
There are villas in Turks & Caicos that are immaculate to look at and strangely stressful to live in—white sofas you’re afraid to breathe near, rooms that photograph beautifully but don’t quite connect. Dune House is the opposite. It’s modern, yes, but warm and practical, built for days that begin barefoot and stay that way. The fun here is woven into the fabric of the stay: bicycles for early rides, paddleboards for the long, glassy hours, a floating ocean lounge that becomes the unofficial meeting point, and a pickleball court that—almost inevitably—turns into the evening’s main event. It’s also the kind of house where service makes the difference without making a fuss about it: the week feels held, not hosted.
Villa Corales 28, Punta Cana
Corales 28 is the villa you choose when you want beachfront glamour but you also want everything to be easy. It sits within Punta Cana Resort, which matters, because it brings that subtle “resort competence” to a private stay—concierge support, butler service, cooking and housekeeping that keep the house feeling reset, plus arrivals that don’t turn into a group chat panic. The shoreline is a big part of why guests loved it: protected water that feels gentler, safer, and more swimmable than many people expect, especially when you’re travelling with kids or anyone who prefers a calm float to a surfy spectacle. By day it behaves like a private resort. By night it returns to being your home.
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The Point, Turks & Caicos
Some houses deliver a cinematic first impression and then soften into something ordinary by day three. The Point doesn’t. It’s built to keep the week feeling elevated—beach at your feet, an infinity pool that draws everyone outside, an outdoor Jacuzzi for the post-dinner drift, and bedroom privacy that holds up even when the villa is full. The secret is how well it manages a big group without making it feel like a production: there is always somewhere to retreat, always a quiet corner, always a shaded terrace. With staff structured to support rather than supervise, it’s the sort of place where you stop “organising” and start being on holiday.
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Casa Maka, Punta Mita
Casa Maka is Punta Mita at its most persuasive—cliffside drama, Pacific light, and that reassuring gated calm that lets families relax faster. It’s a villa made for multi-household travel: suites that give everyone space, an infinity-edge pool that becomes the day’s anchor point, an ocean-view Jacuzzi for the late-afternoon pause, and indoor options for when the group wants a change of scene (cinema, games, a gym that makes you feel virtuous before breakfast). What guests responded to most was the completeness of it all. Chef. Butler. Concierge. Housekeeping that keeps the place humming. You don’t have to choreograph the week. You just live it.
Villa Eclipse, St. Barts
Eclipse is sleek St. Barts done with restraint. Set in Camaruche with views that lean toward Marigot Bay, it’s architectural without being cold, glossy without feeling sterile. The layout is what makes it work for groups: a central heart built for long lunches and late music, with sleeping arrangements that give real privacy—including separate spaces that let friends or family travel together without being together all the time. This is the villa for St. Barts days—beach clubs, shopping, dinners—and then a calm, glamorous return at night, when the island’s energy fades and the view takes over.
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Lake Como: Villa Lenisia, Villa Camilla, Villa Splendi
People arrive in Como with a romantic picture already in their heads—terraces, cypress silhouettes, the lake like silk—and then they discover that the best stays are the ones that make the practicalities vanish. Our three guest favourites each delivered a different mood. Villa Camilla leans classic: old-world grandeur, gardens that invite slow mornings, and a kind of lakefront elegance that makes you linger in your robe longer than planned. Villa Splendi is all about light and drama, a villa that feels made for aperitivo hour, for dressing up a little, for watching the sun slide over the water with a second glass you didn’t intend to pour. Villa Lenisia feels more modern—polished lines, contemporary comfort, and a service rhythm that guests loved because it supported the day without interrupting it. Different personalities. Same Como effect: time slows, and you don’t mind.
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Italy vacation villas in the countryside: Villa Maria (Lucca), Casale Cetena Rossa (Tuscany), Villa Bell’Aria (Umbria)
In the Italian countryside, the best villas don’t just give you space—they give you a new pace. Villa Maria, near Lucca, has that private-estate feeling: big enough for gatherings, grounded enough to feel intimate, with grounds that make wandering feel like an activity in itself. Casale Cetena Rossa is Tuscany in its most generous form—pool days that drift into pergola lunches, evenings that revolve around the pizza oven, the kind of house where the table fills slowly and nobody rushes to leave it. Villa Bell’Aria in Umbria is quieter, more restorative: a library for late afternoons, an open fire for cooler nights, tennis in the morning, and spaces that let families travel together without becoming each other’s background noise. These are the stays that make you forget your itinerary on purpose.
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Villa Stradivari, Amalfi Coast
Stradivari is the choice for guests who want the Amalfi Coast without being swallowed by it. Close enough to dip into the good chaos—Capri, Pompeii, spontaneous coastal dinners—but set back enough to keep your peace. Surrounded by gardens, it becomes a calm base: you do the day’s adventure, then return to your own space, where the noise drops away and the evening feels like yours again. It’s the villa for travellers who love Amalfi, but love breathing more.
Villa Nevaeh, Anguilla
Nevaeh is for people who measure luxury in shoreline. Set on a gated stretch of Long Bay beach, it offers the sort of space that feels slightly unreal—room for families, friends, and the quiet moments in between. The design leans into that soft Anguilla mood: unhurried, sun-warmed, intentionally calm. This is the villa you book when you want the days to be simple—swim, read, eat well, repeat—and you want them to feel beautiful without effort.
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Villa Sandyline, St. Martin
Sandyline has character, and guests tend to fall for it quickly. In Terres Basses, it pairs Provençal architecture with Philippe Starck interiors—an unexpected combination that somehow works, especially for groups who like their villa to feel like an occasion. It’s built for gathering: multiple pools, plenty of space, and the kind of set-up where dinners become the centrepiece rather than an afterthought. It’s social, but never crowded. Glamorous, but not stiff. Visit More St Martin Villas
Villa Kin Ich, Playa del Carmen
Kin Ich became a favourite for a simple reason: it handles big groups without stress. With generous outdoor living and ocean-facing spaces that pull everyone outside, it creates that immediate “holiday has started” feeling as soon as you arrive. The best part is how well it supports the logistics of a larger party—meals, timing, the constant small needs that appear when you travel in numbers—so nobody ends up playing organiser. It’s the kind of villa where the group actually relaxes together, rather than managing each other.
Villa TuluMar & Villa Tulkal, Tulum
TuluMar is what you book when you want beachfront Tulum but you also want to feel looked after. It has that private-retreat scale—space to spread out, a terrace that becomes the week’s favourite stage, and the sort of thoughtful comfort that makes a group stay feel genuinely easy. Tulkal is the hybrid choice: villa privacy with resort conveniences close at hand, perfect for travellers who want flexibility—quiet mornings at home, a change of scene when they feel like it, and an overall set-up that keeps the week smooth. Together, they capture what guests wanted most in 2025: freedom, with the guardrails already in place.
The questions we get every week (and the answers that matter)
Are villas easier than hotels for big groups?
Yes—when the house is built for it. Look for “zoned” layouts, real privacy in the bedrooms, and shared spaces that don’t force everyone into one room. The best group fully staffed villas don’t create togetherness; they make it optional.
What does “chef included” actually mean?
It varies, and that’s exactly why it needs to be clarified upfront. The good stays come with clear expectations: who cooks, when they cook, what’s included, and what’s billed separately. When that’s handled early, the week feels effortless.
Will we feel stuck at the villa?
Not if the villa gives you a rhythm—swimmable water, a pool you want to return to, outdoor dining that makes staying in feel like the best plan. The most-booked homes this year weren’t popular because they were pretty. They were popular because they made the days feel good.
Ready to book one of these luxury vacation villas for your 2026 escape?
Tell us your dates, destination, and who’s traveling, and we’ll match you with the villa that fits your group—not just on paper, but in real life (layout, staffing, beach conditions, privacy, and the little details that make the week feel effortless).
Request your private shortlist or message Haute Retreats for a fast, curated selection—then let our concierge team handle everything from airport transfers and chefs to yacht days and last-minute celebrations.
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