Travel Differently: Rent a Villa

No matter how nice a hotel is, nothing beats the freedom of renting a villa, chateaux or a private apartment.

Renting a villa is more economical than you might think.

The best rule of thumb is to go bigger to save more. Often the priciest private homes have just one or two bedrooms -- but, rent an eight-bedroom castle with a group of friends, and you'll be paying far less than the price of a five-star hotel.

The Mustique Company

Mustique is one of the lesser-known Caribbean islands, but has megawatt star power. Princess Margaret owned a home here where she entertained the world's elite, and these days Mick Jagger is one of the island's homeowners.

The Mustique Company has 64 designer villas in its rental portfolio, and the styles range from Californian to Tuscan, Balinese and Chinese. The most traditional are the pastel, Oliver Messel-designed gingerbread houses.

While nearly all of the multimillion dollar properties are interior designed, some of the most striking are the nine-bedroom, five-acre Shogun, which has a series of pavilions and is crammed with Chinese antiquities, including a pool-side temple (rates start at $17,000 per week).

The Mustique Company
P.O. Box 349,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies
Telephone: (784) 488-8000

LaCure

If you're looking for a villa in Europe or the Caribbean, this company has over 1,000 properties in its portfolio, ranging from stylish city apartments to villas and castles.

La Cure's flagship property, the Roaring Pavilion Villa and Spa, is a luxury four-bedroom, plantation style villa on James Bond Beach in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica. Rates start at $2,350 per night.