THE BIG IDEA ALONE IN A CROWD
DON'T BOTHER BUYING A HOTEL. There's no need now, as it has never been easier to enjoy the feeling of your own private resort (if temporarily). Call it an owner's lodge, a royal villa, or the principal's home: The must-have of the moment is a mansion-size, hotel-run lodging that has access to all of the amenities but keeps you far away from fellow guests.
This trend is influenced by a permanent shift in travel patterns. According to Black Tomato's Sunil Metcalfe, bookings for eight people or more increased by 35 percent in 2022 compared to 2019. Such group travel now makes up almost a third of the company's bookings. “The private-villa and private-staff trend that was massive during Covid is on the wane, but what's stayed is a desire for private residences within desirable hotels,” he says. Adventure specialist Gray & Co. has seen a similar shift: In 2023, multigenerational travel had doubled.
Properties from urban centers to beach resorts are adding offshoots primed for such buyouts: Oslo's Sommerro offers the smartly named 11-room Villa Inkognito. At Caiman, the resort-cum-wildlife preserve in Brazil's wetland Pantanal region, the private villa Baiazinha sleeps 12. And on Lizard Island, in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the deck of the Lizard House overlooks a beach David Attenborough is said to have called one of his favorite
