1. This spacious home in San Diego is located just thirty minutes from the ocean and close to the San Diego Zoo and everything from surfing to hiking, golfing, and tennis. It boasts five double rooms, seven bathrooms, and a gorgeous outdoor pool with a stunning view. For the ultimate in service, an on-call chef is available and one can take advantage of surfing lessons and guided motorcycle tours. More details…

2. This amazing five bedroom, 3.5 bath lakeside villa is pure luxury. Located in Kissimmee, Florida and only five minutes from Disneyland, this 2600 sq. ft. executive home sits behind ten acres of conservation land, comes with a glass-enclosed pool and hot tub, game room, children’s playground, and beautiful garden. Its open and bright floor plan will leave guests wishing they could stay longer. More details…

3. A quaint studio located near Kehena Beach on the island of Hawaii, this two-story Bali-style cottage offers a romantic getaway close to the famous Kehena Black Sand Beach and hide-away where guests can see spinner dolphins, humpback whales, and sea turtles. With its spectacular cliff-side view of the ocean and lush surrounding foliage, this is the perfect holiday home for two. More details…

4. For another phenominal ocean view, this gorgeous vacation home in Ogunquit, Maine sits upon a cliff overlooking Perkins Cove. With its wrap-around porch and ocean view from everywhere in the house, it is a dream home for any holiday excursion. It has five bedrooms, 5.5 baths and an award-winning garden. It has an open and airy feel inducing pure relaxation and comfort. More details

5. Settled in the rustic scenery of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, this is one of several cabins available for rent for a holiday retreat. Pets are welcome in this four bedroom, three bath cabin with beautiful wood accenting from ceiling to floor. It is surrounded by trees and its two stories are trimmed in a wrap-around deck with a view all around. Included in the amenities are a pool table and hot tub for added entertainment and enjoyment. There are plenty of activities nearby for the outdoorsman from river rafting to horseback riding. More details…

6. Alaska is known for its untamed beauty and breathtaking scenery. The historic Gilmore House in Ketchikan, built in 1932, has been masterfully restored and filled with antiques throughout. It has four bedrooms, three baths with an attached unit. For those who really want to experience the wilds of Alaska, this home boasts an ocean view where one can do some whale-watching or view bears very close-by. Bald eagles can be seen regularly flying past the windows. More details…

7. Take an indulgent ski holiday in Brighton, Utah in this wonderful home overlooking the slopes. With its ski in/ski out access to the Brighton Ski Resort, this is absolutely a winter wonderland surrounded by trees and and amazing views from all sides. Its spectacular vaulted ceilings, sauna, outdoor hot tub, and stone fireplace are nothing short of inviting. It has four roomy bedrooms and three bathrooms. This is the ultimate in beautiful surroundings with skiing at guests’ fingertips. More details…

8. For a waterfront view on Padre Island, Texas, this luxurious home is only a few steps from the beach, boating, and golfing. This five bedroom, three bath home includes such amenities as a hot tub, sauna, pool, decks, and patio. It includes a seven foot tall privacy fence and garage with opener. It is conveniently located near an amusement park, diving, fishing, and other great activities in and out of the water. More details…

9. Enjoy a stunning view of the Grand Teton and surrounding mountains in this massive and beautiful ranch home located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This fantastic home’s western lodge decor, floor-to-ceiling windows, and huge master bedrooms will take anyone’s breath away. Both rooms have a jacuzzi tub while the master bedroom on the top floor includes a wet bar. In total this home has six bedrooms and 6.5 baths. The expansive seven acres offers privacy yet is convenient to the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. More details…

10. Step back in time in the historic 1853 Captain Wheeler house in the New England town of Mystic, Connecticut. This is a lovely home with five bedrooms, each with its own private bath, situated in a quiet and peaceful neighborhood. The historical town is steeped in a rich nautical history with no shortage of great places to see including the Marinelife Aquarium and annual art fair. Nearby one can take a cruise at the seaport or take a lighthouse tour.  More details…

Whatever the holiday, these vacation homes will make perfect lodgings that will please all who stay in them. It may even be difficult to venture out of these magnificent homes with their offerings of pure comfort and luxury. These homes are made to fulfill dreams and expectations with attention to detail and amenities that cater to everyone’s needs and desires while away from home. For the ideal holiday getaway, everyone wins with these magical homes.

Of course, there are a few notable leavings that distinguish themselves from the usual forgotten flotsam and jetsam, including the hollowed-out bible containing 250 dollars, a 6 by 6 foot model helicopter powered by remote, and 8 CD’s recorded by actor Russell Crowe. There was a melted wok atop a toilet full of burnt charcoal. Some unlucky soul did not pack their glass eye, and someone else neglected to grab a set of car keys to a Porsche. One hopes all of these were simply spares. And don’t forget about the full-size skeleton, left perhaps as a silent protest against slow room service.

But these items only serve as a warm-up to the top five most unexpected things left in hotel rooms.

5.) A corpse.

Talk about ‘do not disturb.’ For three days, a maid at a motel in the US did not clean the room of a sleeping guest out of respect for his slumbers. On the third day, however, it became apparent that the sleeping guest was not asleep.

4.) An Inflatable Sheep.

There’s an old joke about Scotsmen and sheep, but it became all too literal for the Travelodge branch in Edinburgh,when hotel staff discovered an inflatable sheep amongst the unmade bed and used water glasses.

3.) A Horse.

More logistical questions are raised than answered with the discovery of a real, live, full-size showjumping horse at a hotel in Droitwich in Worcestershire. How did it get past the reception desk? Why did no one hear it? Did it tip the bellman on its way out?

2.) Two briefcases of collectible celebrity spectacles.

The most bizarre items left behind in hotel rooms are those which could be considered weird in any context, regardless of the environment or setting. Such is the case with two briefcases filled with collectible celebrity spectacles from such pop luminaries as Elton John. What is the appropriate venue for this, exactly?

1.) A baby.

It really happened to us: a popular leave-behind at airports (in 2008, babies were left behind at the Vancouver and Jerusalem airports), babies and infants sometimes are overlooked by frantic family members as they attempt to get to their next destination. The family in question left the villa in Portugal in two cars, in a hurry.  Mum thought dad had the baby. Dad thought mum had the baby.  Neither of them had the baby.  The maid had arrived to clean the villa and found the baby alone and has been leary of the English ever since.

A quick geographical tour of some of the areas of interest:

The Cote d’Azur: is the area stretching West as far as Menton. The scenery is beautiful. It is here that the foothills of the Alps fall off at the coast. This dramatic combination of scenery and sea views is one of the things that makes the area so famous. Villas that are a little way inland are generally the best value for money in the area: you will find some very comfortable holiday villas
for about half of what one pays closer to the coast. For most people, this area has the ideal combination of pretty villages and easy driving distance to the sea when one is so inclined. Villas in the area are in the areas around Valbonne, Opio and Tourrettes-sur-Loup. A little further West, in the areas around Grasse are the villas with the most spectacular views in the South of France.

The stretch to the East of Nice that includes Monaco, Cap Ferrat and going as far as the Italian border is the home of serious money. One of the reasons for this is of course the beauty of the scenery and the quality of the building. Rents for villa holidays are similarly breathtaking, either impressive or wasteful depending on how you see the world.

The Var is a very popular spot for vacations in the area around the Gulf of St Tropez. St Tropez proper is a stylish suntrap which came to prominence in the 50s when Brigitte Bardot and others graced the then undeveloped sands.  The development of the town has come on some way since then and it is packed in the summer, but it retains a certain exclusivity: celebrity spotting is not hard in St Tropez. The French love it for its more relaxed pace of life.

Villa holidays in St Tropez proper are not cheap, but as you get further inland so the scenery improves with spectacular views over the Gulf of St Tropez, and the villa rents go down. Around the Gulf at Beauvallon are a number of charming villas for about one third of what one pays a few kilometres closer to the so-called ‘action’. There are also a some attractive and realistically priced villas near the charming village of Grimaud. The style of villas in the St Tropez area is dictated by local government, and must be in a Provencal style. Further West, towards Grasse, a more modern style of villa can be found alongside the traditional Mas Provencal.

1. Make the most of exchange rates.  Some European owners deal in Euros. Most UK owners deal in pounds.  If you are spending pounds then you will find that many villas are 15-30% more expensive than they were last year.  Houses that are priced in Sterling are not.  That means that there is a split in the market between the two: one group is relatively more expensive than the other.  And why would the European owners take less than they did last year? So the first tip is do your research.  Learn what villas are worth by comparing many houses in a particular area from different sources.  Soon you will find the pattern and the bargains will stand out.
2. Don’t rely on discounts to give you a sense of value. (Here’s why) .  Just because something is discounted by 30% does not mean it wasn’t 50% too expensive in the first place!
3. Don’t wait.  If you think that prices will fall when the pound recovers against the Euro then you must be looking at houses priced in Euros, which are currently expensive compared to houses priced in Sterling (see point 1).  But the more you wait, the more the houses that really are good value are going to get snapped up.  If you are waiting because you are nervous about the cost of a dinner then take a chance: economists think the Euro is currently overpriced.  (But you might be right: anything can happen at the moment.)