Travel + Leisure Readers' 5 Favorite Luxury Villa Rental Companies of 2023

In this new category in our annual "World’s Best Awards" survey, readers applauded home-away-from-home comforts with extra privacy and personalized service.

In This Article
View All
In This Article
Pool of a rental villa on the island of Mykonos, Greece
Photo:

Courtesy of The Thinking Traveller

With multigenerational and group travel claiming an ever-growing share of the hospitality industry, luxury villa rental companies have proven themselves invaluable. Privacy became more paramount than ever during the pandemic — and today, the trend continues to escalate as families, groups, and VIP travelers increasingly choose exclusive-use properties for milestone trips and special getaways. Throw in the spacious accommodations, private amenities like pools and theaters, and tailored services from personal chefs, concierges, and other staff — and it’s no wonder Travel + Leisure readers are booking luxury villa rentals more than ever.

How Voting Works

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 165,000 T+L readers completed the 2023 survey, an increase of nearly 25 percent over pre-pandemic voting levels. A total of more than 685,000 votes were cast across over 8,500 unique properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).

Luxury villa rental companies were specifically rated on the criteria below:

  • Service
  • Locations
  • Amenities
  • Range of properties
  • Value

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses. 

What Readers Loved

Exceptional homes and personalized service unite the winners of this inaugural category. The Greek Villas (No. 2) impressed with its collection of more than 500 estates in 34 destinations from popular Mykonos and Santorini to off-the-beaten-track Serifos and Zante. In the Caribbean, Luxury Cayman Villas (No. 4) received praise for its villas’ “beautiful location and all-around quality of service.” The Thinking Traveller (No. 3) and Abercrombie & Kent (No. 5) shined for their global connections and on-the-ground know-how: The former offers behind-the-scenes experiences like private museum tours and visits to secret beaches for guests booking their exclusive villas throughout France, Greece, and Italy; the latter pairs custom itineraries led by A&K-vetted guides with luxury estates around the world .

But it was Tuscany Now & More’s specialized focus on Italy that captured T+L respondents’ attention most. Read on to find out what makes the company’s hand-picked villas “first-rate.”

The Winner

Tuscany Now & More 

Santa Gelsa villa rental Italy

Courtesy of Tuscany Now & More

Like so many success stories, Tuscany Now & More started with a single idea — or rather, a single home. Since its debut in 1990, the company’s portfolio has steadily grown to include luxury villas across Italy, from its namesake region to Umbria, Verona, Venice, and Rome. While each of its estates is, as two T+L readers put it, “incredible” and “amazing,” personalized service and one-of-a-kind experiences were the secret ingredient that propelled the company to this year’s No. 1 position. “Thanks to Tuscany Now & More, I was able to reconnect with friends and family that had been separated during the pandemic,” one respondent shares. “We were spoiled by in-house chefs, and never had to lift a finger. Everything was sorted for a wonderful holiday.”

T+L Reader

Thanks to Tuscany Now & More, I was able to reconnect with friends and family that had been separated during the pandemic. We were spoiled by in-house chefs, and never had to lift a finger.

— T+L Reader

The Full List 

1. Tuscany Now & More 

Reader Score: 94.70

2. The Greek Villas

Reader Score: 94.22

3. The Thinking Traveller

Reader Score: 94.13

4. Luxury Cayman Villas 

Reader Score: 91.67

5. Abercrombie & Kent Villas 

Reader Score: 89.41

Related Articles