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Why it works: For us Brits, Spain’s Costa del Sol is prime villa-holiday territory. Even the Spaniards are at it — Antonio Banderas and Julio Iglesias have second homes here. But the truth is, when you transport your life to a sunny seaside villa, you still have to make your bed, empty the dishwasher and clean up after the kids. Unless, that is, you’re at the legendary Marbella Club, where Ava Gardner, Cary Grant and Laurence Olivier used to stay — all pioneers of the vill-otel phenomenon, don’t you know. Its beautiful finca-style villas come with all the hotel fripperies — there’s a beach club, a golf course, a kids’ club, even an equestrian centre — and every day, your villa is cleaned top-to-toe, just as a hotel guest’s room is. You can order room service, too

(or more towels, buckets of ice, whatever), but cooking here is a joy. Local market stalls overflow with bittersweet oranges, buxom tomatoes, gleaming olives and stinky cheeses that make our British renditions look like plastic toys. Fill the fridge with Cava, and set the paella to simmer...Travel’s tip: Don’t bother paying for B&B — it bumps up the total cost significantly and big families are unlikely to eat at the same time as each other every day anyway. The details: Hotel doubles cost from £330 per night; or book a three-bedroom villa from £1,125, or a five-bedroom villa from £1,350 — the latter works out at about £135pp. Fly to Málaga with BA (ba.com) from London City or Gatwick from £82 return.

Why it works: If you wanted to, you could ignore the hotel element of this resort altogether — Thalassa Villas has a separate entrance and its own name (the hotel is called St Nicolas Bay), while each house has its own pool, a bells-and-whistles kitchen, and some even have private access to the sea. But that would be a Greek tragedy — St Nicolas Bay hotel can’t wait to welcome villa guests over, often throwing in free half-board (for something as simple as pre-paying for your stay, or visiting in low season), which is worth a fistful of euros. So you can have the privacy of your own house all day — no noisy sunbed neighbours, no splashing teens, and nothing to stop you from making a sixth cup of tea (they’re

£3 a pop in the hotel) or making baby’s lunch at 11am (the restaurant might not open ’til noon). Yet you can also sit back at dinnertime while somebody else cooks your moussaka. Travel’s tip: Thalassa Villas are mostly three-bedroom houses, so not cost-effective for small groups or families. In this instance, consider the hotel, which, as well as rooms, has spacious ‘bungalows’ with space for cots and rollaway beds. OK, you don’t get the all-singing kitchen or private pool, but nor are you cooped up in a standard room.The details: CV Villas (020 7563 7926, cvvillas.com) offers seven nights in a three-bedroom villa (sleeps five) from £943pp, B&B. BA flies from Gatwick to Chania from £112 return.

Why it works: Mick’s no moron. When Jagger visited Marrakech, he knew it made perfect familial and financial sense to book a hotel villa instead of rooms. And that’s just the type of traveller Palais Namaskar’s fit-for-a-sharif villas suit best: families who don’t want to be flitting up and down the corridor between rooms — or VIPs, honeymooners and rock legends who don’t wish to share their pool with another soul. After all, guests in these megawatt villas aren’t going to be using the kitchen much. Instead, it’s about having privacy, independence and the feel of your own home in the middle of the desert — something you could only dream of if you didn’t have the hotel on hand. The location, in the Palmeraie oasis, is ideal for families or apprehensive Morocco

first-timers — it’s 20 minutes’ drive from the Marrakech mayhem, and not much further from the foothills of the Atlas Mountains — plus, the hotel provides a free shuttle for hotel and villa guests alike. Jagger liked it so much he gave a free concert in the grounds. Now, that’s how to tip.Travel’s tip: A long weekend at Palais Namaskar will always be a splurge, but it’s good to know that the hotel’s low season (and corresponding rates) runs through winter right up to mid-March (when temperatures often hit 26oC), and in summer, even during school holidays. The details: Scott Dunn (020 8682 5080, scottdunn.com) has five nights in a Pool Villa (sleeps four) from £2,495pp, B&B, with flights and private transfers.

The house-party one Marbella Club, Spain1 The best-value one

Thalassa Villas, Crete2 The exotic onePalais Namaskar, Morocco3

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Sixbestof the

HOTELS WITH VILLAS

Love villas, hate cooking? Love hotels, hate timetables? Check into a vill-otel: a new type of resort perfect for picky guests. By Katie Bowman

42 Sunday TimeS Travel APRIL 2016

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Why it works: Think a vill-otel means naff new-build lodges in the hotel grounds, or WAG-fancy show homes with zero style? You’re way off track. And this hero of hotel design, in cool coastal Puglia, proves just how far. Taking inspiration from the region’s farming heritage, Borgo Egnazia is artfully accessorised with antique grain jars, rural tools and linens (believe us, it works!). Borgo means ‘village’ in Italian, and this one has been constructed entirely from ancient white tufo stone —

from the meandering streets, to the sleek pools, to the main courtyard building that looks like the master’s house. Guests can stay in this, or opt for a cassetta (little townhouse) or grand villa; it’s up to you, your budget and your group size — though we love the cassettas, which manage to squeeze in a glorious roof terrace, farmhouse-chic kitchenette and serene walled garden. They only have one bedroom, but the fact the lounge is on its own floor means you can

fit two small kids in there and still have space. Travel’s tip: Consider a cassetta even if there are only two of you. The private terraces are dreamy and can save you a bundle if you whip up a pasta and crack open your own bottle of Primitivo red each night, rather than use the hotel restaurant for every meal.The details: Abercrombie & Kent (01242 547703, abercrombiekent.co.uk) offers a week in a cassetta from £1,450pp B&B, including flights and transfers.

APRIL 2016 Sunday TimeS Travel 45

The designer oneBorgo Egnazia, Italy4

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Why it works: Savvy vill-otel users know to seek out the resorts with the fanciest facilities so that they can take advantage of the perks, before swanning off to their — much cheaper — villa. Which is where beside-the-seaside St Moritz steps in (close to gentrified Padstow, minutes from royal-beloved Rock). It has two pools (one outdoors), a swanky Cowshed spa, private beach huts, a kids’ club, surf school and tennis courts, and three places to eat. Better yet, its self-catering apartments are within the hotel complex, so you don’t have to schlep far when you’re done in the spa. Need more convincing? Here are some numbers: a double room (with views of the car park) costs from £1,120, B&B, per week in low season, yet a three-bedroom

water-view apartment is only £1,250 — or £208 for each of the six guests it can sleep. Do the maths, then take the money you’ve saved to the beach (there’s a private path from St Moritz to the shore) — and crack open a bottle of Cornish fizz.Travel’s tip: If you’d like even more privacy, or want to pack pets (or bikes, or the kitchen sink), St Moritz also has private houses that still include use of hotel facilities. These are on a small complex about five minutes’ walk uphill from the hotel.The details: See lowest rates above (01208 862242, stmoritz hotel.co.uk). If you’re travelling by train, the nearest station is Bodmin Parkway, a 45-minute drive from St Moritz; see virgintrains.co.uk or gwr.com for fares and routes.

Why it works: It’s almost as if Martinhal chose its plot so that kids could make as much noise as they please. Way, way out on the Algarve’s sunny, blustery Atlantic tip, there are no disapproving snorts or judgmental eyebrows, just this ferociously family-friendly resort, where plastic cutlery is the norm and every restaurant has a playground (or trampoline park or sandpit) right outside, in parental view. That means that the villas are popular — after all, why choose one of Martinhal’s hotel rooms (though they are all blessed with sea views and sharp Scandi design) when you need to sterilise a teething ring at 4am, or purée bananas at dawn? The cost also makes a villa a no-brainer: a week in a double room in the hotel starts at £918,

yet it’s only £915 in one of the lovely angular, whitewashed two-bedroom garden houses (or £1,229 if you want those ocean views thrown in). Martinhal is a supremely stylish stay, too: just imagine Pontins Portugal if Kevin McCloud got hold of it.Travel’s tip: Martinhal really comes into its own if you have young kids who aren’t restricted to travelling during school holidays, when rates double. And gen up on other countries’ holidays, too, as Martinhal is popular with our Continental cousins. The details: See above for the lowest weekly rates; three-bedroom houses start at £185 per night (00 351 282 240200, martinhal.com). Fly to Faro with EasyJet (easyjet.com) from eight UK airports, from £34 one way.

The great British oneSt Moritz, Cornwall6The family one

Martinhal, Portugal5

46 Sunday TimeS Travel APRIL 2016

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