Hotels are fine as far as they go. For a really luxurious vacation however, renting a private house or villa is much the better choice. Of course the prices at the top-end can be astronomical. If money is no object, however, a new book called Luxury Houses: Holiday Escapes is a perfect guide to the best high-end hideaways around the globe. One of the standouts is Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld's former villa in Monaco (pictured here), which can be yours for a mere €30,000 per week. For that you get six bedrooms, panoramic views of the ocean and the mountains from an enormous terrace, a pool, Jacuzzi, game room and a tent on a private beach. The interior is described unironically as "quasi royal."

Also on display is the Birkenhead House in Hermanus, South Africa (about $7,000 per night) with eleven bedrooms and three pools, dominating a steep cliff above Walker Bay where whales frolic; and Villa Indigo in the Caribbean Sea within a protective reef in Anguilla with two pools and a private beach and sandbar, for $16,000 - $38,000 a week depending on the season; as well as dozens more ritzy rentals from ski chalets in Switzerland to modern palaces in China.

A new place to wile away the winter months has been created in Anguilla. Sheriton Estates is opening three luxury villas this winter for rentals. The 10 acre gated enclave is home to three villas Harmony, Infinity and Mystique-which have ocean views. The villas are luxurious, Mystique is 21,000 square feet and has five suites with two bridges that connect to the main living area. The villa has three pools, a full gym and the lavish detail of infinity edge bathtubs. Harmony and Infinity are each seven bedrooms and 14,000 square feet with two pools each. Guests can be delivered to the island on a seven-seat Cessna Citation II jet and personal chef and concierge services are available. A weekly stay at Mystique during the winter months costs over $50,000.