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.

More places to play in Abu Dhabi, the Danat Resort Jebel Dhanna, a five star beach resort, has opened six waterfront villas at the west coast resort. The new villas join the 109 rooms and suites and offer privacy as well as amenities like a living room, kitchenette and soaker tubs in the bathrooms. The villas have sea views and satellite television. The villas also offer access to a private 800-metre sand beach as well as two floodlit tennis courts and two squash courts, swimming pool, the Body and Soul Health Club, plus water sports and beach activities. Guests may borrow MP3 players for use at the pool or beach and enjoy a free DVD movie to unwind. Villas start from AED 1500 for a one bedroom and AED 2000 for two bedroom.