This Luxury Villa Company Rents Italian Dream Homes With Private Pools — and It Was Voted Best in the World by T+L Readers

The readers of Travel + Leisure want more from their vacation rentals than merely a place to bed down. They’re seeking the sophisticated design, luxe amenities, and concierge-level service of a hotel, married with the privacy, intimate feel, and creature comforts of home — and their picks for the best luxury villa rental companies nail it on all counts. An off-the-beaten-path estate in Tuscany for a big-group getaway, a plush ski lodge with family-friendly extras, a sleek Grecian villa with daily drops of fresh-baked bread from a local yiayia — whatever you can dream up, these agencies can deliver.

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. Over 186,000 T+L readers completed the 2024 survey. A total of more than 700,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 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

In T+L’s second year of including luxury villa rental companies in the annual World’s Best Awards, a spate of new winners snagged four of five spots on the list. But make no mistake — these are industry pros. Take Five Star Greece (No. 3): This company has been coordinating luxury Greek villa rentals since 2000, and a number of their privately owned properties are available for rent exclusively to clients. Home exchange brand ThirdHome has been going strong since 2010, and members can choose from more than 17,000 properties around the world, with one T+L reader calling it “one of the best-kept secrets.” East West Hospitality, meanwhile, has a narrower niche, with properties in popular Colorado and California ski destinations, as well as the island of Hawaii. “Live guest services was a game-changer,” says one T+L reader of the brand. “They set up snowshoeing for my family and gave us some great restaurant recommendations on our first trip to Vail.” This year’s first-place spot went once again to a distinctive company making travelers’ dolce vita dreams come true. Read on for more on this stellar brand, plus the full list of the best luxury villa rental companies. 

The Winner

Tuscany Now & More

Perhaps you’re envisioning jetting off to a palazzo near Lake Garda with 29 of your closest pals and nightly meals whipped up by a private chef. Maybe a quiet stone villa near Padua with views of the olive groves is more your speed. Regardless, Tuscany Now & More has you covered, and despite what the name might suggest, you needn’t limit yourself to the Tuscan countryside to take advantage. For the second year in a row, this 34-year-old company has nabbed the first-place slot on this list, and with good reason: Each property in their portfolio is exclusive to Tuscany Now & More, and is personally visited and vetted by a member of their staff. Certain amenities come standard — a private pool is a must, and most properties have air conditioning — as does a 24/7 on-the-ground concierge contact. And Tuscany Now & More prides itself on offering distinctive experiences for travelers, like horseback riding through vineyards in Chianti or tromping through the forest with a professional truffle hunter. One T+L reader put it succinctly: With TN&M at the helm, “I really loved visiting Tuscany.”

The Full List

1. Tuscany Now & More

Reader Score: 96.22

2. East West Hospitality

Reader Score: 94.29

3. Five Star Greece 

Reader Score: 94.22

4. ThirdHome 

Reader Score: 93.67

5. Villas of Distinction 

Reader Score: 93.59