A New Book Reveals Some of the World's Most Incredible Vacation Rentals

The popular website, which features breathtaking vacation properties located across the globe, has teamed up with the Cool Escapes media platform in order to set today's design standards for vacation rentals. Boutique Homes: Handpicked Vacation Rentals (published by Avedition) features a collection of more than 60 unique homes that have been carefully curated by the brand's founders, Heinz Legler and Veronique Lievre. 

Divided into chapters including beach houses, architectural gems, urban retreats, cliff houses, and country living, each section opens with an introduction written by industry insiders. The book also comes with a complementary app called Cool Escapes BoutiqueHomes, with an augmented reality function that allows you to explore the homes featured in the book—a unique interaction between print and digital. 

In addition to serving as vacation inspiration and excellent eye candy, each of the properties is available for rent and can actually be experienced in real life. Below, we take a look at some of our favorites.    

Los Cabos Modern

Location: Mexico's Baja California

Architecture: Campos Leckie

Price: $400 per night

Perched on a hill above Zippers Beach overlooking the Sea of Cortez, this vacation rental in Los Cabos is a one-of-a-kind modern retreat that's designed with a minimalist and peaceful, zen-like style. It can fit up to four guests.

The Pink House 

Location: Azores, Portugal

Architecture: Mezzo Atelier

Price: $237 per night

Breathing new life into an old barn, architects Mezzo Atelier reimagined this holiday home in Azores as two pink guesthouses that adhere to the unique character of traditional houses found in the area. It can fit up to five guests. 

See the home on Dwell here.

Mallorca Villa

Location: Santanyí, Majorca, Spain

Architecture: John Pawson and Claudio Silvestrin

Price: Approximately $4,747 per week

Set in an almond grove on the southern part of the island, the Mallorca Villa was designed by John Pawson and Claudio Silvestrin, the duo responsible for designing leading retail locations for Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani. With stunning views of the sea and mountains, Villa Mallorca is reminiscent of an art installation, with dramatic geometric lines and a minimalist aesthetic that lets the architecture and landscape shine. It can fit up to 11 guests.

Pigeon Bay

Location: Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand

Architecture: Andrew Patterson

Price: $2,042 per night

Located along the Banks Peninsula in the dramatic volcanic landscape of New Zealand’s South Island, this incredible home is nestled into a rocky escarpment in a sheltered cove with breathtaking views of the coast. Designed by Auckland-based architect Andrew Patterson of Pattersons Associates Architects, the home is constructed largely from locally quarried stone, steel, glass, poured concrete, and a living roof. Designed as a romantic hideaway for two, the home is only accessible by helicopter or a four-wheel-drive vehicle. It can fit up to two guests.

See our coverage of Pigeon Bay here.

Neskowin Beach House

Location: Neskowin, Oregon

Architecture: Cornell Anderson

Price: $190 per night

Designed by Cornell Anderson of Boora Architects, this modern beach home on Oregon’s rugged central coast features panoramic views that stretch for miles. Set above a coastal inlet of protected wetlands with vast expanses of pristine shoreline, the house was designed to complement the beautiful landscape. Clean sculptural lines and an abundance of natural wood, concrete, and glass showcase the home's meticulously crafted details and finishes. It can fit up to six guests.

Sea Cabins

Location: Manshausen Island, Norway

Architecture: Snorre Stinessen

Price: Approximately $336 per night

Situated at the water’s edge overlooking the spectacular scenery of the Steigen archipelago, this striking collection of cabin rentals in Norway was commissioned by renowned polar explorer Børge Ousland in partnership with architect Snorre Stinessen. After Ousland purchased the 55-acre island of Manshausen in 2010, the prefab cabins were constructed and assembled on site, celebrating the natural beauty of the Norwegian landscape. It can fit up to four guests.

See our coverage of the cabins here.

Modern by the Sea

Location: Comporta, Portugal

Architecture: Pedro Ferreira Pinto 

Price: Approximately $3,655 per week

This striking yet simple villa is located near Comporta, Portugal, just minutes from the ocean. Designed by Pedro Ferreira Pinto, it was built to blend into the surrounding environment and features a private terrace with a heated pool, pine decks, a garden, and an interior courtyard. It can fit up to six guests.

Siena Loft

Location: San Giovanni d'Asso, Tuscany, Italy 

Architecture: Reinhold Traxl

Price: Approximately $2,136 per week

Located outside a small village in the southern part of Siena, this former factory has undergone several dramatic changes since its industrial beginnings.  Originally constructed in the late-1960s, the home was abandoned until Austrian sculptor and architect Reinhold Traxl adapted the structure into a "box" concept, creating a new living and atelier space in the process. It can fit up to four guests. 

Far Meadow A-Frame

Location: Far Meadow, California

Architecture: Heinz Legler

Price: Starts at $275 per night

This modern A-frame is set in a beautiful remote location in California's Sierra National Forest at an elevation of 7,000 feet. Fourteen miles above Bass Lake on the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway, this property is surrounded by meadows, secret swimming holes, and miles of undiscovered hiking trails. It can fit up to four guests.

Charlevoix Cabin

Location: Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Quebec, Canada

Architecture: Cargo Architecture

Price: Starts at $1,945 per week

Set on a private wooded site, this vacation rental is a modern version of a mountain cabin. Designed by Quebec City-based Cargo Architecture, the classic A-frame silhouette complements the natural beauty of its forested surroundings. Constructed of natural, pale cedar with black-metal accents, the minimalist home possesses distinct Scandinavian design principles. It can fit up to 11 guests.

Aufberg 1113

Location: Piesendorf, Zell am See, Austria

Architecture: Andreas Meck

Price: Starts at approximately $225 per night

Although contemporary in design, this property maintains a traditional Alpine vibe. Perched high above the valley floor in the pristine Hohen Tauern National Park, the home is part of a larger installation designed by Munich-based architect Andreas Meck of Meck Architects. Immersed in nature with a warm, contemporary style and modern comforts, this home still retains the feel of a rustic wilderness retreat. Its simple and stylish horizontal silhouette and cantilevered design mimics the mountainous terrain, capturing amazing views and maximum sunlight. It can fit up to four guests.

Antwerp Design Apartment

Location: Antwerp, Belgium

Architecture: Vincent Van Duysen

Price: Approximately $1,542 per night

Conceived and designed by a Belgian couple who initially called the space home, this townhouse located in the center of Antwerp has been transformed into a specialty destination that includes a restaurant, design shop, art gallery, and a chic upper apartment that's been transformed by Vincent Van Duysen. The building’s neoclassical features and historic facade remain intact, while the interiors have been completely redesigned. It can fit up to six guests.

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