Frequently Asked Questions
Luxury travel, answered plainly.
Booking, cancellations, payment — and what qualifies a house for the collection in the first place. If your question is not here, send an enquiry and we will follow up by email.
Booking
- How do I book a villa on iLuxuryTravels?
- Every house carries a Reserve button that opens live rates and availability with our booking partners. Choose your dates there to confirm instantly. If you would rather talk it through first, use the enquiry form on any villa page — send your dates and we will follow up by email.
- Are the rates shown on the site live?
- Rates shown on our pages are indicative, marked by season and length of stay, and checked regularly. The final price is confirmed at the moment you book, on the partner checkout page, before any payment is taken.
- What is the minimum stay?
- It varies by house and season. As a rule, four nights is the floor, seven is standard in peak season, and many houses price two-week stays preferentially. Each villa page shows rates for four nights, a week and two weeks.
- Can I hold dates while I decide?
- We do not hold dates informally — availability is live and moves quickly in season. If your dates are fixed, the safest path is to reserve through the booking link; most partner rates include a free-cancellation window.
- Who am I actually booking with?
- Your reservation is fulfilled by our preferred partner network — established booking platforms and the house's own operator. iLuxuryTravels curates the collection and connects you; the booking contract names the supplier on the checkout page before you pay.
Cancellations & changes
- What is the cancellation policy?
- Cancellation terms are set per house and shown on the checkout page before you confirm — many rates are fully refundable until a stated cutoff, while peak festive and event weeks are often non-refundable. Read the terms shown for your exact dates; they are the binding version.
- Can I change my dates after booking?
- Date changes depend on the house and how close you are to arrival. Request the change through the confirmation email you received at booking — the supplier will confirm what is possible and any rate difference before anything is amended.
- What happens if the house becomes unavailable?
- This is rare, but if a house is withdrawn — storm damage, a sale, a maintenance failure — the supplier's obligation is to refund you in full or offer a comparable alternative. We will help you find a replacement from the collection either way.
- Do I need travel insurance?
- Yes — we recommend it for every booking. A good policy covers the scenarios no villa contract does: illness before travel, flight disruption, and cancellation inside a non-refundable window. For high-value stays it is inexpensive relative to the trip.
Payment
- How do I pay for a booking?
- Payment is taken securely on the partner checkout page — major credit and debit cards are accepted, with local payment methods in many markets. iLuxuryTravels never sees or stores your card details.
- In which currency will I be charged?
- Rates are quoted in US dollars across the site for comparison, and the checkout will show the charge currency — often the house's local currency — before you confirm. Your card issuer applies its own exchange rate if the two differ.
- Can I pay by bank transfer for a large booking?
- For high-value stays — multi-week bookings, whole estates, festive-season takeovers — bank transfer can often be arranged. Send an enquiry with your dates and house, and we will confirm what the supplier can offer.
- Are there any hidden fees?
- No. The checkout price itemises the nightly rate, taxes and any mandatory charges — cleaning, local tourist tax, refundable security deposit — before you pay. The indicative rates on our pages are for comparison; the checkout figure is the whole figure.
What makes a luxury villa
- What qualifies a house for iLuxuryTravels?
- Three tests. The house must be exceptional in its market — architecture, setting or both. It must be properly serviced — professional housekeeping at minimum, with most houses offering chef and concierge service. And it must price from $500 a night, our floor, so the collection stays honest to the word luxury.
- What is included in the rate?
- Housekeeping, linens, utilities and Wi-Fi are standard everywhere. Beyond that it varies by house and is listed on each villa page — many include a private chef, daily breakfast, airport transfers or a house car. Staffed houses list exactly who is in the house.
- How is a villa different from a luxury hotel?
- Space and privacy are the obvious answers — your own pool, your own kitchen, no lobby. The less obvious one is staff ratio: a fully staffed villa often has more people looking after eight guests than a hotel has for eighty. Our guides cover when a hotel is the better choice — for short stays and first visits, it often is.
- Are the houses inspected?
- The collection is curated from preferred partner networks and suppliers we know, with photography, floor plans and amenity lists verified against the operator's own records. Our editorial guides are researched independently and every rate marked indicative until the live checkout confirms it.
- Can you help me choose between houses?
- Yes — that is what the guides, collections and town pages are for. Start with the destination guide for when to go, the collections for the style of stay, and the town pages to compare houses side by side. If you are still torn between two, send an enquiry naming both and we will give you a straight answer.