Mandarin Oriental's private villa rental arm has just grown meaningfully. Mandarin Oriental Exceptional Homes has added twelve properties, taking the collection to 43 homes across 18 destinations — with six locations joining for the first time: Lopud in Croatia, Porto Heli in Greece, Florence, Chianti, Sardinia and Marbella, plus deeper coverage of Puglia and the French Riviera.
The headline-grabbing newcomer is LOPUD 1483, a 15th-century Franciscan monastery on the car-free Croatian island of Lopud in the Elaphiti Islands near Dubrovnik. The island has roughly 300 residents, and the restored estate sleeps ten from about €105,000 a week — a genuine castaway-your-group escape.
Italy does heavy lifting in this round. In Florence, Villa Petrucci puts ten guests steps from the Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi (from €92,233/week) after a five-year restoration led by architect Massimo Adario. Just outside the city in Impruneta, Dimora Ghirlandaio — once owned by Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio — spans five restored buildings and sleeps 37 from €105,800 a week, ideal for large celebrations. Il Cellese sits on a Chianti estate with vineyard views and sleeps 19, while Sardinia's Villa Ada and Villa Marzia are rare beachfront finds near Porto Cervo with direct coastal access. Puglia gains two restored trulli, Trullo delle Dame and Trullo dei Pumi.
Marbella is clearly a growth bet: seven new design-led villas join, several in the gated estate of La Zagaleta or overlooking Las Brisas Golf Club in Nueva Andalucía. Greece also gains Porto Heli via Vanikiba, a 19-guest hillside villa with views over the Argolic Gulf, and Asia gets a look-in with Tatvani in Chiang Rai — a private estate of teak villas set among rice fields in northern Thailand.
Every home comes with the same service wrapper: a dedicated concierge, private chef service, daily housekeeping and fully tailored itineraries — essentially hotel-grade staff in a private setting. That's the value proposition, and it's why prices sit firmly at the ultra-luxury end: even the most 'affordable' Riviera options start around €32,000–€36,000 a week, with the 32-guest Château de la Croix des Gardes above Cannes priced on request.
Why should a traveller care? If you're planning a milestone birthday, a multi-family holiday or a wedding-adjacent gathering, this expansion widens the map considerably — Croatia and Greece now offer alternatives to the well-worn Riviera, and the Tuscan options scale up to serious group sizes. Book well ahead for summer in the Mediterranean; the most characterful properties (the monastery especially) will have limited weeks.
