11 of the Most Over-the-Top Vacation Rentals on Plum Guide

Securing the right stay for your perfect vacation can require a lot of research and time spent comparing various locations, rental types, and amenities. Not only are there multiple rental listing sites to choose from, but each site features thousands of options in cities across the world. For those planning an ultra-luxe stay—or just looking for a site where hosts have to do more than simply post a listing to get approved—Plum Guide may be your knight in shining armor. From castles in the Scottish countryside to treehouses in Central America, every type of magnificent rental can be found on Plum Guide. According to the site, their highly curated list of rentals only includes the best—it's made up of the top one percent of vacation rentals worldwide. The available options are pulled from 25 different rental listing sites, and Plum Guide prioritizes luxury and amenities not often offered with typical rentals (like access to a private chef, cleaning staff, and more). And it’s not just about the amenities: The architecture and design need to be on-point to make the cut, too.

It's not an easy process to get a property approved. The London-based company uses a mix of an algorithm, AI, and human curation to determine its offerings, starting first by scouring rental sites like Airbnb and VRBO for the top-rated homes. From there, the company uses AI to judge whether or not a home is up to its standards; according to its website, Plum Guide's AI is 91 percent as effective at doing so as the its human Design Director. To make this decision, the company's AI technology takes every single detail into consideration from the quality of the bed linens and location to how luxe the furnishings are and how eye-catching the design. From here, there’s an on-site visit before the home is approved for a listing. The visit is far from a quick check-in; Plum Guide has employed a team of Home Critics who personally inspect the home, starting with a mock check-in process, and consider the more psychological sides of a home stay like whether or not a family would have enough space to simultaneously enjoy each other and their own privacy. Whew. The result is a website that is beyond easy to lose a few hours to, as every single listing deserves a spot on someone’s bucket list. Though the prices reflect this level of care, you know you’re booking a special, well-vetted home every single time.

One thing that is particularly notable on the website is the mix of homes available. From villas with enough bedrooms to sleep more than 50 guests to romantic bungalows on the waterfront, every type of rental in every style and location is up for grabs. If you want to live like a TV star in a muted, neutral mansion with an 80-foot pool, it’s possible. Want to spend your days in the keep of a medieval castle with room for you and 39 of your closest friends? Done. From sustainable, off-the-grid tiny homes with open-air bedrooms to sprawling villas in the French countryside, we fully condone planning a vacation around one of these meticulously designed spaces. To help get your imagination going, we gathered 11 of the most over-the-top Plum Guide listings, from Joshua Tree to Marrakech.

This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date. All listings featured in this story are independently selected by our editors. However, when you book something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.