Is A Villa For You?
What to consider before embarking on the rental route

1. Am I better off at a hotel?
Many travelers have a glamorized view of a villa vacation. But staying in a private home without the array of help you get at a hotel could mean more work than you bargained for. Even with a part-time housekeeper, you usually need to wash dishes, do laundry, take the garbage to the bin down the road. You typically have to buy not only groceries but household supplies such as dish detergent, paper towels, soap, sponges, toilet paper, and trash bags. And living in an authentic villa means taking care of it: In Provence, for instance, where a traditional home has shutters to keep it both cool and secure, you must close and fasten them all every time you leave the house; you also need to collapse the outdoor parasols in case of a sudden mistral. Villa owners in Italy complained to me about Americans throwing wet towels on antique beds and floors, thus damaging the wood, and failing to carry outdoor furniture cushions into the house at day's end. When you vacate a villa, you may be asked to leave it "broom clean," which includes stripping the beds and removing all food from the fridge.

2. Do I require American-style comforts?
If you decide to splurge on a fully staffed villa, the work disappears. What probably won't disappear, however, are the inconveniences that come with ancient houses in rural areas. Many European villas, for instance, have no air-conditioning, no window screens, no high-speed Internet access, no heated pool, and a limited supply of water.

3. Do I have a full week?
Most villas have a one-week minimum, usually Saturday to Saturday. You don't have to stay for the whole seven days, but you do have to pay for them.

4. What amenities do I require?
Say you're going with a group of couples. Do you need a bathroom for each bedroom? Standard-issue amenities in the United States—a barbecue grill, a clothes dryer, CNN—are not so standard elsewhere. Ask the others in your group to make a list of their must-haves—and have-nots. One person might suffer from allergies, for instance, and require a property with no animals on it.

5. How do I envision spending my time?
A group planning to do a lot of sightseeing may need a location convenient to a railway hub, whereas a group planning to stay put might want a shaded terrace for dining outdoors.

6. How much staff do I want?
Before my villa-rental experience, I saw no need for any help other than a cook. I've since changed my mind. Many precious hours of sightseeing time were swallowed up not just by household chores and battles with foreign appliances but by having to learn an unfamiliar phone system, searching for a supermarket, etc. Furthermore, my many inspections of staffed villas showed me how much more warm and inviting a full-time housekeeper and/or cook can make a home. In Europe, a major domo who has cared for a house for years—and whose family may have served the owners' family for generations—not only makes life a lot easier but expands your window onto the culture. If I'd had a full-time cook, for instance, I could have gone with her to the market and learned from her in the kitchen.