janisj

Don't let that $40,000 a week scare you off. Many great houses in the UK, Ireland, France etc rent for $2000 - $5000 per week in high season.

Sher

Try this"

www.sanmartino.co.uk

We researched the house for a special family birthday party but the plans fell through.

There are ten bedrooms with ten bathrooms and also there are two bedrooms that sleep five with a shared bath suitable for children (slope ceiling) on the top floor.

Good luck.

BKP

Because you posted in Europe I'm not sure if you want to stick to that but we've researched this sort of thing too (14 adults and 15 children -- when they start to outnumber you . . . look out!) and we liked what we found in Jamaica.
http://www.silver-sands.com/
We were daring enough to try Paris with our baby but I'm not sure I want to be stuck on an airplane to Europe with my 14 nieces and nephews, not to mention my own crazy brothers and sisters! Good luck.

nytraveler

janisj -

The OP asked for a "fabulous 9+ bedroom house). We saw a lot of houses for much less than the $40,000 per week - but they were usually 3 bedroom - or perhaps 4 - and were modest/ordinary - certainly not "fabulous" - which to me means living room, dining room, breakfast room, den, games rooms, library, full access to the latest video/audio and internet technology, olympic size pool, beautiful gardens, terraces overlooking the sea and a full staff. I don;t think you'll get that anywhere for $2000 - $5000 per week.

Doble_Vergasser

Well If anywhere might include the southeastern U.S. and your budget is not small, them you might look at Sea Island Georgia. Their website says that they have a nine bedroom home available for rent. Sea Island has miles of ocean front but is only two or three blocks deep. All rentals on the island are handled by the Sea Island Company (so they could do the three or four cottages close together scenario). Ocean activities and world class golf are the main attractions, but tennis, horses, shooting clays and fishing are available.

90 minutes from Jacksonville airport. 60 Minoutes from the Svannah airport. 5 hour drive from atlanta.

janisj

Maybe $2000 is too low but all of these are between $4500 and $12000 per week and some are very grand

http://www.celticcastles.com/castles...ham/index.html less than £4000 per week for 26-28 a bit more for up to 33 (but much cheaper in shoulder and off seasons)

http://www.helpfulholidays.com/prope...r=2006#G1_door Except for a few weeks in between late july and Sept 1, much less than £3000 per week sleeping 24.

http://www.helpfulholidays.com/prope...006#A133_HALL1 Less than £3000 most weeks for 30 guests.

http://www.celticcastles.com/castles...tle/index.html €10,000 per week sleeps 30

http://www.celticcastles.com/castles...utra/index.htm - a really posh place for €3500 for 3 night sleeps 40

janisj

the last link didn't work - is this better

http://www.celticcastles.com/castles...tra/index.html

moldyhotelsaregross

I have absolutely no information to add. I just want to see how this thread develops.

Viajero2

The weblink to the Wendy Perrin article in Conde Nast Traveller is http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/...p;pageNumber=1

I just returned from a house rental in the South of France and it was a great experience. At least once in a lifetime do vacation in a group (select wisely!); it can be a lot of fun.

nytraveler

janisj -

Sorry - I just automatically excluded Ireland and England because to me a key element of that type of vacation - esp with kids - is a really great pool. And obvously in Ireland - and probably England pools are scarce - and often not usable due to temps.

We searched for a place in the south of France and had trouble finding anything moderate for less than $5000 per week - and that was for 2 couples (a 3/4 bedroom house - since at least one bedroom is good only for kids). We weren't considering the mansions - since there were only 4 of us - and we certainly didn;t have that sort of budget.

janisj

nytraveler: Pools are pretty common in the UK, especially in upscale properties, and the long summer days do allow for lots of swimming. I've stayed in just modest manor houses - sleeping 8 or 10, that had pools.

mcnyc

Don't know if this was listed already, but a bunch of friends and I had thought of a place like this for when our group vacation comes to fruition. It has a pool, 12 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms.
http://tinyurl.com/elgcn

Personally, I think a cruise vacation or renting separate villas near to each other is a better way to go.

Sounds like you're gonna have a lot of fun. Let us know what you end up with!

Carrybean

Here is one with 10 bedrooms, 9.5 baths if, by anywhere you include the Caribbean:

http://tinyurl.com/rlzkx

Fibonacci2358

Try the advanced search on the English version of www.agriturismo.com You will have to try all the different regions individually but you can put "26" in the box for "sleeps" and "sea" in the "geographical location" and find some possibilities.

I know of a bus company you can contact in Italy also.

Full disclosure....I'm not in any way connected with any location you find on the Agriturismo site or the site itself or the bus company.

I'm just a guy who likes to travel in Italy and find out inexpensive ways to do it.

That said, here are some sites in Tuscany and it Calabria from Agriturismo.com.

Tuscany

@@Residenza Solferino • Via Solferino 30 - 57012 Castiglioncello (Livorno)

• Geographical location: Sea, • Accommodation: - Apartments • Sleeps: 45
• Daily rate per person: Not Available • Weekly rate per person: from 300 to 900 €
• Services: Credit Cards accepted, Swimming pool, Riding school/ Horse riding, Boat hire, Bike hire, Air conditioning, Barbecue, Internet, Car park, Park, Children's playground, Beach, Phone in room, Tv in room, Astronomical studies,

Agriturismo Il Tripesce • Stradone del Tripesce 5/A - 57018 Vada (Livorno)

• Geographical location: Sea, • Accommodation: - Apartments • Sleeps: 64
• Daily rate per person: from 10 to 20 € • Weekly rate per person: from 70 to 140 €
• Services: Biological products, Local products, Oil-Wine production/tasting, Pets allowed, Swimming pool, Trekking, Car park,

Casa Vacanze Fattoria Palazzeta • Via Vecchia Livornese 22 - 57010 Cecina (Livorno)

• Geographical location: Sea, • Accommodation: - Apartments • Sleeps: 66
• Daily rate per person: from 30 to 150 € • Weekly rate per person: from 285 to 1600 €
• Services: Swimming pool, Bowling green, Bike hire, Fishing, Table tennis, Thermal baths nearby, Barbecue, Car park, Park, Tv in room, Farming museum,

Residence Villa Liberty • Lungomare Marconi 8 - 57027 San Vincenzo (Livorno)

• Geographical location: Sea, • Accommodation: - Apartments - Whole structure • Sleeps: 29
• Daily rate per person: Not Available • Weekly rate per person: Not Available
• Services: Pets allowed, Boat hire, Bike hire, Tennis, Trekking, Thermal baths nearby, Air conditioning, Car park, Nature studies,


Calabria
@@Agriturismo Valle Lumìa • S. S. 106 Vecchia - 88811 Cirò Marina (Crotone)

• Geographical location: Sea, • Accommodation: - Apartments • Sleeps: 48
• Daily rate per person: Not Available • Weekly rate per person: from 300 to 550 €
• Services: Biological products, Local products, Oil-Wine production/tasting, Pets allowed, Bike hire, Car park, Park,

Agriturismo Agriclub Le Giare • s.s. 106 km 111 - 89047 roccella jonica (Reggio Calabria)

• Geographical location: Sea, • Accommodation: - Apartments • Sleeps: 40
• Daily rate per person: from 30 to 60 € • Weekly rate per person: from 175 to 420 €
• Services: Breakfast, Half board, Full board, Vegetarian cuisine, Local products, Oil-Wine production/tasting, Pets allowed, Swimming pool, Disabled, Table tennis, Tennis, Trekking, Air conditioning, Babysitter, Barbecue, Internet, Car park, Children's playground, Ceremonies, Beach, Activities for students, Guided tour of the farm
• Courses: Cuisine, Other

Agriturismo Grassetti • Contrada Grassetti/S.Rocco - 87070 Montegiordano (Cosenza)

• Geographical location: Sea, • Accommodation: - Apartments - Rooms • Sleeps: 36
• Daily rate per person: from 16 to 42 € • Weekly rate per person: Not Available
• Services: Breakfast, Half board, Full board, Vegetarian cuisine, Biological products, Local products, Oil-Wine production/tasting, Pets allowed, Riding school/ Horse riding, Mountain Bike, Table tennis, Trekking, Thermal baths nearby, Babysitter, Barbecue, Car park, Park, Ceremonies, Activities for students, Nature studies, Guided tour of the farm
• Courses: Ceramics, Cuisine, Painting

Viajero2

nytraveler--- if you are looking for a great house rental in the South of France at an affordable price check out holiday-rentals.com property ID 11712. I can answer any questions you have on this property.

Karameli-- I reiterate my previous post; A CRUISE is the way to go.

twk

Haven't stayed here, but saw a travel article on this place, and it looks like it might be a good fit: http://www.todicastle.com/

nytraveler

Viajero2 -

Thanks for the link but we canceled that trip due to family issues. But were never able to find a house we were happy with in our price range - either not enough baths or wrong bed configuration or too far from the coast or no AC or something.

karameli

Whew...I'm a little overwhelmed now, but in a good way! These are all great suggestions.

To the poster who suggested Santorini: I WISH! That's my dream destination, but probably not viable for our group. The plane ride from PHL is prohibitively expensive for some. I'll have to save that trip for later! (UK, Ireland, France and Italy are all cheap from here, relatively speaking.)

I am busy looking up all the villas and links posted here. Thanks so much. And to calrify for janisj and nytraveler, I didn't mean "fabulous" in the "personal chef, infinity pool, steam shower" sense. Just...big enough for all of us, without too many people sharing a bathroom. I'd say the $10,000 range would be our upper limit. So, semi-fabulous.

BKP -- we're 12 adults and 14 children, so we are indeed outnumbered!

We definitely would consider other regions, esp. the Caribbean.

THANKS again!!

nytraveler

Viajero2 -

Thanks for the suggestion. Have checked out the link - and as I suspected (I had done a lot of work on this before we had to cancel the original trip) none of the properties was appropriate unless you go for a much higher budget. (Most of these seem to be made for families rather than groups of couples - and getting more than one bedroom with a queen size bed is hard - and we need at least 2 or 3 [my beau and brother are both well over 6' as as the men in either of the possible third couples] - depending on who's coming - and that means a much bigger house - and higher price.)

We've given up on this and are sticking to hotels so we can all be comfy - and not trying to squeeze into child size beds

plambers

hi. my whole family rents a house in the outerbanks of nc for a week (not as exciting a location as others mentioned here!) . it has 8 br and 10 baths. each bedroom has its own bath and terrace. there is an elevator, media room (which the kids quicky took over), a billiards room, multi decks, oceanfront with its own pool and hot tub etc. it is amazing. there is plenty of space for privacy but then there is also plenty of space to cook, eat together and play together. we rent sea kayaks, bring volley ball nets etc. we range from 2 yrs to 66 years and all have a ball.