Are hotels over? Probably not, but the new Netflix show The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals certainly makes the case for staying in private homes instead. Part home design show, part travelogue, the eight-episode series follows three hosts as they stay in a total of 24 dwellings around the world, each with something different to offer.
Aside from being a visually interesting show that lends itself to binge-watching, the best part about this program is probably that it serves as a de facto bucket list since each property is available to rent on Airbnb or other platforms. Each episode, the host is in charge of finding a place that serves a specific purpose. Former Million Dollar Listing realtor Luis Ortiz handles booking luxury properties, interior designer Megan Batoon finds budget rentals that don’t sacrifice design, and travel influencer Jo Franco brings the group to out-of-the-ordinary places like a condo inside a building near Mexico City that is shaped like the Aztec serpent god Quetzalcoatl, built by architect Javier Senosiain.
“What I love about this vacation rental world now is that there is a property for pretty much anyone. You can stay in a potato. It is evolving,” Ortiz tells AD. (He’s right—there is a potato-shaped Airbnb in Boise, Idaho.) So although all of his picks are architecturally striking and laden with amenities (among the luxe properties were an ultra-modern Balinese beach house, a private island in the Bahamas, a Japanese ski lodge called Seasons Niseko, and more), Ortiz was most excited about the “budget” and “unique” properties.
At these places, the draw was the immersion into local culture, something Franco, a professional traveler who has spent the last decade as a citizen of the world, prioritizes above all else. “Everywhere we went, I would look geographically where most people haven’t gone,” she says. “I looked for everything from a highly rated host to being out in the country where you have to drive a bit further away from a major city. So that is my trick. Avoid the top-10 list and look for the people, culture, and festivals. Sometimes that is the catalyst to get you somewhere you might not otherwise go.” This approach led the group to a Utah campsite in a tricked-out van, a remote home in Bali where they celebrated Galungan Day with their Airbnb host, a floating mansion in Miami, and more.
Even Batoon’s budget properties were pretty spectacular. The affordable igloo in Finland where the group saw the Northern lights, the Montana cattle ranch, and the private Hawaiian waterfall were all reminders that you can see the world without splurging too much or sacrificing style. “I’d never pick a rental that didn’t offer something in design,” she says. “It doesn't need to be this gorgeous, museum-quality lodging, but how does it feel? What is the lighting like? How does it make you want to explore and connect with the people you are traveling with? The vacation rental hosts that have achieved that put themselves in the shoes of the client and offer amenities and small details. Everything with design is in the details.”
The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals is available to stream on Netflix now.
Written by Rachel Wallace.
This article originally appeared on Architectural Digest US.
