The allocations below aren’t on any website. Most won’t survive June. A few are favours I’m calling in by publishing them in World Travel Magazine — which means, frankly, they’ll move faster now. Consider this your call sheet for the summer — what to hold, what to book tonight, and the one question to put to your advisor before the window closes.
The Compound — Paros, Greece: There’s a three-villa compound above Naoussa (no name, no website, managed by a couple who left Athens architecture) that sleeps fourteen across three houses with a shared courtyard and a cook whose lamb kleftiko ends the Greece-versus-Turkey debate permanently. A Mumbai advisor I trust is holding two August weeks. Ask before they move to waitlist.
The Cliff — Sifnos, Greece: Verina Sifnos is the property people name when they’ve done Mykonos, outgrown Santorini, and want a Greek island that still feels like a secret kept between friends. Twelve rooms, a pool cut into the cliffside, and a kitchen rooted in Sifnos’s claim as the culinary island of the Cyclades (a claim, having eaten there twice, I won’t contest). Peak summer availability is nearly gone. Your advisor should contact the property directly — ask for Yanna at reservations and mention specific dates. She won’t entertain vague holds.
The Captain — Cyclades, Greece: A 40-metre motor yacht doing Cyclades loops is being held by a Mumbai charter agency for three more weeks before it goes to open market. The captain, Nikos (previously with a family you’d recognise), knows every cove the megayachts can’t reach. This is a July hold. It will not survive June.
Prassa with turquoise crystal clear sea, Image by Aerial-motion, Shutterstock
The Debut — Kaş, Turkey: A twelve-room hotel on the Lycian coast opens its inaugural season this June. The owner spent a decade with some of the most quietly perfectionist hotel groups in Asia before coming home to build his own. No press trip, no influencer programme. Rooms face the Mediterranean with the kind of silence that makes you aware of your own breathing. Book through the owner directly — his name is Emre, and the soft-launch rate disappears July 1.
The Terrace — Dubrovnik, Croatia: A three-bedroom apartment inside the Old Town walls, private terrace with fortress views, is available for August. The owners — a Bengaluru family who bought it in 2019 — are lending it through their advisor’s network rather than listing publicly. It comes with their housekeeper Maria, who has contacts at every restaurant worth eating at and a talent for making August in Dubrovnik feel unhurried.
The Bay — Montenegro: Regent Porto Montenegro is having a quiet moment with families who want the Mediterranean without the circus. The pool complex is built for children who’ve outgrown kids’ clubs, the marina-side suites feel like a private apartment (request the Regent Suite facing the bay, not the town side), and the concierge team has relationships with every boat operator in Boka Bay. Your advisor should ask for Jelena in reservations — she holds a small number of suites for trade partners and releases them on a rolling basis through July.
The Consultant — Borgo Egnazia, Italy: The property has quietly introduced a vegetarian menu consultant — not a chef, a consultant who works with the kitchen on vegetarian, and regional Indian dietary frameworks. If your family books the Casetta suites and flags dietary requirements at reservation stage, the experience is transformed. Ask your advisor to connect with Federica in guest relations.
Coastal hiking path in Apulia, Image by Pawel Kazmierczak, Shutterstock
The Masseria — Puglia, Italy: A masseria forty minutes south of Borgo has just released its September books after a two-year restoration. Twelve rooms, an olive grove, a natural pool, and a pasta-making grandmother named Rosa who treats lunch as personal obligation. September is Puglia’s real season — the heat breaks, the figs come in, the coast empties. Book through the property’s WhatsApp.
The Grandmother — Sicily, Italy: A villa outside Noto with a resident Sicilian grandmother (Donna Maria, eighty-four, immovable opinions about caponata) who cooks lunch for guests daily. The villa sleeps ten, with a garden sloping into lemon groves, managed by a Palermo agency. The grandmother is the amenity. She doesn’t take requests. The food is the best you’ll eat in Sicily this year or any year.
The Palace in Rain — Jaipur: Rajmahal Palace RAAS’s monsoon programme returns this July with rates that justify genuinely long stays. The palace in rain is theatrical, moody — the kind of Jaipur that existed before it became a circuit stop. Ask for Suite 4 (the Maharani suite faces the garden, and in monsoon, that garden performs).
The Estate — Coorg: A new twelve-acre estate near Madikeri is taking single-family bookings only. Three cottages, a resident naturalist, coffee-plantation walks, and a chef who trained at the Taj and then, sensibly, went home. This is a monsoon property in the truest sense — designed around the rain rather than against it. Bookings route through their Delhi advisor exclusively.
The Practitioner — Kerala: A houseboat operator on the Vembanad backwaters is running private charters with an onboard Ayurvedic chef and daily wellness programme. Not a spa gimmick — an actual practitioner who designs every meal around your constitution. Three-night minimum. The operator is a family I’ve known for years. Ask your advisor to reach Rajan directly.
The Allocation — Kyoto, Japan: Tawaraya has released a small September allocation. If your advisor has a Japanese ground partner worth their retainer, they know this already. If they don’t, the allocation will be gone by the time you finish reading. September in Kyoto, in that ryokan, is the kind of week worth rearranging a quarter for.
Ol Donyo Lodge
The Conservancy — Chyulu Hills, Kenya: Ol Donyo Lodge is offering a family arrangement for July and August that represents extraordinary value relative to the experience. The conservancy is vast, the wildlife unperformative, and the rooms have plunge pools facing Kilimanjaro. Families who’ve done the Mara circuit and want something less narrated should call Great Plains Conservation directly.
The Question: This last item isn’t a place. It’s the question to ask your advisor before the week is out: “What are you holding that you haven’t told me about?” The best advisors sit on inventory the way great sommeliers sit on back-vintage allocations — waiting for the client who’ll value it. The summer’s best room, villa, or table may already be reserved in your name. You simply haven’t been told yet. ◼
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© This article was first published online in May 2026 – World Travel Magazine.
