Villa Gennargentu

Villa Gennargentu is a statement. Its curved travertine terraces sweep across a Sardinian hillside like contour lines, above a real grass football pitch with grassy steps for spectators and a long view over islands and sea.

Inside, the scale is grand and the finish immaculate. A round entrance hall with an inlaid marble floor opens into curving living and dining rooms under glowing cove ceilings and crystal chandeliers, with cream sofas, a long dining table and glass walls on the view. A spiral staircase, a wine room with a tasting bar and a round lounge under a skylight add to the sense of occasion. For a luxury villa rental in Sardinia on a truly generous scale, there's little to compare.

Villa Gennargentu has seven bedrooms, calm and tailored, with padded headboards, silky bedding and terraces or windows facing the hills and sea. Bathrooms are finished in marble, warm wood and mosaic, with a round glass shower in one.

For active days there's a large gym with a sea view and a treatment room, along with a domed mosaic wellness room. Outside, a curved infinity pool runs below the terraces, an oval pool lies on the lawn, and a white pergola gazebo shelters built-in seats. At dusk the whole house glows over the bay. Sardinia, Italy's great island playground, is all around. The villa suits large families, sporty groups and big celebrations.