It's like living in a catalog. Or maybe a movie, one in which you've been cast as a suave, jet-setting millionaire who's swapped houses with another millionaire who happens to be your soul mate (played by Jude Law). Or maybe a wealthy aunt has died and left you her gorgeous townhouse. Or Anna Wintour has asked you to house-sit. Or--I'm sorry, what was I talking about? I've been fantasizing about all the homes I could stay in through the luxury vacation rental website One Fine Stay.
For $200 a night and up, One Fine Stay will arrange for you to rent someone's personal home for a short period of time while they're out of town. We're not talking just any old home, though; these professionally decorated apartments and townhouses (even one 6,000-square-foot London houseboat!) are likely some of the coolest digs you'll ever visit, and they offer a unique travel experience that most hotels can't replicate. "Folks in the nicest homes and in the nicest cities tend also to be the people who travel most often," says Greg Marsh, who founded One Fine Stay in 2009. "They have these beautiful properties with amazing views, and many of them are open-minded about earning some extra income when they're away. But they have very little time or inclination to act as a hotelier and rent out their homes themselves."