The Villa del Palmar Beach Resort, refurbished Inn at Loreto Bay, and new condominium communities have all sprouted up over the past three years.

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Get a leg up on your vacation planning with a four-night trip for two to Villa del Palmar Flamingos Beach Resort and Spa, on Mexico's west coast.

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Seductive stuff, especially when read in August in a Tuscan villa or on a Mediterranean beach.

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Finally, to escape from the beach, head into the hinterland to Casa Susegad, a restored Portuguese villa set in the atmospheric, seldom-visited village of Loutolim.

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And if you want to really take it to a luxury level fitting the Bond motif, consider renting out one of the rooms in the lakeside Villa La Gaeta, a stunning castellated private home with its own beach near Menaggio on Lake Como.

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Called Villa Rockledge, the property is on a cliff overlooking the Pacific, with a private beach below.

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