Oliver’s Travels

Oliver’s Travels began in 2003 with a week among friends at a château in the Dordogne. Oliver and Ravi returned with the idea for Simply Chateau, a website for finding and booking exclusive-use French castles and houses. The project grew, changed its name, and expanded its selection to villas, cottages, and other distinctive accommodation.

The collection retains that focus on the type of stay. There are châteaux and castles, large houses for groups, villas for two, family accommodation, and options for bringing several generations together. Categories with pools, near the beach, in resorts, or around lakes and mountains offer different starting points for a search. The Luxe collection, wellness options, and wedding venues add selections with specific purposes.

France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, and Britain and Ireland feature prominently in the catalog. It also includes Turkey, Morocco, Cyprus, Montenegro, Malta and Gozo, Slovenia, and Finnish Lapland. Ski chalets and city homes add settings different from a seaside villa or a country house.

Beyond Europe, the selection extends to the Caribbean, the United States, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. Searches combine a destination or property name with dates and guest numbers. Destination specialists select the accommodation, while recommendations and Oliver’s Journal provide ideas for choosing the kind of trip and the location.

Concierge offerings include services that can accompany a stay: private chefs and catering, grocery stocking, housekeeping, car rentals, transfers, tours, and activities. These are arranged for the relevant booking rather than being identical features of every house. That option allows travelers to plan a family gathering or group vacation around the chosen property.

The company also works with owners who want to add a home to the collection and with travel agents and tour operators. Its office is at Unit 1.01, Chester House, Kennington Park, 1–3 Brixton Road, London, SW9 6DE. Oliver’s Travels therefore continues the thread of that original stay among friends: finding a distinctive house and arranging the services and destination that shape the trip.