A good holiday should unlock your creativity. But what if you have nowhere to express it? Not a problem in these holiday homes, which all come with recording studios attached.
While some properties cater to musical professionals looking to lay down their next album in peace and quiet, others welcome amateurs who don’t yet know their amp from their microphone. From Somerset to St Barths, we’ve selected our five favourites from around the world.
Chez Georges, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
9 bedrooms
Via Design Hotels from £39,375 per week
Built in 1974 by noted Brazilian Brutalist architect Wladimir Alves de Souza, Chez Georges combines mid-century design with jungle views. What is less expected is that, thanks to excellent double glazing and a production room secreted under the swimming pool, the whole villa is easily transformed into a recording studio.
‘Patches are fitted in the walls of most suites, living areas and even the panoramic viewpoint on the roof,’ explains its owners. ‘Each has its particular sound ambience.’
Ocean Sound Recordings, Giske, Norway
4 bedrooms
Available to rent direct, price on request
Perched on the northern edge of the Norwegian island of Giske, Ocean Sound Recordings offers isolation and an extensive list of recording and analog equipment designed to satisfy the most technically minded musician.
Both studio and living areas are housed in a low slung, green roofed timber cabin on the beach, with four bedrooms upstairs and the Northern lights often swirling overhead.
Black Rock Villa, Santorini, Greece
5 bedrooms
Available to rent via Luxury Retreats from $10,829 per week
Modern and traditional Cycladic architecture combine at Black Rock Villa. As well as the prerequisite infinity pool, multiple decked terraces and views over to the lighthouse, this Santorini holiday home comes complete with a drum kit, vocal booth and full mixing desk.
For down time away from the studio, there are a lot of sun-loungers and also a playroom with a dartboard and table football.
Real World Studios, Somerset, UK
6 bedrooms
Available to rent direct, price on request
If you’re searching for somewhere with big name credentials, it doesn’t get much better than Real World Studios, founded in 1986 by Peter Gabriel as ‘both a paragon of technical excellence and an idyllic artistic retreat’.
This residential recording studio is housed in a 200-year old water mill converted by architects Feilden Clegg Bradley, and has hosted the likes of Robert Plant, Amy Winehouse, Björk and Beyoncé during the last 30 years. It has become world famous for its top quality ambiance and the cosy comfort of the living quarters next door. Take a tour inside of it.
Villa Rockstar, St Barths
6 bedrooms
Available to rent via Oetker Collection from $143,500 per week
As its name might suggest, there is nothing humble about this holiday-home-cum-recording-studio. Part of the Eden Rock hotel on St Barths, the 1,480 sq m house, described as resembling ‘a hundred million dollar yacht on land’, has views of the Caribbean sea to the front, while a fully functioning recording studio, complete with a suite of guitars and equipment, sits underground, next to the private cinema.
The Woodshed, Malibu, USA
5 bedrooms
Available to rent direct, price on request
When the visitor’s book is filled with names like Lorde, Kanye West, Barbra Streisand, Chance the Rapper and the late, great, Tom Petty, it’s clear a place is onto something.
Designed by architect Akai Yang and powered entirely by solar, the Woodshed seems perfect for artists looking to transform their working day into something like a holiday.
Inside, the functional space can be configured up to 30 different ways to create the optimal recording experience, while guests have access to a private beach and surf break, pool, sauna and vegetable garden.
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