The Best Real Estate of the Year, From a Historic Cotswolds Manor to a Neo-Gothic French Château

Robb Report keeps its finger on the pulse of the ultra-luxury real estate market, highlighting homes that do more than provide shelter—they define lifestyles. Across continents and contexts, the eight extraordinary residences that made our list share clear threads: impressive scale and daring design that combine to blur the lines between comfort, spectacle, and immersion in their surroundings. Whether perched high above the skyline or spread across sweeping terrain, these homes make dramatic settings and striking architecture an integral part of daily life.

There are vertiginous views in Dubai and calm desert minimalism in Utah, where villas are sculpted into otherworldly canyons. In Europe, Gothic Revival and Victorian grandeur coexist with modern amenities, preserving history while accommodating contemporary life. Similarly, John Portman’s Entelechy II in Georgia and Ray Kappe’s home in Los Angeles deftly manipulate space and perspective, employing bold geometries and gravity-defying cantilevers to connect airy interiors to the landscape.

At the uppermost end of the market, intimacy and theatricality frequently appear together, as in a celebrity-owned brownstone in Brooklyn and the brand-new Villa Serenique in Pacific Palisades, translating confident personality into self-contained refuges with tranquil gardens and wellness-oriented options.

Among all these homes, whether nestled in a leafy canyon or tucked into a high-rise, privacy, security, craftsmanship, and lifestyle-driven design converge to create environments that inspire, refresh, and elevate the everyday. These are not just residences—they are carefully calibrated sanctuaries, each a testament to the transformation in how we live, play, and dream.

New Neighbourhood: Anyara Hills by KHK Land, Selangor, Malaysia

Imagine strolling among a serene landscape of rolling hills and endless lawns as swans glide across the lakes nearby. Deer and horses canter within their enclosures as a refreshing breeze whispers through the trees. Meanwhile, the world’s third-oldest rainforest within Banjaran Titiwangsa, believed to have formed 300 million years ago, provides a majestic backdrop. The RM 100 million terraformed landscape of Anyara Hills by KHK Land feels like an extraordinary storybook setting, but it is poised to become a reality for the owners of its 428 one-acre freehold lots.

Its elevated highland setting, with over 70 per cent of the land preserved as open green spaces, means that temperatures are, on average, two to three degrees Celsius cooler than in the city, offering a welcome respite from the heat. It also reflects the vision of KHK Group founder Tan Sri Kong Hon Kong for Anyara Hills: preserving the land’s natural character rather than reshaping it. Moving beyond the conventional housing template, each one-acre plot offers a blank canvas for a bespoke residence, shaped entirely by its owner’s vision. Its expansive land allows for an infinity pool overlooking the hills, a private art gallery beside the residence, or an underground car gallery for a prized collection, all at the owner’s discretion.

Remarkably, Anyara Hills is closer than its secluded setting might suggest, located approximately 20 minutes from Kuala Lumpur City Centre via an upcoming new bypass. The luxury residential development has also integrated helicopter connectivity into its master plan; for residents for whom time is the ultimate currency, a dedicated helipad allows them to conveniently fly in and out.

Beyond the land itself, owning here means entry into a rare and private circle—a community of like-minded individuals who value privacy, legacy, and the extraordinary. Here, the value of the address extends beyond its setting; it is also found in the company it keeps, with neighbours who are as exceptional as the estate itself. The spectacular facilities at Anyara Hills also provide spaces for the community to come together, including a natural hot spring spa within a 10-acre clubhouse, a private dining area, a private lounge, and an 8.2 km private jogging track.

For homeowners accustomed to a high degree of privacy, comprehensive safety measures are paramount, particularly for those who spend extended periods away. Anyara Hills combines security with a sense of openness; its 584-acre township—almost twice the size of London’s iconic Hyde Park—is encircled by a 3.7m-high double security wall and electric fencing, without compromising the feeling of freedom. Security is taken to an extraordinary level, with 24-hour guarded access, armed personnel, more than 200 CCTV cameras, and a dedicated drone surveillance system. Residents can take this a step further with food security in mind, cultivating their own orchards or even small farms within their private acre, while having the freedom to create private bunkers (pictured above)—a personal Batcave of sorts—beneath their residence.

Completing the experience is an exceptional suite of bespoke services created to complement the lifestyle of its owners, including dedicated butlers, meticulous housekeeping, private chefs, and skilled horticultural artisans. Ultimately, Anyara Hills is more than a residence. To find 584 acres of private rainforest, held across just 428 freehold lots, is extraordinary anywhere in the world. That such an estate exists in this country makes it all the more remarkable: a once-in-a-generation freehold sanctuary that places Malaysian property among the rarest and most coveted offerings on the global stage.

For more information or to arrange a private viewing of Anyara Hills, contact +6016 988 8828 or visit anyarahills.com.

Penthouse: Sky Palace, Dubai

Perched atop the world’s tallest building, this duplex penthouse crowns Burj Khalifa with 21,000 sq ft of sky-high potential. Spanning the 107th and 108th floors—nearly 460m above Dubai—the so-called Sky Palace delivers uninterrupted 360-degree views stretching from Business Bay to the Persian Gulf and deep into the surrounding desert. Offered as a shell and core, the residence gives buyers the opportunity to fully customise a mega-mansion in the clouds. A private lift, 12 dedicated parking spaces, and access to the tower’s full suite of amenities, including pools, lounges, fitness facilities, and concierge service, completes the offering.

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Branded Development: Aman Residences, Canyon Point, Utah

Aman has expanded its Amangiri resort with a limited collection of just 12 ultra-private residences built across 900 acres in Utah’s canyon country. Designed by Marwan Al Sayed of Masastudio—one of the architects behind the original resort—the homes translate Amangiri’s pared-back desert modernism into stand-alone estates that feel embedded in the landscape. The homes range from four to eight bedrooms on five- to 19-acre parcels, with expansive indoor-outdoor living, private pools, and uninterrupted views of the surrounding rock formations. Materials such as stone, concrete, and wood mirror the terrain, grounding the architecture in its setting. The first residence, a six-bedroom villa, has already sold and is being offered for rent at US$45,000 per night, previewing a broader programme in which select homes enter a managed rental pool. Owners also gain access to the resort’s full suite of amenities and experiences.

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Celebrity: Lily Allen and David Harbour’s Brownstone, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Though their marriage didn’t last—with her subsequently channelling the split into a scathing break-up album—Lily Allen and David Harbour’s Brooklyn brownstone remains a master class in show business style, pairing theatrical yet refined interiors with classic architecture. The Carroll Gardens home retains many of its original bones, from high ceilings to tall sash windows to period mouldings, while layering in vibrant floral and animal-print patterns, textured finishes, and contemporary fixtures. The eclectic rooms mix vintage pieces with modern elements and bold accents that reflect Allen’s playful style and Harbour’s cinematic sensibility. Think: richly hued walls, statement lighting, and curated art throughout. Outdoor space, a prized feature in Brooklyn, adds to the appeal, offering a private garden and deck that soften the city setting.

Historic: Stanley Park, Cotswolds, England

In the rolling Gloucestershire countryside, this Grade II-listed Gothic manor reads as a quintessential English country house with an edge. Known as Stanley Park, the 17,000-sq-ft estate dates to 1584 and was later reshaped into a Victorian showpiece before a period of disrepair and subdivision. An eight-year restoration has carefully pieced the 11-bedroom residence back together, reviving stained-glass skylights, intricate carved stonework, and a dramatic ballroom oriented towards sweeping views of the River Severn and the Black Mountains. Modern interventions—including a cinema, gym, sauna, and chef’s kitchen—are wisely integrated rather than overstated, preserving the home’s sense of history while making it fully livable. Set on two and a half acres, the setting is compact by country-house standards, with the views doing much of the heavy lifting.

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Set within over 123 acres of forest and parkland in France’s storied Sologne region, this neo-Gothic chateau pairs romantic architecture with a no-expense-spared revival. Located between Blois, Bourges, and Orléans, the nearly 33,000-sq-ft residence was built between 1887 and 1893 with input from Gustave Eiffel, who consulted on its framework and concealed structural systems that utilised iron. Much like in his work on the Eiffel Tower during the same period, using the metal allowed for expansive interior volumes without thick load-bearing walls, as well as improved fire resistance—an innovation that made the chateau one of the earliest ‘modern’ estates in the region. Today, the 22-bedroom home has been meticulously restored, with more than US$16 million invested, blending historic craftsmanship with contemporary comforts.

Amenities: Villa Serenique, Los Angeles

Tucked into the hills of Los Angeles’s exclusive Brentwood neighbourhood, Villa Serenique spans 20,000 sq ft of unparalleled luxury—a fully realised playground of wellness, entertainment, and style. With nine bedrooms and soaring limestone interiors, every lifestyle desire is anticipated: a pool and hot tub, sunken firepit, an open-air kitchen with grills, manicured gardens with citrus and olive trees, a soccer field, and a pickleball court. Inside, a chef’s kitchen, walnut-wrapped office, soundproofed cinema, bar, wine cellar, car gallery with drive-in movie capability, Pilates studio, lap pool and cold plunge, and an infrared sauna and steam spa complete the wellness, leisure, and work-life-balance trifecta. The primary suite delivers dual spa baths, heated floors, custom closets, and a balcony, while floor-to-ceiling glass windows, expansive terraces, and canyon and city views create a seamless indoor-outdoor experience.

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Island Home: Entelechy II, Sea Island, Ga.

This article was originally published in the September 2026 issue of Robb Report Malaysia. Get the digital copy here.