Our Team

Our dedicated team of rental specialists have been providing luxury villas and chalets to discerning clients for over 25 years. Exceptional Villas are synonymous with carefully selected super luxury rentals in stunning locations. We feature only hand picked and personally inspected villas, apartments and rental properties. We personally know each property intimately and also the areas they are located which allows us to ensure that we match the perfect property to our clients based on their budget and requirement.

• Alexandra Baradi
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Alexandra Baradi is founder and owner of Exceptional Villas. She set the company up in 1992. Alexandra is a hotel manager by background and is absolutely passionate about travel.

She studied at the Shannon College of Hotel Management in Ireland and subsequently worked in Switzerland, London, Scotland and Dublin in various hotel management and marketing capacities before setting up her own company. She started with the Irish vacation rental company – Dream Ireland which features cottages and holiday homes throughout the island of Ireland. This was closely followed by Exceptional Villas which specialises in the best and world's most luxurious villas, vacation rentals and private islands.

Alexandra and her amazingly passionate global team of travel experts and marketers have grown Exceptional Villas from featuring just 4 villas in Barbados to one of the world’s leading luxury villa and vacation rental companies with over 1700 villas worldwide.

• Yvonne Mulvaney
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Yvonne Mulvaney is our Head of Rentals at Exceptional Villas & luxury Caribbean specialist for Barbados, Mustique & The Grenadines.

Yvonne has over 20 years experience in the villa rental industry.

Her training is in Hotel Management and she studied at Waterford Institute of Technology and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. She has extensive experience in the 5* market and has worked at some of the best 5* Hotels in Ireland, USA & France.

She feels this training has given her a great understanding of the luxury villa market.

"As with the 5* hotel market, service in the villa industry is key. That starts when our guests are choosing their villa. We aim to provide the highest level of service to them. We spend the time & listen to our guests' aspirations & that way we can recommend the very best options to them"

And it doesn't stop there!

"I'm passionate that the highest level of service is provided at our luxury villas too; from the moment guests arrive. The welcome smile & show around or welcome rum punch; it all sets the tone and makes such a difference. Our guests often comment that the villa staff made their trip"

• Linda Browne
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Linda is the Sales and Marketing Manager for Exceptional Villas and has an in-depth knowledge of the travel industry. Linda's qualifications are in the area of business, marketing and tourism. Her qualifications include a Masters in Marketing from NUI Galway as well as a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Practice. Linda has worked for over 16 years in the tourism sector and brings a great level of customer service from her hospitality background. Linda travels for much of the year inspecting all of our luxury villas; the majority of her time is spent in the Caribbean and Europe.

As Sales and Marketing Manager, Linda is responsible for having a deep understanding of each luxury destination and for personally inspecting each of our villas before recommending them to our guests. Linda is also head of the sales team as well as looking after all aspects of our social media.

"Our focus at Exceptional Villas is to understand the requirements of each guest and match those requirements with the prefect villa in the perfect destination. We see ourselves as the experts when it comes to recommending villas to our clients and we offer first class concierge service to each client."

• Ellen Van Waveren
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After quite a long stint in the corporate world, when working as Marketing and Events Manager for an international Law Firm, Ellen van Waveren decided to jump ship and join the Luxury Hospitality industry, over 17 years ago.

Being the daughter of a Dutch father and a German mother but born in Argentina, she has the word "travel" imprinted in her DNA. She has lived in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, The Netherlands and Italy (a few times!).

In 2018 she decided to try greener pastures, and never greener than her choice of Ireland and the town of Kenmare, where Exceptional Villas’ headquarters are located.

Ever since she joined the ranks of the travel industry, Ellen has worked in the Sales & Marketing Departments of 5-star luxury hotels in South America and Europe. In those roles she has travelled extensively to destinations as far as North, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Northern Africa, and as near as Continental Europe and the United Kingdom.

• Niamh McCarthy
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Niamh is our Caribbean Travel Specialist and has an in-depth knowledge of all of the islands in the Caribbean. Niamh's qualifications are in the area of Business Management and Marketing with a Bachelor degree in Business Management and a Masters degree in Public Relations. Niamh has worked for over 10 years in the travel industry and has also spent time working in the United States.

Niamh spends a lot of her time travelling to the West Indies and personally inspecting each of our 5* properties. She has firsthand knowledge of each of the locations and villas that we feature. Niamh currently is our specialist for St Barths, St Martin and Anguilla. Niamh travels to these destinations every few months to personally inspect each villa and of course to view all the new villas to make sure they are of 5 star standard and suitable for our clients.

"I am exceptionally fortunate to say that “I love my job”. I particularly love booking honeymoons, destination weddings, group and family travel and helping each client find the most perfect villa and destination to suit them. For me it is about making it more special and making sure the whole experience is seamless from start to finish. Whether a client just wants to relax somewhere quiet and secluded or a vacation full of activity please contact me and I can make your dream vacation a reality.

"I think it is so important to be able to identify what each of our customers' needs are so that I can find them the perfect villa and ensure their vacation is a memorable one."

• Paul O'Sullivan
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Paul has served in the tourism industry for nearly 20 years and brings a wealth of experience to the company. He has travelled and worked in the USA, the Caribbean, Australia and also spent 5 months living in Costa Rica. He has excellent Customer service skills and a passion for travelling and learning about the different countries and cultures. As one of our Caribbean Villa Specialists, Paul specializes in Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, Italy and has a thorough knowledge of the Island, the Villas, the Beaches and the best things to see and do there.

“I do believe that knowledge is everything and our guests want to ensure they are speaking to someone who has been to the destination, knows the villas, experienced the culture and knows all there is to know about the island. Finding the perfect villa to match our guests requirements is paramount to the Exceptional Villas Philosophy and that is why we spend so much time travelling to the Caribbean so that we can really call ourselves the Experts on every villa.”

• Sean Walsh
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Sean is one of our Luxury Caribbean Villa Specialists and has an in-depth knowledge of our luxury villa rentals in The British Virgin islands, Puerto Rico and The US Virgin Islands. Seán studied Customer Service and French in College, where he received a student of the year award. Having worked in France, Spain and Norway and travelled in Asia and The United States, Seán has a real passion for exploring new places.

"Booking the perfect vacation is not always easy. At Exceptional Villas, we pride ourselves on seeing each Villa that we represent, so we can inform our clients with every detail needed. By gathering information from our clients we can then match them with the perfect Villa."

• Elaine Dillon
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Elaine is our Costa Rica and Caribbean specialist and has an in-depth knowledge of our luxury villas specifically in both Costa Rica and the Bahamas.

Elaine spends her time, travelling between Costa Rica, Bahamas and other Caribbean islands inspecting villas, destinations and seeing many different cultures to select the perfect villa for her clients.

• Gwladys Visonneau
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Gwladys is one of our Villa Specialists and covers several destinations in the Caribbean and beyond. Her qualifications include a degree in Tourism and a Licence in Hospitality Management.

Gwladys is originally from France , so at the start of her career, she decided to travel to gain experience while working in luxury hotels and to improve her English. She worked in 5* hotels in Corsica, California and St Barths, a place she fell in love with.

While on the island, she discovered how exciting and fun the villa rental business is, so decided to stay and lived and worked there for almost 4 years. In charge of sales at a local villa rental company, she challenged herself daily to find the villa that would suit her clients best and provide the highest standards of service to on-site guests. Thanks to this experience, she has visited all the villas in St Barths, and she knows the island like it was her hometown!

• Aoife Walsh
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Aoife is one of our Villa Experts and manages several of our amazing destinations including Switzerland, Spain, Croatia and Hawaii and is extremely well versed on many of the islands in the Caribbean too.

Aoife graduated from Shannon College of Hotel Management in Ireland with a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and French with International Hotel Management.

Throughout her time in college, Aoife spent a year working and travelling all around Europe experiencing new countries and cultures.

• Alannah Harrington
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Alannah is one of our luxury Villa Specialists with over 4 years’ experience in various customer service roles within the luxury hotels industry. During her time in the hotel sector, Alannah gained first-hand knowledge of providing a 5-star service.

Alannah always had a passion for exploring new places, languages and cultures. She has visited many destinations across Europe and The United States and has lived and worked in locations from Toulouse, France to San Diego, California.

• Julie Kirby
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Julie Kirby, Guest Services Specialist at Exceptional Villas, is responsible for all the concierge aspects of your vacation, including car rental, VIP airport assistance, airport transfers, tours and excursions or just to answer questions regarding your travel itinerary.

With 15 years experience in the travel industry as a business class travel agent booking world-wide flights and more recently in the holiday home rental business, she is able to tailor-make your holiday to your own specific requirements. Well travelled in the Americas, Caribbean, Australasia and Europe & she is happy to offer advice regarding your itinerary to make the booking process as smooth as possible.

"We appreciate that everybody wants something different from their time away & that's why we tailor-make every vacation we create. So if there is something specific you want to do or see, we'll do all we can to work it into your schedule."

Julie is on hand at all times to offer ideas or inspiration, so that your vacation is truly an unforgettable experience.

• Noreen Harrington
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Noreen is Concierge Specialist at Exceptional Villas and brings a wealth of knowledge to the company. With over 20 years experience in the Travel Industry, Noreen has worked in Tourism Marketing and Hotel Management in Ireland, Great Britain and the USA. She has travelled extensively throughout North America, Canada, Asia, Europe & The Middle East.

Noreen is responsible for all aspect of concierge prior to your vacation including car rental, VIP airport assistance, airport transfers, tours, excursions, restaurant reservations or simply to answer any questions you may have regarding your itinerary. She is responsible for concierge in many islands in the Caribbean including Antigua, St Lucia, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos and Mexico to name a few.

"It gives me such great pleasure to help our clients make the most of their precious holiday time. Let me help you turn your dream holiday into reality."

Noreen is eager to assist you with any services that you might require and is always at hand to make suggestions and offer advice in any way to ensure that your vacation will be a memorable one.

• Mary Morris
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Mary is part of the Concierge team at Exceptional Villas. She is eager to help you turn your idea of the perfect getaway into reality.

As a past member of the European Tour Guide Association, she has led groups to over 20 countries within Europe. From the peaks of the Swiss Alps to sailing in Greece, she will help organize the perfect trip with no details overlooked.

• Rowena O'Connor
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Rowena is part of the Concierge team at Exceptional Villas. She is here to help create your perfect getaway.

Rowena has always had a natural passion for travel and experiencing new cultures, visiting much of Europe and Australia. With nearly 10 years of experience in various roles within the customer service sector, Rowena is well equipped to make your stay as special as possible.

• Marianne Wiley
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Marianne joins Exceptional Villas as Guest Services Specialist, focusing on the islands of Turks and Caicos, St Kitts, Nevis, and the Bahamas.

With over 10 years' experience in the 5-star hotel industry, she brings valuable knowledge and a deep understanding of luxury, ensuring the delivery of the highest standard of service to our clients.

Many years in customer care have furnished Marianne with an efficient and flawless approach when organising the pre-arrival Concierge aspects of your trip; from car hire to chef booking, securing restaurant reservations, excursions and activities; the list is endless.

• Elaine Donoghue
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Elaine Donoghue, Guest Service Specialist at Exceptional Villas, is responsible for all aspects of concierge prior to your vacation, including car rental, airport transfers, tours, excursions, restaurant reservations or simply to answer any questions you may have regarding your itinerary.

Elaine is passionate about travel and she has been fortunate to have visited both North America – from New York to California, and South America – Argentina and Brazil. As well as the Caribbean – Barbados and Grenada; several destinations in Europe including Greece – Alonissos, Halki, Rhodes, Corfu, Symi; Spain – Barcelona, Madrid and the Costa del Sol, and Italy – Rome, Venice, Sardinia; Asia – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, but she still has many more destinations on the list!

With a background in advertising and marketing, Elaine has worked with a wealth of clients and experts in the travel industry. A former member of both ITT (Institute of Travel and Tourism) and AWTE (Association of Women Travel Executives), she now brings her knowledge and expertise to Exceptional Villas.

She is responsible for Greece, Italy, Spain, Anguilla and Mexico and is looking forward to assisting you with any services that you might require to help make your trip a truly unforgettable experience.

• Kyra Currie
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Kyra is a member of the Concierge Team at Exceptional Villas and is dedicated to ensuring you have a trip of a lifetime, by making your travel dreams come true.

Kyra is passionate about travel and has lived in Canada and Australia before settling back in Ireland. Some of her favorite travel destinations include Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Singapore, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and Mexico.

With a background in marketing and advertising and specifically leading travel projects for Tourism Scotland and The City of Sydney she brings expertise and passion to the team.

• Aileen O'Shea
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Aileen is Marketing Assistant at Exceptional Villas and is passionate about travel. At Exceptional Villas, Aileen is responsible for creating content on our website and social media.

Aileen is currently studying a bachelor's degree in Journalism and New Media in the University of Limerick and loves creative writing and also the practical side of her course such as photography, film making and editing. She is also travelling to Barcelona next year for six months where she will further her studies in Pompeu Fabra University.

Aileen also has a love of photography and is lucky that her university degree incorporates this. She never goes anywhere without her camera. She loves creating content and experiencing life through a lens.

Aileen has had a passion for travel since a young age and loves to jet off any chance she gets. Her personal favourite places to travel include Italy, Israel, Dubai and Spain.

• Sophie Daly
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Sophie is Marketing Assistant at Exceptional Villas. Sophie's role includes content creation specifically video content and website copy writing.

Sophie is also responsible for social media marketing and assisting with search engine optimization.

Sophie's hobbies include photography, surfing and skiing. Sophie has always been passionate about travelling and her personal favourite destinations include Zermatt in Switzerland and St Bart’s in the Caribbean.