holiday house; vacation home; villa
A second home used for vacations, often in a resort area or countryside.
夏休みに軽井沢の別荘で過ごした。
We spent the summer vacation at our villa in Karuizawa.
彼は海の近くに別荘を買った。
He bought a vacation home near the sea.
Colloquial, often used humorously or sarcastically to refer to a prison as a 'vacation home'.
あいつは今、別荘にいるらしいよ。
I hear he's in the 'villa' (prison) now.
He owns a vacation home in Karuizawa.
I spent summer vacation at our lakeside villa.
He plans to build a beach house after retirement.
別荘 is a privately owned vacation home for an individual or family, while 保養所 is a facility maintained by a company or group for its members.