Buying into the Brand
If checking into a five-star hotel is your idea of heaven then you’ll be familiar with luxury branded residences, top-end homes linked to iconic, international luxury hotel and resort brands, offering super-lush amenities and round the clock pampering behind the privacy of your own front door. Hardcore gyms, indulgent spas or simply securing that elusive restaurant table with the help of your attentive concierge: anything you desire can be sorted in a heartbeat and delivered to the exceptional standards one would expect from the world’s leading hotel operators.
It’s not just stand-out services and the glittering reputation of a big brand that make branded residences so attractive. Many also come with built-in rental management offering a hassle-free route to rental yields. Buyers appreciate the value and convenience and are willing to pay a price premium to become a proud owner.
Keen to jump on this ‘brandwagon’? With hoteliers lining up to outperform each other with sophisticated options, hundreds of branded residences are in development across the world. So, from the Turks & Caicos Islands to Grand Cayman, here are seven of the most desirable luxury branded residences for sale in the Caribbean to kickstart your search.
1. Grace and Favor Living
Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos
Offered at: From US $3,251,516
Paint a picture of the perfect Caribbean beach and it would probably look remarkably like Grace Bay, a 12-mile stretch of fine white sand on Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos Islands where pale pink conch shells and languid palm trees face out across an impossibly turquoise sea. This is where The Ritz-Carlton Residences are currently being built, expertly appointed condominiums alongside a 125-room hotel aiming to reflect the prestige and elegance with which Ritz-Carlton has become synonymous and the physical beauty of the oceanfront setting outside.
Ritz-Carlton will provide a distinct lifestyle for the owners of the 36 contemporary two- and three-bedroom beachfront residences for sale. Generously-sized rooms with open-plan living areas lead to wide terraces. Outside on the beachfront close to the private cabanas, beach club and restaurant, owners can work out in a state-of-the-art fitness center or relax in the spa.
There will be a casino, a kid’s club, a concierge team will be on call to book golf tee times, reserve a restaurant table or organise yacht charters and housekeeping will ensure a seamless five-star hotel experience.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Turks & Caicos
2. Mystical Mexican Magic
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Offered at: From US $3,375,000
There’s no shortage of five-star hotels along the soft sands of the idyllic Riviera Maya on Mexico’s Caribbean coast but, even in such illustrious company, the Rosewood Mayakoba has a reputation as best in class. Its location is dreamy, fifteen minutes from buzzy Playa del Carmen and one hour from the magical ancient wonders of Tulum, its service is exemplary and its facilities are gold-plated. There’s a fitness suite, tennis courts and a destination spa with cabanas hidden in dense foliage topped off by Mexico’s only PGA-Tour sanctioned golf course designed by superstar Greg Norman.
Owners of the two, three and four-bedroom Rosewood Mayakoba Residences have access to all these facilities. Residences are sleek, private and elegant fully furnished homes, designed for open-plan living with double height windows and an easy flow to the external terraces and pools. Throughout the resort there is an emphasis on the surrounding natural beauty: a white sand beach, an emerald forest filled with wildlife and lagoons and canals meandering through the grounds.
Full concierge services come as standard and, if required, there is a rental programme for owners who want to live the branded lifestyle to the max.
Rosewood Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, Mexico
3. Sea, Sand and Seven Miles of Surf
Pageant Beach, Grand Cayman
Offered at: From US $522,000
Beaches don’t come more spectacular than Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman, a long soft sand crescent at the western end of the island that comes garlanded with awards as the Caribbean’s best beach. So, it’s no surprise that Grand Hyatt have chosen to position their new hotel and branded residences with a front row view on this eye-popping beauty.
Due to open in 2020, Grand Hyatt Grand Cayman Residences is selling studio, one, two and three-bedroom homes on the seven acre site. Owners can divide their time between three swimming pools, a destination spa and fitness center, Kids Club, private screening rooms and six restaurants.
Local activity focuses on the water and there will of course be a Dive Center: this is one of the world’s most wondrous diving locations, a colour-packed, sparkling underwater extravaganza. And after a full day of adventures, owners can kick back on their balconies, watch the sun slip behind the Caribbean Sea and discuss the next days’ plans with the 24-hour concierge.
Caymans’ laid-back, low tax and overwhelmingly safe lifestyle is hard to beat, and tourism is booming, helped by ever-improving flight access. So, when you’re not personally occupying your residence, Grand Hyatt will operate a full rental programme for you.
Grand Hyatt, Grand Cayman
4. Natural Paradise
Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico
Offered at: From US $3,020,000
Contemporary design by Miami-based SB architects, expertly appointed kitchens and bathrooms complete with state-of-the-art technologies and a winning front row location on two miles of sandy beach make Ocean Drive Beachfront Residences in Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico an outstanding lifestyle choice. But what has sealed the deal for early buyers has been the full service provided by five-star luxury hoteliers St Regis.
The thirty condominiums with three and four bedrooms are divided between three buildings, one fully sold, next-door to the 139-room hotel. Residents can use all the hotel’s facilities from the extensive fitness center and spa to the Robert Trent Jones Junior-designed 18-hole golf course and beach club while also having housekeeping, in-house dining and concierge team on call.
With its history as a Spanish colony and then a US territory, Puerto Rico has a rich cultural heritage to go with its beautiful beaches and tropical weather. Bahia Beach is on the island’s exquisite north eastern coast, edged by the magnificent El Yunque Rainforest. The natural beauty, complete with wildlife sanctuaries and trails will never be touched: 65 per cent of the 483-acre site is a protected park.
Ocean Drive Beachfront Residences, Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico
5. Totally Tropical Five-Star Luxe
Pinney’s Beach, Nevis
Offered at: From US $2,900,000
Four Seasons are the pace setters for top-flight branded residences worldwide, offering their fiercely-faithful clientele the winning combination of prime facilities, a strong design theme and exemplary service. And that is exactly what guests get at Pinney’s Beach where the final few fully furnished three-bedroom residences at Four Seasons Resort Estates Nevis are now for sale.
Set in a gloriously landscaped site shaded by tall palm trees beside the beach – the best one on the island complete with jauntily colourful, low-key wooden bars selling legendary rum punches – these are elegant and blissfully private homes with all the gilt-edged facilities you would expect from one of the world’s most exclusive brands. Hotel groupies will love the housekeeping service and in-residence dining while active families can shuttle between the Robert Trent Jones junior golf course, the tennis courts, the fitness suite and the calm Caribbean Sea.
Four Seasons cover all the bases, offering an attentive round the clock concierge and rental management if required. Nevis is small and sedate, a perfect Caribbean island in miniature just a short boat ride from its bigger sister-island St Kitts.
Four Seasons Resort Residences, Nevis
6. Dive into an Asian Superbrand
Providenciales, Turks & Caicos
Offered at: US $ 6,950,000
Asian superbrand Aman has perfected a reputation for exclusivity, becoming the go-to choice for understated style and impeccable service and a favoured hang-out for A-list celebrities keen to keep a low-profile.
Amanyara, Aman’s resort in the Turks & Caicos islands, opened in 2006 on 99 acres of Northwest Point, poised between a marine park and a natural reserve in a deliciously natural and quiet part of Providenciales. The Zen-inspired calm comes from a combination of natural beauty, Asian-influenced architecture (20 foot ceilings, volcanic rock reflecting pools and shingle-tile pavilions) and expert service.
The resort’s twenty branded residences are designed by Jean-Paul Gathy in his trademark ‘Caribbean meets Bali’ style. This three-bedroom, 4,900 square foot Tranquillity Villa has seven separate pavilions on a 1.4 acre lot offering the ultimate ultra-luxe island lifestyle. Work-out in your private gym, cool off in your over-sized black-lined pool or the hot-tub sunk into the teak decking and rely on the services of your dedicated chef and housekeeper.
A communal beach club, tennis courts, fitness suite, screening room and activities center are open for all residents of Amanyara, Turks & Caicos, while directly outside your house lies part of the world’s third largest reef.
Amanyara, Turks and Caicos
7. A Perfect Pacific Pad
Los Cabos, Mexico
Offered at: US$1,985,000
Crashing waves and dramatic cliff-top views on the Sea of Cortez give the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula an atmospheric edge and at Esperanza, Auberge Resorts they come with Cabo San Lucas’ only private beach. This is where the desert meets the Pacific and is another celebrity hang-out, a favourite with George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston.
Auberge Resorts has a reputation for unobtrusive top-fight service, fine cuisine and for showcasing local flavour in each of its nineteen properties. Esperanza adds to that with pitch perfect sporting opportunities: horse-ride through a desert canyon, play golf on five nearby championship courses, surf, sail or simply work out in the gym or on the tennis courts.
Three and four-bedroom branded condominiums in three impressive buildings on the resort have access to all the hotel’s facilities. Homes have generous terraces and come fully furnished including the latest tech such as Apple TV and Bose stereo systems. Hassle-free ownership through Auberge includes concierge, full house-keeping and pre-arrival shopping services while their Rental & Reciprocity Program allows owners discounts at other Auberge resorts.
Esperanza, Los Cabos, Mexico – Auberge Resorts
A Golden Future
The best branded residences give buyers the heady combination of confidence and convenience. As you would expect, the past decade has therefore seen a sharp increase in the development of branded residences, including in the Caribbean. Existing players such as Four Seasons are set to open new properties in additional locations such as Belize and the Dominican Republic, while new players such as Kempinski have new Caribbean luxury residences in the pipeline too.
Deciding which brand to invest in remains a particularly personal choice and increasingly buyers want a complex mix of facilities, location, experiences and service. Linking with the right brand is a way to make real estate projects more distinctive and helps explain why Branded Residences are one of the hottest sectors in Caribbean real estate with a future that looks increasingly golden. Where will you choose?
For details on all these luxury branded residences for sale in the Caribbean and many others, contact 7th Heaven Properties.
This article was originally published in Issue 8 of The Caribbean Property Investor magazine. To read the full issue, click here.