Villa Koi On Mexico’s Prized Punta Mita Peninsula

Ever since actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor had their steamy 1960s love affair while filming “The Night of the Iguana” in Puerto Vallarta, the world has fallen in love with this precious destination along Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Read more

The Island of Mustique

If you’re in search of a seaside home without the hassle of Hamptons traffic or Florida’s populated shores, perhaps it’s time to look a little farther afield to the tiny, privately owned Caribbean island of Mustique. By Lindsay Lambert.

Beginning with the late Princess Margaret, who received 10 acres of land on Mustique as a wedding gift in 1960 from her friend and the island’s then owner Colin Tennant (the present-day Lord Glenconner), members of the international elite have taken up residence here to enjoy a respite from their everyday lives. And while insiders will only identify prominent island dwellers as “captains of industry, fashion designers, architects,

financiers” and the like, one can with little effort unearth names of

several A-list inhabitants: Mick Jagger, Raquel Welch, David Bowie, and the late Paul Newman are among purported past and present homeowners here. An exciting recent development is that a trio of magnificent homes has emerged on the market in Mustique, meaning this little slice of paradise could be your very own home away from home.

Difficult at best to pinpoint on a map, Mustique is a speck of an island just 18 miles south of St. Vincent in the Grenadines in the southern Caribbean. And although just 1.9 square miles, what this tiny, exclusive islet offers in terms of luxurious living is anything but small. In fact, a controlled development plan devised by the island’s current owners—shareholders of The Mustique Company—ensures that Mustique is preserved in both its environment and its exclusivity. Thus, accommodations consist only of a 19-room boutique hotel, a four-bedroom guesthouse, and 100 privately owned villas, carefully situated throughout the island’s 1,400 acres. Whether you’re a resident or guest here, it’s virtually impossible to impose on your neighbors’ space, an idea that potential buyers find particularly appealing.

Homes in Mustique’s Villa Collection range in size from two to nine bedrooms and are strategically placed in various settings to provide optimum privacy and a range of price points. An eclectic blend of architectural styles includes those described by islanders as Caribbean Gingerbread, Tuscan, Balinese, French Chateau, Contemporary, Moroccan, and Palladian, among others. Each villa has been individually designed with the owner’s taste and style in mind, from classic Japanese to contemporary Mexican. Of particular historical significance are the 13 villas designed by Oliver Messel, the British theatrical set designer. Messel moved to Barbados in the 1950s, whereupon he took to designing and modifying residences. Messel later lent his talents to the island of Mustique, where he arrived in 1969 to begin restorative work on its now-sought-after Cotton House hotel. Ultimately, his collection of villas will remain among the island’s most popular residences.

Styles might vary, but some luxuries and amenities remain consistent throughout the entire villa collection—think spacious, landscaped grounds, private terraces, freshwater swimming pools, and yes, those ubiquitous breathtaking views. In addition to such creature comforts, villas are tended to by dedicated staffs, which are employed by each respective villa’s owner and managed by The Mustique Company. To ensure that every stay is completely hassle-free, a minimum of three staffers—most often including a butler and/or house manager—oversee each home, but insiders at The Mustique Company say that number tends to increase along with acreage, square footage, and, of course, the owners’ individual needs.

Approximately 1,300 people inhabit the island during peak season, and residents pride themselves on their discretion and respect for each other’s privacy. Anonymity is, after all, what draws so many owners and guests here to begin with. Yet unavoidable is the fact that so many notables make Mustique their home for at least part of every year. Among them is fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. Hilfiger is said to have repeatedly visited Mustique for more than a decade before commissioning his own sprawling, six-bedroom villa (complete with five surrounding guest cottages) named Palm Beach, which was completed in 1999. Ten years later, he still calls Mustique “the ultimate private paradise.”

So also say Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, who own the island’s Toucan Hill villa: “Mustique is a place where dreams become reality. We have always found Mustique the closest thing to paradise in our lives,” the Copelands say. “And we love our home, with its amazing views, warm and friendly staff, delicious food, drinks at sunset overlooking the infinite water—life is good!”

Here’s good news for anyone who’d like to own a corner of this private paradise: The Mustique Company at press time reported three villas available for sale. On-the-market manses include Seascape, a three-bedroom villa situated on 8.7 acres of beachfront, affording views of Bequia and St. Vincent. Seascape’s residents can laze in one of two freshwater pools or enjoy a film in its media room for a mere $18 million. In a very different setting, the four-bedroom Rutland Hill occupies a hilltop lot spanning 20 acres overlooking the ocean. A centralized swimming pool gives way to panoramas of the beach and sea, which residents can also absorb from private balconies off each bedroom. Five staffers manage Rutland Hill, the asking price for which is $15 million.

A third and final property for sale, the contemporary Iguana, occupies 4.47 acres on a promontory offering 180-degree views including the popular Macaroni Beach to the east, St. Vincent to the north, and Britannia Bay to the west. Iguana actually comprises two parallel main structures—principal living areas in the westward-facing first building and bedrooms in the other eastward-facing building—yielding a courtyard that is open at one end, lest those breathtaking views be obstructed. A lower level, reachable by an external staircase, is dedicated to guest accommodations, a fitness room, and an infinity-edge pool; the asking price is $17.8 million. A 4.8-acre lot on Brittania Bay is also available for a cool $7.5 million—a far cry from the $67,500 Tennant first paid in 1958 to call the entire island his own—and is the perfect foundation on which to build the ultimate beachfront dream home.

Of course, those who aren’t quite ready to buy can still try their hand at island life, with villas like Sapphire and Hibiscus at the ready for rental. The three-bedroom open-air Sapphire recently was reintroduced into the rental program with weekly rates beginning at $12,000. Although Hibiscus’s arched doorways and windows evoke images of the Tuscan countryside, its 270-degree ocean and island views—perhaps best appreciated while afloat in the infinity-edge pool—are unmistakably Mustique. Rates for Hibiscus begin at $16,000.

Homeowners here are among the first to admit there’s much more to Mustique than its real estate. “We fell in love with Mustique in the early 1980s and have never found a place to equal it in all our travels throughout the world,” says Tatiana Copeland. “The island has a magical combination of fantasy, serenity, intriguing houses (and owners), and privacy, as well as perfect parties.”

Perhaps between parties, then, residents and guests alike revel in the island’s unspoiled environment, which, combined with a tropical climate that sees an average yearly temperature of 81 degrees, is conducive to more than a dozen recreational activities tailored to nearly every imaginable pace.

Facilities for sports staples like basketball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, and cricket are found throughout the island. For duffers, a dedicated Activities Department can easily arrange a round of golf at Trump International Golf Course on neighboring Canouan Island, a 10-minute flight or 45-minute ride by boat. Boating enthusiasts can take to the sea surrounding Mustique on a number of privately chartered excursions, be it a sunset cruise, a powerboat day trip, or a leisurely sail aboard a luxury yacht to nearby islands like Petit St. Vincent, Canouan, Tobago Cays, Palm Island, Mayreau, and Bequia.

Islanders who prefer to rely on the land for leisure won’t want for options, either. Mustique’s latticework of trails—designed to be traversed by foot or on horseback—has proved to be popular means by which to explore the island’s brilliant flora, sneak a peek at wildlife, and learn about its history firsthand. A 2.2-mile fitness trail is punctuated with 14 exercise stations, beckoning the fitness-focused to test their might. Jeeps, motorcycles, and mountain bikes are available for rent through Mustique Mechanical Services, meaning adrenaline junkies can enjoy the island at an even more heart-pounding pace. Without a doubt, Mustique’s most popular natural draw is the nine beaches that abut the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which ably play host to leisurely picnics and, simply, sunbathing.

Mustique’s intimate size and community spirit are perhaps best exemplified in its restaurant and entertainment offerings. At Basil’s Beach Bar & Restaurant, proprietor and longtime resident Basil Charles welcomes guests, day visitors, and villa owners 365 days a year for casual fare in a beachfront setting. The stilted, seaside establishment is a favorite for its sunset views and is the scene each Wednesday of “Jump Up & Barbecue,” a festive night set to live music. Even for residents of this little island, reservations at the popular hangout come strongly recommended.

Another popular gathering spot in Mustique is the Firefly Guest House, from which cocktail bar guests enjoy sunset views over Britannia Bay that are said to be nothing short of legendary. Then, after the sun goes down, guests head to Firefly’s infamous Mustique Martini Club. The club’s martini menu reads like a nature guide, touting concoctions like the Jitterbug, Termite, Dragon Fly, and Bumble Bee. Not to be missed is the Mustique Champagne Club, whose menu boasts cocktails of Champagne blended with everything from Crème de Cassis to Cointreau and light, fruity flavors. Guests who want simply to sate a five-star appetite can enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Firefly as well, with a candlelit dinner on its balcony reportedly one of the most romantic experiences imaginable on the island.

The crowning jewel, however, is the island’s 19-room boutique hotel, the Cotton House. The hotel began as an 18th century cotton warehouse and sugar mill, but today, thanks largely to Messel’s restorative work in the 1960s, it is the social centerpiece of Mustique. Widely known as one of the Caribbean’s most exclusive and romantic inns, the Colonial-style Cotton House attracts guests with its beachy-yet-elegant atmosphere. Accommodations, which consist of a series of bedrooms, suites, and cottages, as well as the Cotton Hill Residence, feature understated, fuss-free décor—a basic, earthy palette is punctuated with pops of brilliant color, and dreamy details like frothy mosquito nets hung from four-poster beds—that allows panoramic island and ocean views to take center stage.

Happily for island residents, owning or renting a villa here also means having access to the hotel’s top-notch amenities. The Veranda restaurant serves breakfast and dinner daily from a menu of fresh, local offerings, while the Beach Café Restaurant & Bar is a more casual stop where beachgoers can break for items like fried seafood, pizza, lobster, and entrees hot off the grill. But no stay on Mustique would be complete without a visit to the Cotton House Spa. The intimate ESPA facility offers an impressive variety of massages, facials, specialized body and signature treatments, and other beauty services, nearly all of which feature natural, if not locally produced, ingredients. Most treatments can also be enjoyed in the privacy of a guest’s room at the Cotton House or in their very own villa—just one more perk of living life in paradise.

Mustique by the Numbers

$67,500 - Price paid by Colin Tennant to purchase Mustique in 1958.

1,300 - Average number of residents on island during peak season.

100 - The number of private residences on Mustique.

72 - Villas available to rent through the island’s rental program.

17 - Countries represented by shareholders of The Mustique Company, which owns the island of Mustique.

3 - Minimum number of staffers dedicated to each particular villa.

81 - Average temperature on island.

1,400 - Size of Mustique in acres.

3,180 - Length in feet of Mustique’s private airstrip.

19 - Guest accommodations in the Cotton House hotel.

4 - Bedrooms at Firefly Guest House.

65 - Percentage of repeat visitors to Mustique.

Buyer Facts and Figures

Properties for Sale by Name:
Iguana: 4.47 acres; $17.8 million (hilltop/promontory)
Seascape: 8.7 acres; $18 million (oceanfront)
Rutland Hill: 20 acres; $15 million (hilltop/promontory)
Lot 1 (Britannia Bay): 4.8 acres; $7.5 million

Contact for Ownership Opportunities
Roger Pritchard, Managing Director: 784-488-8402;
Cordelia@mustique.vc
Rental inquiries should be sent to: villarentals@mustique.vc
General information: mustique-island.com

Water World

Hot tubs, haute cuisine, five-star accommodations, and VIP treatment? It’s time to take another look at yacht charters for your next vacation. By Chris Caswell.

Imagine a quiet tropical morning when you start your day settled in a comfortable chair on the aft deck of a luxurious yacht, anchored off a deserted beach with palm trees shading the flawless white sand. A uniformed crewmember serves warm croissants, freshly squeezed orange juice, and icy champagne, making you wiggle your toes with pleasure on the sun-warmed teak deck. Your only decision is what to do today.

You might choose to stay right where you are, swimming, snorkeling, and exploring the shallows where the rainbow-colored tropical fish swim around your facemask. Perhaps a little water skiing, followed by a ride on a Jetski. Or you might suggest that your captain and crew move your yacht to a nearby harbor where, moored to the quay, you can watch the crowds strolling the waterfront as you enjoy a leisurely five-course gourmet dinner in the soft evening air.

“The special charm of a large yacht is that it enables presumably responsible people to combine the milder irresponsibilities of a beachcomber’s existence with all the comforts of a luxury hotel,” said King Edward VIII of England, later the Duke of Windsor and certainly a man who knew his way around luxury yachts.

When you think of the phrase “crewed yacht charter,” however, the first thing that usually comes to mind is a small ocean liner with a swarm of crew and a weekly rate that rivals the budget of a third-world nation.

“I can’t afford that,” you say, adding in justification, “and I wouldn’t want all that fawning attention and stuffy atmosphere, either.” Here’s the zinger: you’re wrong on all counts. The fact is that you can find not one or two, but lots of crewed charters for about what you’d spend at a five-star resort. Don’t believe me? Let’s do some math.

I picked two well-known Florida luxury resorts, one in the Keys and one in Palm Beach. Then I selected dates in mid-January, so there wouldn’t be any holiday price bubble. For a good room with a water view, five nights were about $4,000 for one and $6,000 for another, including all the taxes and surcharges and parking and nickel-and-dime extras. Let’s split the difference and call it $5,000 for five nights in a top oceanfront resort.

You have to eat, but with scrambled eggs at $24, a burger at $19, and a sirloin steak at $59, well, even a diet menu is going to add another $1,000 a week for two people and, hey, you haven’t had a single mai tai ($12.50) or even a Coke ($3). Heaven forbid a bottle of Champagne!

You might want to rent a Jetski ($150/hour) or have someone take you on a snorkeling trip ($150/2 hours). So you’re paying $7,000 for your vacation, and you’re still standing in line for your table at night and hoping to get a decent beach chair during the day. Yipes!

Not long ago, I enjoyed a crewed charter out of Nassau aboard an 80-foot Hatteras motoryacht which chartered for about $18,000 a week, including the captain, mate, and gourmet chef. Two couples were aboard, although the yacht had three staterooms, so we could have had our shares for under $7,000.

Not only did we enjoy what the resorts call “ocean view” accommodations, but our scenery also changed daily as we explored new islands and harbors. We dined without needing a reservation on gourmet cuisine of our choice, and we never had a bad table. Sometimes we gathered in the formal dining area; other times we’d choose to have our meals alfresco on the after deck. We cavorted for hours on Jetskis, snorkeled until waterlogged, sat in the Jacuzzi sipping Champagne at night, and came away feeling truly pampered. Our crew remembered our names, knew our likes and dislikes, and were flexible to our needs. Want to snorkel before breakfast? No problem. Prefer your lobster shelled? Of course. A second slice of key lime pie? Absolutely!

I consider myself a charter expert, but for the purposes of this article, I wanted to see chartering through the eyes of a prospective client. I Googled “crewed charters” and was stunned by the sheer number of listings. I whittled my choices down to just the Bahamas and to yachts priced at $20,000 or less for a week. Even with those constraints, I still had several pages of yachts and very nice ones indeed: Hatteras, Viking, Lazzara, Hargrave, Cheoy Lee, and more. They are found in a wide variety of locations, with many following “the circuit” of Bahamas or the Caribbean in the winter months and the Northeast in summer. Because it’s so convenient to North America, there is also a sizable fleet based in Nassau year-round.

Of course, if your preferences run more toward lighting cigars with flaming hundred dollar bills, well, there are yachts to fit the lifestyle (and budgets) of billionaires. Take Excellence III, a 188-footer that has been called (with good reason) the finest charter yacht in the world. A crew of 14 starts your day with Cristal mimosas, entertains you with endless water toys, provides a five-course gourmet dinner, and finishes your day with Henri IV Dudognon cognac in the spa. Cost? A mere $315,000 a week, plus food, fuel, and all those little things. If you’re slow with the calculator, that’s just $39 each minute.

Still not enough? How about Savarona, an ornately gilded 446-footer built in the ‘30s, with a crew of 48 to serve up to 34 guests. Onboard amenities include a gymnasium, a sauna, and helicopter pad. Depending on the season, she starts at just $455,000 a week.

As a starting point, first-time charterers should take a tip from experienced charterers: always work through a charter broker. A charter broker can help you select the right yacht in the right area, advise you on the best seasons and destinations, and generally match your needs and your budget with the perfect yacht. Like a great waiter, a good charter broker is nearly invisible, making sure that everything goes smoothly and without fuss.

Talk to several charter brokers to find one with whom you feel comfortable. One question that you should ask each broker is “Have you been aboard each yacht and do you know the captain and crew?” Professional charter brokers visit their yachts regularly, both to inspect the condition and to reacquaint themselves with the crew. In that way, they can recommend yachts that will be compatible with the client.

After you’ve made your choice, they will orchestrate the details, and you’ll receive a preferences questionnaire to let the crew know that you hate mussels, love Merlot, or like Amaretto after dinner.

Once you’re aboard, you’re the master of your yacht…within reason. The captain has the final say, of course, but you’ll have some options laid out. If you want to help run the boat, most captains are willing to give you the wheel. On the other hand, you are the guest and as such, you can settle into the salon with a trashy novel and not worry about the details.

In fact, that’s one of the pleasures I’ve discovered about crewed charters. As the skipper of my own boat, I’m always the one that has to get up in the wee hours when the wind starts howling to make sure the anchor is holding. On a recent crewed charter, I awoke when I heard the wind build and then I remembered: this is a crewed charter. I snuggled back into a comfy bed and let someone else handle it. Nice.

Here’s an inside tip: while the yachts are usually priced by the week, most are available for shorter trips at a lower rate. Something I’ve discovered is that you don’t have to go far or stay long to feel like you’ve “gotten away.” Fly to the islands on Friday and return on Monday after a lazy weekend of sun and saltwater, and it’s as good as spending two weeks. Well, almost. The point is that two or three couples can enjoy a crewed charter and not feel as though they’ve emptied the kids’ college fund.

Here’s something else to consider: a crewed charter is a great locale for a special event. I know three couples that shared a crewed charter to celebrate an important birthday, and the crew got into the spirit with a special cake, streamers, and even party hats. Another charter was for a romantic anniversary getaway, and yet another was a chance for three generations to share time on the water.

Whatever your reason, don’t let the words “crewed charter” keep you away. These are some of the best vacation values around and ones that you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

Take Your Pick
The following charter brokers have built their reputations of trust over a number of years and with hundreds of satisfied and repeat clients. All belong to recognized industry associations that set the standards for luxury charters.  Each of these companies has access to virtually every top-quality charter yacht in the world, so their brokers can find the perfect yacht for each need.

Camper & Nicholsons International, 954-462-1462, camperandnicholsons.com
Ed Hamilton & Co., 800-621-7855, ed-hamilton.com
Fraser Yachts, 949-673-5252, fraseryachts.com
International Yacht Collection, 954-522-2323, iyc.com
The Marine Group, 954-463-4300, marinegroup.com
Meridian Yacht Charters, 804-438-1100, meridianyachts.com
Neptune Group Yachting, 954-524-7978, ngyi.com
Northrop & Johnson Yacht Charters, 800-868-5913, njcharters.com
Sacks Group, 954-764-7742, sacksyachts.com
Shannon Webster Charters, 386-439-0188, swc-yachtcharters.com

Home on the Waves

Why settle for a house when you can live on the ocean and travel the world? By Deborah Geiger. Read more

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