THE saltire grew more distinct as a small boat drew closer to the shore: a fruit vendor selling his wares from yacht to yacht. Sitting in a sun-soaked beachfront restaurant in St Lucia, it seemed improbable – a strangely homesick form of jet lag, perhaps.
Dozens more national flags came into focus as the dinghy crisscrossed the azure waters of the Caribbean, but after a long and harsh north-east winter, that potent symbol of Scotland seemed a clarion call to a life of which dreams are made.
And amid the beauty of St Lucia and Antigua, those dreams are being turned into a reality for property investors with the development of premier beachfront luxury resorts.
The islands have always captured the romantic, sun-drenched imagination, and now the addition of The Landings, St Lucia, and Tamarind Hills, in Antigua, ups the standard and puts a very glossy, glamorous footprint on the white sand.
Tourism ministers say the resorts take the second-home market to a new level.
New two, three and four-bedroom apartments recently launched at The Landings – a RockResort developed by The Landing Ltd on reclaimed land – will be the last freehold beachfront properties to come on to the market in St Lucia.
Imagine walking out of your apartment on to the 2,600ft palm-tree-fringed beach and into the sea, or tiptoeing on to a huge balcony into a heated plunge pool overlooking the marina – the perfect place for a sundowner – or sleeping in on mattresses custom-made for the resort.
A gated, residential community, the development includes a gym, concierge service, two restaurants – one on the beach – several swimming pools, tennis courts, a spa, shops, easy access to water sports and membership of the St Lucia Golf and Country Club, a five-minute drive from the resort. A private marina encircled by the apartments accommodates 50 yachts and motor yachts up to 55ft, while a $100million (£67.4million) redevelopment of nearby Rodney Bay Marina has tapped into the super-yacht market.
Sales director Oliver Gobat said: “Most people are buying for lifestyle. The value of this piece of real estate can’t be overstated. There just aren’t many opportunities to get a freehold property on the beach. We are selling the dream lifestyle.”
The resort, when completed towards the end of 2011, will number 231 apartments. The new homes range in price from $1.8million (£1.18million) to $3.5million (£2.24million).
Tourism minister Senator Allen Chastanet said optimism had returned to the market and he was keen to see the real-estate market grow.
He said: “This was really the turning point for St Lucia. We never used to have a high-end market, but in the last four years, that has all changed. The Landings really kicked off a new market for us. In the last four months, we have seen a double-digit positive growth in property sales. This year is probably going to be the best in terms of tourism ever.”
In Antigua, an island famed for 365 beaches, the new $80million (£54million) Tamarind Hills overlooks two of the best, Darkwood and Ffryes.
Rufus Gobat, managing director of developer Island Heights, is Oliver Gobat’s brother. The pair, and their family, developed Cap Maison Hotel and Resort in St Lucia, which was recently judged best small resort in the Caribbean by Conde Nast.
Romantically named after the tamarind trees leading the way into the resort, the freehold development will include 23 villas and 39 apartments with infinity pools on extensive sunset-facing private terraces, and every home a byword for light, spacious luxury – created by Mr Gobat’s wife, interior designer Alex. Even the names sound tempting: Searays, Barracudas, Seahorses, Stingrays and Red Snappers, to mention a few.
It takes little to imagine long dinners in gazebos that feel as though they are literally overhanging the ocean.
The first eight-unit phase, of which four have been sold already, will be completed in November.
The freehold homes have their own water, sewage treatment – the purified water from which is used in irrigation – generator and security.
The complex will include two bars – where the resort’s own tamarinds will provide juice for cocktails – restaurant, tennis courts, gym, yoga and pilates studios, water-sports club, spa, day jetty and mooring buoys.
Extensive marina facilities are five minutes away at Jolly Harbour or 30 minutes away in Falmouth and English Harbour – a sailing mecca and home to the world’s only remaining Georgian dockyard, Nelson’s Dockyard.
The beachfront villas currently under construction start at $975,000 (£625,000) and rise to $2.1million (£1.34million). Other properties will reach prices of $3.2million (£2million).
Island Heights is able to pass on a 75% waiver of purchase taxes to first-time buyers of Tamarind Hills properties, reducing the 7.5% tax for non-nationals to 1.87% tax, which equates to a saving of $180,000 (£115,000) on larger properties. The title to the land is put in the new owner’s name on purchase, ensuring that buyers are protected during construction.
Tourism minister Hilson Baptiste is keen to develop the homeowner market, which is more sustainable than the seasonal hotel business.
Enthusiastic about Tamarind Hills, he said: “This development will go all the way. And when it is finished, it will be wonderful from what I have seen. It’s going to be heaven on Earth. This will attract international investment for the long term.”
Buying property in the Caribbean is straightforward.
In St Lucia, buyers need an alien’s landholding licence, while in Antigua, they need a non-citizen’s licence.
These developments offer sound investments which are likely to appreciate significantly, and owners can make returns on their apartments by placing them in rental pools in their absence.
Chris Owen, general manager at international realtor St Lucia Sotheby’s, predicts that beachfront properties at The Landings will increase by 15% a year over the next three years, while he expects other properties on site to go up by about 10%.
Adam Barrett, chief executive of Antigua-based JHR Caribbean Real Estate, says Tamarind Hills will be “the flagship beachfront property in Antigua” and believes the three and four-bedroom villas will double in value, from $1million (£675,000) to $2million (£1.3million), in just two years, while other properties at the resort should rise by about 30%.
Whether for an investment or a fantasy lifestyle, The Landings and Tamarind Hills offer the realisation of a dream.
BY JOANNA SKAILES
