St Lucia is a big a draw for holiday home buyers
No stamp duty and direct flights from London no wonder St Lucia is a big a draw for holiday home buyers
For lush, outstanding beauty Saint Lucia, with direct flights from London, wins hands down. Unlike many of the neighboring islands St Lucia is a geographical phenomenon. The island measures just 21 miles by 14, but two thirds of it is covered in Rain forests with World Heritage pride of place given to the Pitons, the dramatic, mountainous twin peaks from St Lucia’s volcanic past that pierce the sky.
Alongside the forests and steep terrain are golden beaches, honeymoon-perfect hotels and a long history of French and British influence.
Today, 39 years after independence, St Lucia is a member of the Commonwealth, has English as its official language and a legal system built on English law, while its French heritage is shown in the widely spoken Creole dialect.
“Most international property buyer’s focus on Rodney Bay and Cap Estate in the north of the island where there are most restaurants, bars and shops,” says David Farrin of Doubloon Real Estate. “There’s also the IGY Rodney Bay Marina and the Sandals Grande Golf and Country Club which is currently being redesigned by Greg Norman into a championship course.”
The same area produces the best rental returns for short-term holiday lets, says Farrin. “Condo properties around the marina such as Bay View rent well and also at White Turtle, 45 minutes to the south in Marigot Bay where we are selling a two-bedroom apartment for £598,000,” he adds. “For longer rentals, six months or more, look to developments like Allamanda close to the golf course in Cap Estate”
A gated resort, Allamanda sits within the prestigious Cap Estate. Doubloon has a three-bedroom new-build townhouse of 4,270sq ft. for sale there priced £560,000. The three-storey house has a private plunge pool and a shared infinity pool, all a short walk from the beach.
Also on the Cap Estate, Cap Maison Estates are 22 homes that form the exclusive Cap Maison hotel. One- to three-bedroom resale homes start from £564,000. Owners can use their apartments for nine weeks each year and otherwise lease it back to the hotel management, paying no service charges at all.
St Lucia is a big a draw for holiday home buyers
Where to stay in St Lucia: Sugar Beach resort
I had promised myself a trip to St Lucia for many years, writes Janice Morley, The Pitons, covered in lush tropical vegetation, literally exploding from the sea, had anchored in my mind as a must-see and March was my moment. The unstoppable rout of tourism is always a fear but St Lucia, in the Windward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean, has kept its development under control, especially on the West Coast — allowing visitors and homeowners to enjoy the unruly rainforest and the bubbling, volcanic-grey streams.
And if you find yourself privileged enough to book into the considerable luxury of Sugar Beach resort you can enjoy all the extravagant natural landscape around you while steeping yourself in five-star comfort.
Sugar Beach is an oasis energetically devoted to making you a happy guest or homeowner, with that easy-going, friendly charm unique to the Caribbean people.
Spread across 125 acres, the resort has an interesting history. It was first owned by Lord Glenconner, who had moved out of Mustique where he was famous for naked beach parties with Princess Margaret. He brought with him a pet elephant called Bupa. But his late-life attempt at resort development on St Lucia failed. The ailing enterprise was bought by Roger Myers, who launched the Café Rouge bistro chain. Myers could not resist the challenge to transform Sugar Beach into a low key billionaires’ paradise.
All the real activity goes on in the north, a 20-minute boat ride away but if you want peace and early morning walks along an empty sandy beach with a rattan chair deep in cushions en route, Sugar Beach is for you. Raise your arm and someone will bring breakfast, if you can’t summon up the energy to cross the landscaped lawns past fountains to the nearby colonial mansion. And if you fall in love with the rainforest spa treatments or the Cane bar for cocktails and catch terminal laziness, unable to leave the floaty, white voile curtains or the soft linen sheets of this beachside resort, you can buy a super-luxe home here.
Sugar Beach Fact File
Sugar Beach Residences have an established group of international residents. These one- to four-bedroom holiday homes are on one of St Lucia’s most beautiful, tranquil beaches, between the Pitons on a UNESCO World Heritage Site backed by a much-loved Viceroy Hotel.
The latest addition is the Beachfront Collection, five ultra-luxurious four- and five-bedroom homes with panoramic views of the Caribbean and the Pitons. Designed by British architects Michaelis Boyd, their contemporary style is all expansive windows, straight lines and double-height interiors.
Prices for the remaining two homes start from £6.5 million.
Courtesy of Cathy Hawker/ Homes and Property/ Evening Standards
Thursday 19 July 2018
To view property at Allamanda, Cap Estate please click here