Gywneth Paltrow’s thinking about doing it,
World is Not Enough, the third Pierce Brosnan
water jetties, desalination units, electricity,
Nicholas Cage and Julia Roberts have done it,
James Bond movie to be shot in the Bahamas.
telecommunication systems and airstrips. For
so has the fourth Baron Rothschild and then
Brosnan and co-star Salma Hayek also spent
the island hunter willing to customize a utopia
there’s Johnny Depp; who acquired Little Hall’s
three months on location shooting the action
from scratch, an undeveloped island comes
Pond Cay, a 45-acre idyll complete with private
comedy, After the Sunset. Most recently, Disney
with a starting price of US$50,000 per acre.
beaches.
commandeered Grand Bahama Island and the Exumas for the filming of Disney’s second and
Island hideaways in the Bahamas have become
third movies in the Pirates of the Caribbean
a must-have for those determined to own
moguls, movie makers and Hollywood A-listers;
series: Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End.
a piece of paradise. Surrounded by warm,
for island hunters who seek style, seclusion and
And, in 2004, the country hosted the first
crystal-clear turquoise waters, with cuts of
exclusivity, there are 40 to 50 islands for sale at
Bahamas International Film Festival, now held
deserted white beaches, the islands epitomize
any one time in the beautiful Bahamas, ranging
annually in December, which has become a
the dream of Caribbean living. Among the 700
in size from two to 800 acres.
popular, star-studded event on the Hollywood
islands and 2,000 cays lying south of the capital
social calendar.
Nassau, there is a small chain of immaculate
But private island ownership isn’t limited to
The star factor of the Bahamas extends
gems known as the Exumas.
beyond its moniker of “playground of the rich
In the 1990s, as tourism steadily expanded in
and famous” and has long been a desirable
the Bahamas, a small number of ready-made
There’s no understanding the allure of the
location for Hollywood movie makers.
In
islands became available for sale, complete with
Bahamas or why it captivates with such
1999, film director Michael Apted released The
main luxury residence, staff properties, deep-
absoluteness. You can kick off your shoes
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an
of my own WRITER NIKOLA LASHLEY
G
illigan did it the hard way but in the Bahamas you can play castaway in style
Fowl Cay Resort, Exuma, Bahamas
and sink your toes in the talcum-soft sand,
If you are not the beneficiary of a stimulus
and snorkeling or a conch supper on the beach
wade into its almost unnaturally blue waters
package, owning an undeveloped island can be
until the sun falls into the ocean. Discover
or recline on a beach and stare for hours
a costly venture. Take it from Damianos: “If you
the last word in luxury at Sandals Emerald
at the intense clarity of the ocean; but you
buy an island, you have to consider the real cost
Bay, a Six Star Diamond Award-winning 500-
should know before you arrive that the
of construction, given the remoteness of the
acre oceanfront retreat set along a one-mile
uncompromising beauty of the Bahamas is
location and accessibility to it. Transportation of
crescent-shaped beach on the out island of
unfathomable.
materials and workers will have to be done by
Great Exuma, or you could lay claim to one of
boat or sea plane. All of this will keep adding to
six villas on the private, 52-acre island, Fowl
your investment dollar.’’
Cay Resort. Either way, if you come to buy in
According to George Damianos, managing director of Damianos Sotheby’s International
the Bahamas or simply to play, you’ll want to
Realty Bahamas, being king or queen of a
If you crave the cachet of island ownership, the
private realm isn’t for everyone. “Somebody
tranquillity and absence of bustling civilization,
who asks me where the closest restaurant is
if you are intrigued but not yet ready to
because they enjoy going out to dinner is not
purchase, there are alternatives that allow you
going to want to live on a private island. On the
put island living to the test.
stay forever.
other hand, someone who says, ‘we like our peace and quiet, we love nature and the water
You can play shipwreck at marooned rustic
and fishing,’ these are the indicators of people
lodges, available to rent on many of the private
that are private-island types.”
islands, where the thrill is found in bonefishing
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