Ocean Home magazine is for people who love the luxury oceanfront lifestyle, from home design and decor to world-class beach resorts, villas, hotels, and destinations.
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Beach photograph by Friederike Petzoid; sunset by Oriani Giullo IN SANSKRIT Contrary to what many believe, Providenciales lies just within the Atlantic Ocean, rather than the Caribbean Sea, which it borders. Locals and travel-industry insiders say that Turks and Caicos—only eight of whose 40 islands are inhabited—enjoys refreshingly unaltered coast and hinter- land, thanks largely in part to its more popular neighboring island-countries, whose heavy tourist traffic inadvertently has spared Providenciales much of the commercialization and visitor wear and tear. As for Amanyara, the resort’s secluded beachside setting and contemporary design, which is un- characteristic to the Caribbean, combine to create one of the region’s most spectacular and unique resort settings. Amanyara occupies more than 99 acres along the coast of Northwest Point on Providenciales and is cocooned by a surrounding national park. Its secluded location opposite the island’s more commercial eastern side means privacy is part of its blueprint. Speaking of blueprints, the contempo- rary, sleek, Asian-style design of the resort by architect Jean Michel Gathy is among the most refreshingly unique—if unexpected—locations in the Caribbean. Amanyara’s 40 one-bedroom, timber-shingled, raised guest pavilions, which are tucked within low-lying tropical foliage, are constructed primarily of glass and wood, allowing for an uninterrupted blend with the natural surroundings. Floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass doors on three of each pavil- ion’s four sides give way to views of tranquil ponds, rugged shoreline, or the ocean. Throughout, expansive teak decks give guests a place to linger outdoors. Here at Amanyara, investment-minded travelers or those searching for a possible new vacation home will find particular interest in the resort’s collection of 20 three- to five-bedroom Villa Homes, which are available for pur- chase or rent. Villa Homes are similar to pavilions in their 64 oceanhomemag.com may + june 2010 the word amanyara means “peaceful place.” Appropriately, at the so-named resort on the Turks and Caicos island of Providenciales and on the island itself, that’s just what you’ll find. And although it’s just two and a half hours by air from New York and one hour by air from Miami, this is a place that feels worlds away. It’s that convenience of closeness, coupled with the resort’s anything-goes atmosphere (service-wise, at least) that make Amanyara an ideal and idyllic place to purchase a vacation home. Before buying, however, consider some basic facts: construction, style, and immediate setting—each is situ- ated alongside the ocean or ponds on more than 1.5 acres of lush landscape—but are designed to mimic the resort as a whole on a more intimate scale. That is to say, each villa comprises a series of nine pavilions arranged around a reflecting pond and a square or rectangular infinity-edge pool, the latter of which is made from the same black, Indonesian volcanic rock as the resort’s main pool. In addition to the four individual bedroom pavilions, each villa includes a main living and dining pavilion, a kitchen and staff pavilion, an office pavilion, an outdoor dining pavilion, and an entrance pavilion, for a total of more than 12,000 square feet of covered living space. Pursuant to the one-with-nature feeling guests are likely to experience here, some freestanding bedroom pavilions feature alfresco showers and tubs in addition to the standard indoor facili- ties. Select villas also come complete with an additional internal reflecting pond. Villa prices start at a cool $13 million and top out at about $20 million, with options for furniture, fixtures, and equip- ment. (At press time, three villas were available for sale.) So what’s included in the multi-million-dollar price tag? Aman- resorts, Amanyara’s parent company, administers payment of utility bills and other owner-related expenses on behalf of the villas’ owners and maintains accounting records. Property-management services, including maintenance, security, housekeeping, and gardening, are also provided, as are amenities like linens and toiletries. Exceptional care of the villa and its occupants is overseen by a minimum two-person staff (cook and housekeeper), which villa own- ers often report as among the highlights of owning a home here. “We bought our villa at Amanyara because we wanted somewhere easy to escape to with great weather year round,”