The perfect blend of real estate and travel, Anguilla might be the best place in the Caribbean to own a home. The government is stable and relaxed. The people are welcoming. Crime is almost nonexistent.
All that comes second, though, to what really matters about life on the tiny island that’s 20 minutes by boat from St. Maarten and 15 minutes by air from St. Barts. Peace, quiet, no hassles and the clearest waters imaginable.
The only recognizable chain store we saw was one Ace Hardware. Just 15 miles long with a population of 15,000, Anguilla is easy to maneuver. Nothing is that far away. There’s hardly any traffic, one championship golf course, some of the best food in the Caribbean, a world-class reggae star and so much privacy that billionaires park yachts nearby and private jets taxi in and out multiple times per day.
It’s where Brad Pitt took Jennifer Aniston just before their marriage ended. In the past year, celebrity sightings include basketball legend Michael Jordan, actors Jonah Hill, Michael J. Fox, Liam Neeson, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Sofia Vergara, billionaire Roman Abramovich and his yacht Eclipse, Shaquille O’Neal, rapper Drake and Queen Latifah, whose presence on the island caused the biggest stir.
Real estate development prospers from this tourism glut. Zemi Beach is the top development for sale on the island. Covering 5.2 acres on Shoal Bay, which the Discovery Channel called the “world’s best all-around beach,” Zemi Beach has 1,000 feet of waterfront leading up a hill.
A hotel with 112 rooms set to be completed by 2015, the property includes 28 two- and three-bedroom condominiums and penthouses for sale spread among eight buildings. Prices range from $2 million to $3 million. Furniture is included if buyers put the home back into a hotel rental program. Condo fees are only $1.15 per square foot per month and cover all maintenance charges, including landscaping.
The developer is the New York-based Goldstein family, who are experienced in building multifamily properties in the New York metro area. After vacationing in Anguilla for years, the Goldsteins decided to buy an abandoned hotel project on the island’s north shore. Zemi Beach is named for a three-star rock formation found in natural caves underneath Fountain Cavern National Park, which borders the property.