PELICAN KEY--Ire Vacations, the sister company of Island Real Estate, showed off its newest vacation rental property, Villa Bella Vita, to local businessowners and influential personalities at a cocktail party in Pelican Key recently. Ire Vacations is the exclusive agent for management and rental of the villa.
The stunning property located in Pelican Key underwent a multimillion-US-dollar renovation after Hurricane Irma when its American owner wanted to take the villa to a new level.
“The owner saw the opportunity to refurbish after the hurricane while the rental market was slow,” explained Island Real Estate owner Arun Jagtiani. “He went all out. Every single square inch of this villa has been re-done. We have heard a lot about ‘build back better, build back stronger’. I don’t think there’s another villa on the island that embodies that slogan like this one does. It was a beautiful villa before the hurricane, but now it’s jaw-dropping.”
One can become blasé over the proliferation of luxury villas and infinity pools, but Villa Beta Vita stands out for incorporating cutting-edge, energy-saving smart technology to complement its refurbishment. It takes luxury living to a new dimension rarely seen before on this island. For gadget-obsessed techies this is a dream; a snapshot of how homes in the future will be managed.
The villa has eight bedrooms, seven of which are on the rental market. One bedroom is dedicated to a full-time concierge/caretaker who lives on site. There are nine full bathrooms. On the main level there are four master suites that look out to the large terrace with bars either end, infinity pool, and the ocean.
Solar panels on the roof generate the villa’s electricity. The main level also includes a spacious open-plan living room, kitchen and dining area. Oh, and don’t forget the adjacent cinema with 82-inch ultra-high-definition (UHD) smart TV.
The lower level has a two-bedroom apartment that can be blocked off with its own entrance for the owner to use when he is on island and another one-bedroom apartment, a safe room, laundry, gym and sauna. Depending on the time of year and how many bedrooms are available, the villa rents for US $2,000 to $5,000 per night. These are introductory rates which will increase to reflect the quality of the villa.
For those who can afford them, villas offer a luxury vacation and privacy. Catering to the well-heeled is a niche market that proves to be strong.
“We’re definitely hoping to raise the bar with this villa” Jagtiani adds. “It’s more of a seasonal inventory and market, but we’d like to stretch it into year-round.”
The main design, drawings and renovation were done by Philippe Caamano of Caamano in Galisbay. His team completed the project in 17 months from their workshop. It included creating custom furniture, interior doors, walk-in closets, bathrooms, and installing kitchens, cocktail bars on the terrace, and the Villa’s massive front entrance door. Needless to say, the main level is completely protected from the elements with heavy-duty shutters and double glass sliding doors.
Philippe’s wife Dora took care of the interiors; sofas, tables, beds, linens, amenities, décor, artwork, plants et cetera. Several other local companies were used for different aspects of the renovation.
The company IMCS installed the smart home technology; automation, power management, music systems, iPad controls, security features, lighting, sensors, and Tesla power walls. The owner, even if off-island, can monitor and manage all the features with an iPad.
“The villa is autonomous, and can be managed and controlled with smart phones and iPads,” IMCS Chief Technical Officer Michel Maduro explained. “It’s off the grid, no GEBE power, no GEBE water, and has its own sewage system. The villa makes its own water. GEBE is available as backup, but a generator will come on before that option is needed; 28,000 feet of data cable runs through the villa, and over 1,000 feet of fibre optic cable.
“The lighting system, for example, monitors where people are. If an area is not being used it will adjust the lights. If no one uses that space for two hours it will turn them off. So, the more people use the house, the more the system learns about habits and activity and the more energy it can save. The same goes for the air-conditioners’ sensors. That’s what the owner wanted, to reduce the carbon footprint.”
The systems used include Vantage for home automation, Siemens for intelligence aspects and Honeywell for the security. Laser beams, sensors, lights, alarms and cameras are part of it. Anything bigger than a dog will be picked up by lasers, setting off an alarm, activating lights while the camera swivels immediately to the source of the disturbance. Any event is stored on a cloud platform for later reference.
Maduro said a mega-yacht has had a smaller version of the systems installed, and there are plans to install the systems in a villa in Lowlands. Villa Bella Vita is the first villa to be registered in the Caribbean with these systems, according to Maduro.
For more information about the villa go to https://irevacations.com/properties/bella-vita-premier-luxury-vacation-villa-rental-on-st-maarten/ .
