Only once in a lifetime does a legacy property like 136 Fort Walker Drive become available! A unique home with spectacular water views on 3 sides, a stunning great room featuring floor to ceiling windows with 270-degree views. This elegant 2-story waterfront home features 2 master suites, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, gourmet kitchen, granite counters, 3-car garage and a boating dock. This private enclave is perfect for entertaining and enjoying. Located where Port Royal Sound meets the Atlantic Ocean, delight in brilliant sunrises and sunsets from multi-level decks, swim in the sea or the pool, or relax in the spa or on your own private beach surrounded by nature. $3,849,999

Click here for a virtual tour of this stunning South Carolina property! 

For more information, contact:

Wayne McDonald
Premier Island Properties
hiltonheadluxuryproperties.com
info@hiltonheadluxuryproperties.com
843.384.5764

Other amenities include a guest suite, service pantry, a three-story elevator and a heated three-car garage with an inclusive mud room. Plans for a dock have been started. The property, listed for $5.95 million by Anthony Bullock IV of Churchhill Properties, is a short walk to Singing Beach, one of the top ten beaches in the U.S., and to downtown.

Tired of being cooped up working from home? Work from the beach! Make your summer of 2020 as enjoyable as possible on peaceful Isle of Palms.

When it’s mealtime, preparation is a pleasure with the open kitchen and gas cooktop island where the chef can be in the center of the activity of the group. Large dining table seats 12 with additional options for seating at the breakfast bar, covered porch, or al fresco poolside.

A “reverse floor plan” with the living space above 4 of the 6 bedrooms, the master suite on this floor has a coffered ceiling, walk-in closet, and huge master bath with a double sink vanity, Jacuzzi tub and oversized shower. Just across the hall from the powder room is the bunkroom with two sets of bunk beds and TV.

The floor below has another master suite with the same layout as above, and an additional king-bedded room – each with their own private porch overlooking the pool. There are two more bedrooms with queen beds on this floor, the laundry room, and another covered porch with a row of rocking chairs off of the main entry foyer.

The location is ideal – just a short stroll one block to the beach access path at 30th Avenue to the gorgeous wide stretch of beach that spans the eastern side of the island halfway between the Isle of Palms Connector and the marina. See dolphins play near the shore, and on moonlit walks you will encounter crabs scurrying out of your path and you may even find sea turtles nesting during the summer or their hatchlings racing toward the ocean on warm evenings. Bike for miles on the beach, or tool around the island on a golf cart – rentals available.

Make Admiral’s Roost your summer home this year!  

For more information contact Michele Miller, Realtor®
Charleston Realty Services – eXp Realty LLC
843-388-4693 mobile
michelemiller.realtor@gmail.com

1309 Vista Drive in Sarasota, Florida, is a gated French Country private estate located right on the bay. It was built in 2015 on the 1.5-acre-plus property.

Located in one of Sarasota’s most coveted neighborhoods, Harbor Acres, the property is just as close to the bay as it is to the bustling downtown district filled with restaurants and retail stores. The perfect blend of old-world charm and modern Florida luxury.

The interior of the home includes a La Cornue gourmet kitchen, imported French stone floors and cabinetry. But the quality doesn’t end inside — with over 244 feet of direct bayfront on the property, you can enjoy the water every day of the year.

1309 Vista Drive in Harbor Acres, being a perfect blend of French charm and modern style, is the quintessential home of the neighborhood and surrounding area.

Photos courtesy of 1309 Vista Drive.

Laguna Solé is a massive 7-acre, man-made swimming lagoon large enough to fit 21 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The crystal clear water imitates the Caribbean while its ultrasonic filtration system uses 100 times fewer chemicals than a regular pool.

The lagoon is accessible by residents and guests of the Shoreline, Solé Mia’s newest two residential towers located right next to the lagoon.

The $4 billion city of Solé Mia is known for its residential amenities that are elevating the standard of residential living — and Laguna Solé is the most recent and extravagant example.

Photos courtesy of Solé Mia.

The fully electric 740 Mirage Air further enhances tradition with innovation, high-tech features and eco-friendliness. Installed with a Deep Blue 100 kW electric inboard motor and two lithium batteries with BMW technology (i3-type), the 740 Mirage Air is the ideal day cruiser.

The whisper-quiet engine used in the Frauscher 740 Mirage Air is specifically designed and constructed to power planing motorboats. The system’s reliable and easy-to-maintain design delivers extraordinary performance at its full power range, with up to 2,400 rpm and incredible torque delivered at low rpm.

“The Frauscher 740 Mirage Air provides a quiet and powerful luxury yachting experience for boats that operate in sensitive areas and those with a heart for nature,” says Torqeedo CEO Christoph Ballin. “With an industrially engineered, fully integrated electric drive system and the extraordinary craftsmanship of the Frauscher Shipyard, this electric yacht will attract the eye of discerning owners worldwide.”

Photos courtesy of Christian Brecheis

1) With substantial hospitality experience in Europe, what brought you to Vietnam and how has your time here treated you?

I always wanted to live and work abroad and a career in hospitality is the ticket to not only see the world but truly immerse yourself in it. After developing my hospitality career in Spain and becoming a resident manager, Meliá Hotels International offered me a number of options to take my career to the next level, including a terrific opportunity as director of operations at Meliá Hanoi, the Spanish group’s flagship hotel in Vietnam and recognized as one of the most luxurious MICE and events hotels in Asia. When I arrived in Vietnam in 2014, I immediately felt I had made the right decision and have never looked back.

After two years at Meliá Hanoi, I then became Meliá Danang’s general manager. My success in establishing the then-newly opened Meliá Danang, combined with my experience managing leisure and business hotels in Vietnam, resulted in my appointment as the new Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort’s general manager. Vietnam is the land of opportunity on so many fronts, particularly the luxury hospitality industry. It’s so rewarding to be here during Vietnam’s phenomenal rise as the Asia-Pacific’s fastest growing country in terms of tourism.

The best thing about Vietnam is its people. The Vietnamese are welcoming and hardworking, and have been integral to the success of our operations and service due to their diligence and innate, genuine warmth.

As Meliá Hotels International has a total of seven brands that speak to difference audience segments, career opportunities are boundless. The group rewards talent and dedication with excellent opportunities to grow and surge into the future, professionally and personally. I joined Meliá’s internal management program and I’ve given my absolute best to Meliá. In return the group has definitely given its best back to me, helping me to learn, to develop, challenge and improve myself and has guided me during each and every step of my 15-year career with the group hitherto. I have a strong sense of belonging to a family and this is reinforced every day by my interactions with my fellow colleagues and Meliá Hotels International’s management.

I know many hospitality groups speak about a passion for service but Meliá Hotels International really delivers on this with Spanish warmth and hospitality that none of our competitors can match in a more modern, younger and fresher image. The group is also far-sighted when it comes to corporate social responsibility and its sustainable development goals related to areas such as removing all single-use plastics, and reducing water use and carbon dioxide emissions. So much so we have been ranked as the third most sustainable hotel company worldwide for 2018 by RobecoSAM, a sustainable investment agency responsible for evaluating companies for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

3) Can you tell us more about Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort?  Why should we head to Ho Tram and stay at your resort?

The resort is already deemed one of the most prestigious of the Meliá Hotels and Resorts portfolio globally and we aim to establish it as the top resort in Vietnam’s south as well as one of renown in Vietnam and the Asia Pacific. Our 17-hectare resort celebrated its grand opening on April 20 this year, cutting the ribbon on a host of world-class facilities such as three restaurants including a beach club, three swimming pools, a swim-up bar, a coffee shop, a 10-treatment room spa, an executive lounge, a ballroom and conference facilities, a kid’s club, gymnasium, gift shop and more.

All of our 152 rooms and suites face the ocean and afford panoramic views of Ho Tram beach. The 62 villas are mind blowing, ranging in size from 220sqm to 465sqm with no expense spared. The villas have their own private pools, BBQ areas, outdoor showers and gardens, living areas and separate dining areas. Four distinct food and beverage outlets – Breeza Beach Club, Muoi, Sasa and Elyxr café – and a swim-up bar make for a diverse culinary landscape luring casual and fine diners alike. Destined to be “the place to be” in Ho Tram and referencing the beach clubs of Ibiza and Bali, Breeza is situated right on the beach and will host live music, DJ sets, themed parties, and fire and dancing shows.

Ho Tram is fast developing a reputation as Ho Chi Minh City’s answer to New York’s Hamptons, Rome’s Sorrento and Sydney’s Blue Mountains; a go-to retreat where the well-heeled flock for a getaway that’s close by, upscale and restorative. With 500m of ocean frontage, this tropical setting is all the more spectacular as the sun rises to the left and goes down to the right in an incredible arc over the East Sea each day. We can’t wait to welcome you to our sublime piece of paradise.

Meliá has grown particularly quickly in Vietnam, where it already had 13 hotels either open or in the pipeline, making it one of the leading international hotel companies in the country. In response to the “bleisure” (business and leisure) travel trend, Meliá Hotels International is particularly focused on the Asia Pacific’s emerging economic zones and key MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, events) destinations, with 75% of our hotels catering to the bleisure market in this region.Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort is situated in a coastal enclave only a two-hour drive from Vietnam’s economic capital Ho Chi Minh City, offering MICE planners and delegates a reinvigorating ocean-side location with ample space and cutting-edge technology.

Upstairs, above our lobby and foyer, the 420sqm ballroom hosts up to 400 people for a cocktail reception and 270 for a banquet with lively themes ranging from Mediterranean and Spanish to Indochine.  An adjacent sprawling terrace with a panoramic vista of the resort and the beach provides a picturesque spot for gala dinners. The ballroom can also be divided into three smaller meeting and function rooms.   

Meanwhile, domestic tourists are increasingly traveling to the host of beautiful destinations on their home turf. The numbers of international tourists flocking to Vietnam increase year after year. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), for 2018, the country welcomed 15.5 million visitors, a 20 percent spike on 2017.

The fact that so much is happening in Vietnam is all the more impressive in light of just how quickly things have progressed here. Vietnam has enjoyed the world’s second-fastest growth rate in GDP per person since 1990, and no doubt tourism has played a role in this positive trajectory. Despite its skyrocketing growth, we believe Vietnam is not an oversaturated market whose most exciting days are yet to come.  

Photos courtesy of Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort

Translated as ‘whispers of the heart,’ Susurros del Corazón is perched on a bluff surrounded by tropical jungle and extends down to the pristine white sand beach below, offering Punta de Mita buyers a rare opportunity to own a beachfront residence with direct access to the water. Each of the 30 homes — ranging from three-bedroom Beach Casitas with 5,580 square feet of interior and exterior living space to a six-bedroom Presidential Villa with over 19,000 total interior and exterior square feet — will be perfectly poised at the water’s edge with floor-to-ceiling windows that maximize the epic views. Offering a clean, contemporary design, the residences will also give a nod to Mexican heritage through handcrafted finishes, artisanal wall coverings, and local artwork.

Open, airy living spaces will seamlessly extend from the indoors out, creating an environment that exists in perfect harmony with its natural, untouched surroundings. Featuring custom finishes and the finest fixtures, residences will have Wolf® and Sub-Zero® appliances, beautiful bathrooms with freestanding tubs and double shower heads, and expansive outdoor living spaces with bars, private pools and Jacuzzi® hot tubs.

“Punta de Mita is such a special place. We wanted to bring something totally unique to this area and the new Auberge Resort hotel suites and stunning oceanfront villas deliver on our vision,” says Mark Cooley a partner at SV Capital Partners, developers of the resort and residences. “It is very important for us to preserve the natural beauty of the land, and we are being conscious in the development to create a community that is in harmony with its surroundings. The entire ethos of this property is to combine a rustic simplicity that feels very authentic with the world-class amenities you’d expect from an Auberge resort.”

Dining at Susurros will further establish Auberge Resorts Collection’s reputation for award-winning culinary offerings. The resort’s signature restaurant will connect interior and exterior spaces and capitalize on the breathtaking ocean views, while guests enjoy locally-sourced meals utilizing traditional, seasonal ingredients and sip expertly crafted artisan cocktails. Outdoors, a casual open-air venue will invite guests and owners, day and night, to gather under large shade trees and a sun-punched trellis for a jungle-inspired dining experience.

“Susurros del Corazón will be an entirely new experience in Punta de Mita; one that embraces a laid-back beach spirit and perfectly balances luxury and approachability,” says Craig Reid, chief executive officer of Auberge Resorts Collection. “We could not be happier to partner with SV Capital on another exceptional resort and residence project. The groundbreaking is an exciting milestone moment in the journey of bringing this vision to life.”

Photos courtesy of Susurros del Corazón.

Okan Group — one of Turkey’s leading companies and a significant developer — has announced the official sales launch of its first U.S. development in Downtown Miami’s urban core:  Okan Tower. Uniting a diverse collection of mixed-use elements in one vertical destination, the project will present a 316-key hotel by Hilton Hotels & Resorts, 64,000 square feet of ‘Class A’ office space, 236 additional condo-hotel units starting on the 36th floor, and 149 condominium residences, plus 4 penthouses, starting on the 51st floor.

Located at 555 North Miami Avenue, Okan Tower will bring a new, defining form to the city’s iconic horizon. Exclusive sales and marketing for the development is by ONE Sotheby’s International Realty.

“We are thrilled to be launching sales for this much anticipated new development. The reputation and prestige synonymous with the Okan brand, paired with the company’s financial strength, communicates great confidence in the market,” says Daniel de la Vega, President of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty. “Okan Tower’s team of power players and overall vision affords this project a unique edge in Miami’s real estate landscape, and we are proud to be part of this venture.” 

Billionaire businessman and Okan Group Chairman Bekir Okan greatly credits Miami’s vibrant energy and international fusion in his decision to name the city for the tower’s location. In between travels around the globe, Mr. Okan frequents his South Florida residence, which furthers his desire to allow the company’s roots to bloom in the Magic City, tied closely with the Hilton Hotels & Resorts name.

Paying tribute to the Turkish culture, architect firm Behar Font & Partners was appointed to design Okan Tower and the striking curvature of its façade. Anticipated to attract international investors, the project’s condo-hotel units will be delivered turn-key within studios, and one and two bedrooms, from 447 to 1,245 square feet. Residential offerings will include condominiums ranging from one-to-three bedrooms, plus a den, with floor plans from 698 to more than 2,071 square feet. Two floors of duplex-style penthouses will feature expansive layouts, from 1,873 to more than 2,142 square feet.

World-class amenities will not be spared, with Okan Group carefully curating a menu of offerings that truly matter to the target demographic. This includes high-speed elevators with separate access points for the various mixed-use components, a sky pool with panoramic views of the bay and city on the 70th floor, Hammam spa, state-of-the-art health and fitness center, multipurpose room, and outdoor lounge. Additional features will be a playroom for kids, chef and gastro kitchen, a resident movie theater, and private area for owners with wine cellar and cigar room, as well as an activated rooftop restaurant on the 67th floor.

Okan Group brings to Miami nearly five decades of experience and a long-established reputation in Turkey and other parts of the world. The company has expertise in a variety of industries, including construction, tourism, education, health, and hospitality.

Photos courtesy of Okan Tower.