A luxury vacation home is paradise when you’re using it, but because so many people rarely do—most second homes see just five or six weeks of use per year—buyers are turning to fractional ownership. Unlike timeshares and some vacation clubs, fractional properties are fully deeded residences; it’s akin to splitting a house with five, 10, or 12 friends (though, in this case, they’re friends you’ll likely never meet). Aside from real estate, fractionals also afford maintenance, housekeeping, concierge services, and laundry lists of luxe amenities that make owning a second home hassle-free. Herewith, a few fractional offerings that make sharing simple.
Tucker’s Point Club
Tucked into the leafy landscape of St. George’s Parish in Bermuda are the grand, candy-colored maisons of Tucker’s Point Club. All initial real estate offerings sold out; now, the newest (and final) phase is Harbour Drive, which offers both whole and fractional ownership properties. The units—which literally hang over the island’s Castle Harbour and feature views of St. David’s Lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean—debuted in August and are priced from $355,000 to $415,000. "When people buy in, they feel like they are buying into a private club—and they are," explains John Bush, executive vice president of residential development for Tucker’s Point. "Included in each real estate deed is a full membership to the Golf, Beach & Tennis Club, which by itself sells for $100,000." Bush says the golf course—an oceanfront par 70 designed by Roger Rulewich, who previously worked under Robert Trent Jones—draws in visitors, but what really attracts people to Tucker’s Point is the beach club. The property’s pink-sand beachfront hosts two pools and a seaside restaurant that dishes up fresh fish and produce with a European bent. The club is expected to garner even more attention when an 88-room hotel (designed in a manor house style) and a 12,000-square-foot spa (complete with a yoga/Tai Chi lawn and treehouse treatment suites) opens in April. 441.298.6915, www.tuckerspoint.com
Mayacama
A members-only club in the heart of Sonoma County yet just minutes from Napa Valley, Mayacama offers its community the best of wine country through its innovative vintner program. Thirty-two winemakers (including Harlan, Jordan, and Araujo) give members access to rare wines, exclusive dinners, grape-picking experiences, and blending trials. In addition, the club features a top-ranked, no-tee-times Jack Nicklaus golf course. "We are a traditional private club in a sense; we have a set number of members who know each other," says Jonathan Wilhelm, the club’s managing partner. "The fractional [part of Mayacama] is a way to use the experiences at the golf club and in wine country without necessarily burdening yourself with or finding the time to buy a whole-ownership property." Mayacama offers two fractional-ownership options: The first is a 28-night-per-year share of one of 12 one-bedroom casitas (from the low $200,000s) or 19 three-bedroom villas (from $300,000). Casitas feature outdoor showers, indoor/outdoor fireplaces, and alfresco entertaining spaces, while villas include four limestone fireplaces and outdoor kitchens. For longer stays, the community offers 90-day, one-quarter shares (from $1 million) of 10 individually designed, Tuscan-style estates; each has a wine cellar and heated bathroom floors, and some have detached guesthouses. 866.393.1818, www.mayacama.com
47 Park Street
Part of the Grand Residences by Marriott collection, 47 Park Street (left and above) is London’s premier fractional offering. The prestigious address, just blocks from Hyde Park, is home to a fully staffed, 1926 Edwardian-style townhouse divvied into 49 one- and two-bedroom homes, available in one-thirteenth shares. "There is just one entrance, and there is always somebody on the door," says the development’s Paul Reynolds. "Purposely, there is no hotel bar or public restaurant, so it really does have the privacy of your own home." Residences (which range from $165,000 to $388,000 per share) come equipped with marble bathrooms, Villeroy & Boch kitchenware, and Frette linens, plus all the trappings of a plush hotel, such as 24-hour in-room dining, twice-daily maid service, and a concierge. Residents enjoy perks like a private entrance to the adjoining Le Gavroche restaurant as well as partnerships with the Royal Opera House and nearby Spa Illuminata; plus, owners can rent unused weeks, add nights at a reduced per-diem rate, and enjoy exchange privileges with affiliated Marriott and select Ritz-Carlton hotels. +44.20.7950.5528, www.47parkstreet.com
The Club at Tristant
"What differentiates the Club at Tristant from all other private residence clubs and fractionals is our concept of guaranteed availability," explains Tom Fulton, president and CEO of Epiphany Clubs & Resorts, whose first product is the 20-home development in Telluride (left). After studying various clubs’ membership trends for over 15 years, Fulton and his team determined that by limiting each log-and-stone residence to just five shares (and renting additional luxury properties should demand exceed capacity), they could indeed promise time. Now, says Fulton, "when members call us, they’re telling us they’re coming; they’re not checking availability." For $799,000, members are guaranteed availability 36 weeks per year (and space-available access beyond) in a three- or four-bedroom residence with private hot tubs, views of the San Sophia Ridge, and a Range Rover. Buyers also receive two annual ski passes, use of a private funicular ski lift, and membership to the exclusive Telluride Ski & Golf Club. 866.374.0689, www.clubattristant.com
Palazzo Tornabuoni
This Florentine fractional gives new meaning to the royal treatment: Dubbed the world’s first "palace residence club," Palazzo Tornabuoni (right) is a 15th-century bastion (once owned by the Medicis; now managed by Four Seasons) that occupies an entire city block. The ground floor houses boutiques like Cartier and Bulgari; upstairs, 36 ornate residences ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments hold court. Architect Andrea Noferi renovated the palace over the last six years, and designer Michele Bonan’s revived interiors showcase new Boffi kitchens and Bang & Olufsen A/V systems, plus artwork—like a baroque statue of Diana the Huntress in the foyer and 16th-century frescos by Agostino Ciampelli in the salon—original to the home. Units are offered in eight shares (from $294,000 to $741,000) with no time limits; members merely make reservations, much like a hotel. Amenities within Tornabuoni’s walls include a wine cellar, cigar room, daily housekeeping, and 24-hour concierge service, while a chauffeured Maserati awaits to whisk owners to the nearby Four Seasons Hotel Florence’s spa and fitness facilities or a weekend party at a Tuscan country estate. 866.753.6667, www.palazzotornabuoni.com
SandCastles
For 20 years, Bobby Gibson and his family’s villa rental outfit, Villas Caribe, have placed discerning travelers in serene beach retreats and towering jungle estates from Anguilla to Belize to Costa Rica. But after discovering many of his clients desired to establish permanent roots at these beach destinations, he launched SandCastles, a collection of distinctive residences available in fractional shares. "There’s something to be said for walking into a private villa within a gated community that’s truly an estate, rather than a developer’s concept where the homes are all in a row," says Gibson. SandCastles’ flagship property, Dulce Sueños in Mexico’s Isla Navidad resort (top), is a sprawling beachfront compound: A brick-domed ceiling, vast outdoor living areas, an infinity pool and spa, and a private sunbathing area with a waterfall punctuate the modern-Mexican retreat. Priced at $599,000 for a five-week-per-year share, the home also includes a cook, a butler, and a maid; SandCastles’ concierge service; a 30-foot boat; and a Land Rover. The company plans to add five to seven homes per year to its portfolio by both acquiring properties and partnering with other homeowners who use their villas sparingly; the three current offerings, all in Mexico, average $3 million, and homes on St. Bart’s and St. John are in negotiations. Because each property is unique, the number of shares and the price per fraction will vary, though Gibson anticipates each will yield between eight and 12 shares. 877.815.1242, www.sandcastles.com
The Abaco Club on Winding Bay
Spread across 534 acres on the postcard-perfect Bahamian island of Abaco, this club changed hands in November, and is now managed by Ritz-Carlton. The club offers 16 residences with memberships beginning at $110,000, but utilizes a different fractional model: Instead of time, members receive points, which they use as currency to trade for time in cabanas, cliffside and beachfront cottages, and fairway villas. "Each membership category (Select, Preferred, or Premium) provides an account of points or currency," says Abaco’s Larry Coats. "A member spends the currency to reserve the residence size, season, and number of days that best suits the particular trip. The membership account is replenished annually with the same amount of points, and unused membership points expire each year." Coats explains that the Premium option, which affords 1,500 points, could be divided among several trips: for example, 14 winter nights in a cottage big enough for family (1,190 points), seven summer nights in a smaller cottage (280 points), and four nights in a cabana during fall (30 points). While on-island, members have reign over the resort’s amenities, which include an equestrian center, a spa, a beachfront bar and grill, tennis facilities, and the tropics’ only Scottish links–style golf course.
An ocean away, the Ritz-Carlton Club is also launching two new fractionals in Hawaii: Kauai Lagoons, a 520-acre resort, will use water taxis on 38 acres of freshwater lagoons to connect 72 proposed fractional residences with a redesigned, oceanfront Jack Nicklaus golf course (sales and construction begin in 2010). On Maui, the company is now selling 62 three- to four-bedroom condos in one-twelfth shares (starting at $350,000 each) on its Kapalua Bay property. There, owners can take advantage of the 30,000-square-foot spa, the Plantation golf course (which hosts the PGA Tour’s Mercedes-Benz Championship) and the Bay Course (which hosts the Kapalua LPGA Classic), and a private beach club that features a pool and members-only bar. 877.201.4290, www.ritzcarltonclub.com