vacation home

Luxe Home Swap: Trading Spaces for Vacations in Style

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

"Luxe" doesn't have to mean luxury, believes Debbie Wosskow, who came up with the idea of Luxe Home Swap. Wasskow was tired of spending 80% of her travel budget on her hotel stays and tested out the main home exchange sites. When she posted her home in Central London on a few sites, she was bombarded with inquiries from others whose homes weren't what she was asking for in exchange -- in some cases, the wrong size, wrong location, and even the wrong continent..

Her recently launched web site for Luxe Home Swap is member-driven and lets clients make their own deals It costs $159 a year to list as many homes as you own and wish to include and you can swap as often as you wish within the year. If you haven't completed a swap within the first year, the second year's membership is free.

Two of the trends Luxe Home Swap is seeing, said Wosskow, are "asymmetrical" swaps -- 10 days in your condo for 7 nights in my beach home -- and "non-simultaneous" swaps -- you come in October and I'll use your home in June.

"It's totally up to our members to work out the details with each other and they're completely free to arrange swaps however they wish," she said. Flexibility is what distinguishes this site from the others, she said.

Tags: home exchange, home swap, luxe home swap, travel, vacation home, vacation home rentals, vacation homes, vacation swap, worldwise home exchange

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Buffehr Creek Road, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's home is another reader submission, a beautiful vacation retreat in Vail, Colorado. The home was completed in 2007 and is located within a short distance of the ski lifts of Vail Village. It also offers immediate access to the Town of Vail's extensive hiking trail system. The home itself is a five-bedroom house that was constructed using state-of-the-art mechanics including radiant heat and a second humidified forced air heating system and air conditioning.

This home features custom rockwork inside and out, granite counter tops throughout the home, stainless appliances and more. A rec room has a full wet bar and a water feature. A heated drive, entry and rear deck area keeps you safe from icy walkways. The home also has an elevator, climate-controlled wine room, media room and a private patio with a hot tub, gas log fire pit and an outside shower. The home is offered fully furnished and the asking price is $5.995 million.

Gallery: Buffehr Creek Road

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Tags: colorado, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, second home, SecondHome, ski home, SkiHome, vacation home, VacationHome, vail

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Shelter Island, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Newsday's Real LI led me to this summer retreat in Shelter Island, New York. This home sits on 3.6 acres and has six bedrooms. It has a great room, dining room, two wood burning fireplaces, elevator, central air conditioning, and a two-car garage. The interior is in need of major brightening up and updating but the grounds are phenomenal. The property includes a freshwater pond, tennis court and a long dock into the sound. A variety of terraces offer views and much needed shade on a hot day. It is listed at $4.9 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Gallery: Shelter Island

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Tags: estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, new york, NewYork, shelter island, ShelterIsland, summer home, SummerHome, vacation home, VacationHome

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Balcones Del Atlantico Development

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

For second homes at a lower price, the Dominican Republic is fast becoming more popular. Balcones Del Atlántico is a beachfront community in the village of Las Terrenas on the Samana Peninsula. Balcones Del Atlántico has more than 250 units situated on a former coconut plantation. The development has 15 pools throughout the property including an infinity pool, a pool with tranquil waterfalls and a party pool with swim-up bar. Residential options range from one to five bedroom units that include villas, town houses and condos some with rooftop terraces with solariums, Jacuzzis and pools. Residents will have access to the beach, a commercial plaza, a heliport, a club house and beach bar/club. Recreational opportunities include beach volleyball, tennis courts, a children's playground, a spa and gym. Prices range from $475,000 to $1.7 million. It is already under construction with final completion of all phases scheduled for 2011.

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Tags: balcones del atlantico, BalconesDelAtlantico, condos, dominican republic, DominicanRepublic, second home, vacation home, VacationHome

Sundowner, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

When it comes to remote vacation homes ease of management can be almost as important as location. That's one of the major selling features for the Sundowner on Nevis, an idyllic Caribbean island. The Sundowner is part of the Four Seasons Nevis where all homes come with security systems, provisioning services for food, and routine maintenance of the homes. The home is prepared for your arrival and locked up when you leave. You also get access to the resort's championship golf course, clay or hard tennis courts, a full range of watersports, the fitness center, and the full-service spa. The home has five bedrooms (each with walk-in closets and refrigerators), large living room and a kitchen.

The home sits on 1.19 acres in the hills for views of the ocean and St. Kitts in the distance and, a bit closer the 13th hole of the award-winning Robert Trent Jones II golf course. There is an infinity pool with a large terrace and there is a bar downstairs for poolside entertaining. The home also has a wraparound terrace. The decor doesn't seem to quite match the home's pricetag and the kitchen is a bit less than fabulous but you aren't there to cook, you are there to soak up the sun. This home is listed at $4.5 million.

Gallery: Sundowner

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Tags: caribbean, estate of the day, four seasons, nevis, resort home, vacation home

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The Vacation Homes of the Stars

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Very few celebrities have only one home -- owning multiple residences in locations around the world is key to keeping any sense of normalcy and routine in their lives. But although first homes are usually in cities like New York and LA to be close to work, where do celebrities like George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Oprah choose to buy vacation homes? Where do they go when it's entirely up to them and they want to relax?

Well for Clooney it's a waterfront villa in Lake Como, Italy, for Depp it's a 50 acre farmhouse in France, and Oprah prefers her ocean-front ranch in Santa Monica. Where would you live? Check out this list of celebrity summer homes and see who's taste is closest to your own.

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Tags: brad pitt, BradPitt, celine dion, CelineDion, elton john, EltonJohn, estates, george clooney, GeorgeClooney, harrison ford, HarrisonFord, johnny depp, JohnnyDepp, julia roberts, JuliaRoberts, kevin bacon, kevin costner, KevinBacon, KevinCostner, oprah, sara jessica parker, sarah jessica parker, SarahJessicaParker, SaraJessicaParker, summer home, summer homes, SummerHome, SummerHomes, tiger woods, TigerWoods, vacation home, vacation homes, VacationHome, VacationHomes

The Orchard At Carneros Inn

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

The San Francisco Chronicle recently covered one of the latest fractional residences. If you want a piece of Napa life you might want to check out the Orchard at Carneros Inn. The new offering is 17 cottages with 10 owners each. Each share costs $275,000 each.

The Carneros Inn is a 27-acre resort in Napa that has 86 guest cottages, million dollar homes, three restaurants, a spa, pools, fitness center, boutiques and even a deli. It is basically a small village unto itself. The cottages will have a rustic feel but with all the requisite amenities like stainless steel appliances and flatscreen TVs as well as access to all the Carneros amenities. Your $275,000 buys you three weeks a year plus additional time as available. The cottages will also be in a rental pool where they are expected to bring in $1,200 to $1,800. owners also have to pay dues of $8,100 plus a property tax that works out to around 1% of the purchase price each year. The first six cottages will be ready in August; the remaining ones will be finished in November.

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Tags: fractional ownership, fractional real estate, napa valley, NapaValley, orchard at carneros, second home, vacation home

Travel and Leisure's list of top 100 real estate developments

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

In the market for a second home? Travel and Leisure has compiled their list of the top 100 dream vacation home real estate developments around the world. There are slideshows grouped by region with details on price and amenities offering a wide variety of both fractional and full ownership opportunities. Don't pack your bags yet, many of the homes aren't completed yet. They don't all break the bank either. For prices starting at $207,000 you can move into 550 Wellington, a condo builiding in Toronto that has all the amenities of the built-in 94-room hotel. It will cost you a bit more to head to the Temenos Anguilla, a white property perched high on a hilltop with some homes bordering the Caribbean island's first 7,100-yard golf course Prices there start at $1.4 million.

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Tags: real estate developments, RealEstateDevelopments, second home, vacation home

Beach House on Lake Charlevoix, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Gorgeous beach houses aren't just for the coasts, this beach house sits on Lake Charlevoix in Michigan. This house sits on the end of a road and is surrounded by water on three sides. It has a deep water pier and the exterior features a wraparound deck. The 5,580 sq. ft. home has four bedrooms, two fireplaces, a large kitchen with granite counter tops, two wet bars and a lower level entertainment area. The third floor is a multi-use area with its own bath, wet bar and balcony overlooking the lake. Every room has a view of the lake. It is listed at $3.599 million.

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Tags: beach house, lake charlevoix, real estate, RealEstate, vacation home

HGTV Dream Home 2006

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

This year's HGTV Dream Home is is more understated than luxurious. The AP reports that for the 10th edition of the Dream Home giveaway, Home and Garden Television created a 5,700-square-foot home in the Blue Ridge foothills overlooking Lake Lure in North Carolina. The home has porches to take advantage of the mountain views and is designed so that the home's owners can live in one wing and guests stay on the other side. Other details include a game room, crafts room, wine cellar and exercise room. If you like the location you can build your own home at Grey Rock in the Lake Lure community which is a collection of over 900 homesites. Pictures of the HGTV home are available on their website.

Please note: To enter the contest: please visit the HGTV site.

Tags: dream home, grey rock, hgtv, home and garden, lake lure, north carolina, real estate, RealEstate, vacation home