The best private resort in the world?
As we move into the summer months, I thought I would share with you my favourite vacation destination: Kukio, and the contiguous Hualalai Four Seasons Resort, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Kukio was the brainchild of Michael Meldman, founder of the Discovery Land Company, who you might have seen star in the TV show Entourage as a bidder for an NFL franchise. Another foundation investor in the project was the oil tycoon and philanthropist Billy Getty.
Kukio is not actually a hotel, but one of the world’s most exclusive private clubs with circa 350 members. Membership does not come easily: you need to buy a home, which can be priced anywhere from US$3.6 million to $US50 million plus. Two of Kukio’s properties are rumoured to be individually worth more than US$100 million.
The members themselves comprise numerous billionaires, such as the computer pioneer Michael Dell, and US celebrities such as Leonardo de Caprio, Cameron Diaz, A-Rod, Naomi Campbell, Toby McGuire, Lance Armstrong and Kelly Slater.
The service and quality of Kukio’s amenities are second to none. For just a few hundred members there are outstanding restaurants, two golf courses, a private beach with dedicated staff to help furnish every conceivable water sport, an enormous gymnasium and spa, three swimming pools, multiple tennis courts, a cinema, playing fields, and so on.
One of the great things about Kukio is that it is situated immediately alongside a fabulous Four Seasons Resort, so if you don’t know a member, you can stay at the Four Seasons, which is regarded by many as one of the best of its kind. Entry-level rooms are reasonably priced and can be booked for under $1,000 a night.
For the full article, view it on Property Observer.
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