The Hideaway Club

Posted: Fri 22nd April 2016
By: Angus Davies

Live the high life on holiday without the worry of maintaining a second home overseas by buying into The Hideaway Club, an exclusive members' club with a worldwide portfolio of properties that includes a stunning trio on the Algarve with golf on their doorstep…

Fancy a luxury home away from home in an exotic tropical location, under sunny Southern European skies or in the heart of an iconic city, but don’t want the expense and hassle of owning?    You could spend hours scanning small ads and researching online to try renting or take pot luck and invest in a timeshare property. Alternatively, you could join The Hideaways Club, an exclusive shared ownership club that allows its members to invest and take holidays in exquisite luxury homes in amazing locations across the globe.

FLEXIBILITY. Established in 2007 and headquartered in Gibraltar with offices in London and Hong Kong, the club opens the door for those keen to invest in a holiday home but who want the flexibility of travelling to different locations.    Investors have a choice of two funds: the Classic Collection, offering 42 villas and chalets owned or leased by The Hideaways Club in locations as far flung as South Africa, South East Asia and Mauritius as well as in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal; and the City Collection, featuring 13 city-centre apartments, most of them owned by the club, in cities including New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Istanbul, Bangkok, Dubai and Prague.

CONCIERGE SERVICE. All properties are worth over £1 million and are sumptuously furnished. The Classic Collection villas typically accommodate eight to ten guests, perfect for a golfer and family, several couples or golfing groups.    Members also have access to a further 250 luxury villas through reciprocal agreements with other destination clubs, while the City Collection apartments, which typically accommodate up to six guests, are augmented by another seven city homes under reciprocal deals.    A concierge service, both in the UK and at the destination, helps to organise transfers, holiday itineraries, dining reservations and sightseeing, while exclusive member offers include bespoke golf or skiing trips and tickets to lifestyle events and exhibitions.

DIVERSE. The club continues to grow and aims to own 100 luxury properties in both the Classic Collection and City Collection portfolios. They offer diverse experiences ranging from a 12th-century Tuscan farmhouse set amidst olive groves to Swiss mountain chalets, beachfront villas on tropical paradise islands and penthouses overlooking New York’s Times Square.    The three gated, air-conditioned villas on Portugal’s Algarve – soon to be joined by a fourth – mirror that diversity. The smallest of the three, Villa Palmeira lies in the exclusive Dunas Douradas resort about 25 minutes from Faro’s airport and a five-minute walk to one of the Algarve’s prettiest beaches.

SPACIOUS. For “small”, however, read cosy but surprisingly spacious. Boasting a traditional Algarve design with whitewashed walls, windows and doors framed by green shutters, a terracotta tiled roof and tall fretwork-topped chimneys, the three-floor villa has five bedrooms with the top-floor master bedroom and adjoining bedroom sharing a large terrace and terraces off the others.    The main terrace offers a heated pool flanked by sun loungers and parasols and a bougainvillea-swathed, covered outside seating and dining area with a built-in barbecue. If you enjoy al fresco cooking, Uruguayan restaurant Parrilla Natural in nearby Almancil not only serves up some of the region’s finest steaks but also has its own butcher in the town which will deliver delicious cuts of meat to your door. Below the terrace, a compact private garden leads out to a landscaped communal area shaded by African pines, citrus trees and palms.

WOW FACTOR. The wow factor comes as soon as the concierge, who meets you on arrival, shows you inside the villa. The lobby area, featuring an alcove housing a Romanesque bust, leads off to the large open-plan dining and sitting room with comfortable, contemporary sofas.    Entertainment is provided by a large, flat-screen TV showing all your favourite UK channels including sports channels, a portable Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker complete with iPod, and a Nintendo Wii games console in the downstairs play room where there is also a DVD player, pool table and table football. But if you need to work, there is a desk with a laptop and printer. There is also an iPad, loaded with a guide detailing the many things to do and see in the area, and Wi-Fi access.

MAID SERVICE. The fully-fitted kitchen is stocked with necessities and a welcome grocery basket with items such as coffee, milk, bread, eggs, butter, mineral water, wine and orange juice, so you don’t have to hit the nearby shops straight away.    Each of the five bedrooms has its own bathroom complete with hairdryer, luxury bathrobes, Molton Brown toiletries and heated floors for chilly mornings. A daily maid service keeps everything spick and span. The concierge can also arrange extra services, such as baby sitting, a private chef, ironing and dry cleaning.

SECLUDED. For those who prefer more of an away-from-it-all holiday, the five-bedroom Quinta Algarvia villa sits in a large secluded plot in a rural pine woodland location, although just 5km from the beach and close to all amenities. It offers all the same facilities as Villa Palmeira but also has a self-contained private gym with exercise equipment, a steam room and outdoor hot tub, large shaded pool and a mini-golf putting area.    Villa Infinity is a grand, six-bedroom modernist edifice on the Vilamoura estate that features floor-to-ceiling windows, a cantilevered roof, a cavernous open-plan living, kitchen and dining area with designer chairs and home cinema, a large basement games area and an extensive terrace with an infinity pool. The club’s soon-to-open fourth Algarve villa is close by.

GOLF. With well over a dozen golf courses within a short distance, The Hideaways Club’s Algarve villas make ideal golfers’ getaways. Both Villa Palmeira and Quinta Algarvia are close to the award-winning Quinta do Lago golf resort.    Opened by Europe’s Ryder Cup-winning captain, Paul McGinley, last October after a €9.6 million euro development, its North Course was named Europe’s Best New Golf Course and its South Course given the accolade of Best Golf Course in Portugal when the resort hosted the inaugural World Golf Awards in November. Quinta do Lago has also opened a new short game area to add to facilities that include the world’s only Paul McGinley Golf Academy and a state-of-the-art TaylorMade Performance Centre.    Villa Palmeira is also close to Vale do Lobo, where the Royal Golf Course is famous for its spectacular clifftop, par-3 16th hole. Villa Infinity guests have a choice of seven courses on the Vilamoura estate, the closest being the Arnold Palmer-designed Oceanico Victoria.

MEMBERSHIP. To join The Hideaways Club, the entry-level price for the Classic Collection starts with Lifestyle Associate membership at £88,000, while Associate membership of the City Collection starts at £69,500. With a host of millionaire mansions to choose from around the world, what are you waiting for?

Good to know

For more information about The Hideaways Club, go to www.thehideawaysclub.com 

Image of Camilla Kaas-Stock
By Angus Davies

Journalist

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