 UNIQUE NEW ‘CELEBRITY’ HOME WILL BE THE MOST LUXURIOUS YET IN SPAIN’S DESERT SPRINGS RESORT
PUBLICITY
A third sports personality could be the latest celebrity to buy a holiday home at Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course located in the Almeria region of Spain.
That is the hope of Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group, the main European sales agent for properties at Desert Springs which already is home to former England Test cricketer Sir Ian Botham and double Olympic Gold medallist Daley Thompson.
Says Sir Ian: “This is our perfect family retreat and a real home from home for us because the resort offers everything I enjoy in life.”
“Word of mouth recommendation like this is valuable,” says Bridget Rosser, the company’s sales and marketing manager, “and we are hopeful that, with two celebrities choosing to live at Desert Springs, others will follow suit before long.”
With that in mind, the Almanzora group has just produced new images showing a unique €2.5 million (£1.75 million) property which it has dubbed ‘a celebrity choice home.’
The traditional exterior design of the property – named The Caprichosa – has been inspired by some of the old manorial farmhouses which can still be seen in Almeria.
It reflects the way in which, over many centuries, extensions and additions to important old properties like these create visual variety and architectural interest.
Commenting on the name chosen for the property, Bridget says: “In Spanish, a caprichosa is someone who has a caprice, a whim or a fancy of their own, and this is very much in keeping with the concept of the plans for the property. The purchaser will be encouraged to use it as a structural base on which to overlay his or her own ideas, working in conjunction with the developer’s architect.”
Already earmarked for the house is a plot of just over a third of an acre (0.14 hectare) on the banks of the established Tiburon Lake, just across from the fourteenth signature hole of the Indiana Desert Golf Course.
Tiburon Lake is the first of three linked lakes planned in the resort. The largest, Steamboat Lake, will be used for a variety of ‘peaceful’ water sports ranging from sailing and canoeing to windsurfing. The middle lake, Sweetwater, already is being stocked with bait fish for the introduction of black bass game fish in the near future.
Construction of The Caprichosa will begin only when a buyer has been signed up,” says Bridget, “so there will be plenty of time for him or her to personalise it with personal ‘whims and fancies.’”
The Caprichosa – a brief description
The main entrance to the Caprichosa is approached through a large manorial door leading into a shaded Andalucian-style courtyard, enclosed on three sides by a pergola. The entrance itself is located at the foot of a tower containing a sweeping staircase linking the entrance hall, the first floor bedrooms and an open sided torre de la vela (watchtower). The tower, which has views across the lake, allows for cooling air to flow up through the property, whenever the ground floor windows are open. Below is an extensive basement and underground double garage.
The property is designed for indoor/outdoor living. The ground floor has a spacious family living room, a semi-separate dining room and fully-fitted kitchen and breakfast room, each opening on to a covered terrace of over 1,000 sq ft. It includes areas designed and laid out for al fresco dining as well as an outdoor lounge complete with a fireplace, and for sunbathing.
Also on the ground floor are a study and two of the four double bedrooms. With their own semi-private entrances off the entrance hall and courtyard, they are designed as guest suites. All bedrooms have their own private bathrooms.
On the first floor are the principal two bedrooms, one of which is linked to the staircase by a ‘reading gallery’ overlooking the family living areas and main terrace below. Both bedrooms open on to their own private sun terraces. All floors of the property will have air management.
The basement comprises 165 sq m (more than 1,750 sq ft) of naturally cool space, including a games room of 450 square feet and spaces for other facilities such as a gymnasium, a spa with jacuzzi and sauna, a wine cellar, and the utility and laundry room.
The property includes a very generous double garage with ample storage and workshop space.
Internal finishes will be specified in accordance with the purchaser’s wishes. As construction of the property will start only when a buyer has been secured, there will be plenty of opportunities for the new owner to add personal touches with regard to the layout and finishes.
The Caprichosa will have a total internal floor area of around 480 sq m (5,170 sq ft), with terraces of 150 sq m (1,600 sq ft). Outside the property will be fully landscaped to create the type of desert garden which resulted in the developer – the Almanzora Bay Group – being awarded the UK’s New Homes Garden Award 2007 in the category Best Garden / Landscape – Overseas Development. A 10 m x 5 m level deck swimming pool is included in the garden of The Caprichosa.
“The Caprichosa is the most prestigious residential property yet planned at Desert Springs,” says Bridget who currently is selling a variety of apartments, townhouses, cottages, villas and country houses in the resort at prices starting at around £170,000 for an apartment, rising to around £980,000 for a spacious country house.
To find out more about property at Desert Springs click on www.almanzora.com
March 2008
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