The Latest in Luxury Resort & Real Estate News

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New Dallas-area Golf Community Releases First Wave of Homesites

(THE COLONY, TX) -- There was a time when the Dallas area would welcome a dozen new golf courses a year. But the golf course development boom is over, at least in the United States, so most places these days are just thrilled if their metro area doesn't have a net loss in courses.

So it's understandable if the Dallas metroplex is excited about the New Course scheduled to open this summer at The Tribute, an 18-hole layout designed by Tripp Davis and PGA Tour star Justin Leonard. Developers behind the master-planned community, led by the well-known Dallas group, Matthews Southwest, are also geared up for the recent release of a number of premium lake-view, golf-course frontage lots in the Balmerino Village.

Located on the shores of Lake Lewisville, seven parcels are adjacent to the No. 5 green and No. 6 tee box, premium placements that allow for unobstructed views of Lake Lewisville. A total of 28 lots will be offered in Balmerino, ranging from $135,000 to $275,000 for 1/3-acre footprints.

A gated neighborhood located at the center of the Tribute, Balmerino is one of five distinct villages that feature a wide range of single family homes, golf villas, townhomes, and European condominiums. Its location allows for easy access to The Tribute's amenity centers, themed parks, canals, trail system and proposed lake club and marina.

The master plan calls for 1,150 single-family lots, 160 golf villas, 183 townhomes, and 700 European condominium units, overlooking the Tribute's two courses and Lake Lewisville and situated just 23 miles from Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport.

The New Course is Leonard's first Texas-based design project and the culmination of a long-time relationship with Davis, who he teamed with to design Shorefox Golf Club in Granby, Colorado.  The collaboration will captivate students of classic architecture, featuring holes inspired by golf course design masters Donald Ross, C.B. MacDonald, Alister MacKenzie, A.W. Tillinghast and others.

It will join the Scottish-inspired "Old Course," also designed by Davis' Oklahoma-based firm and featuring holes from famous British Open venues, to create one of the truly unique and inspiring 36-hole golf experiences in the U.S.

Davis and Leonard's layout conjures the natural contours, hazard styles and green shapes of classic courses such as Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links, Prairie Dunes and Crystal Downs.

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Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman picks D'Aquino, Monaco to Design Secret Harbour

(GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS) -- Orion Developers, owner and developer of several highly acclaimed residential enclaves at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman resort community, selected famed interior designer Carl D'Aquino and his partner, architect Francine Monaco, to design the resort's newest residential development called Secret Harbour.

The D'Aquino Monaco team has earned international acclaim for design of exclusive, luxurious private residences as well as extremely select, high-end commercial projects around the world. They were inducted into Interior Design's Hall of Fame in 2007, and have been published in many national and international design publications. 

D'Aquino Monaco are no strangers to Grand Cayman, having designed the award-winning Silver Rain, a La Prairie Spa at The Ritz-Carlton. Now the heralded team is returning this exclusive resort community to put its touches on Secret Harbour, a project comprised of multi-family 1- and 4-bedroom waterfront homes starting at $650,000.

"After an extensive search, we have a design firm with a unique understanding of space, functionality and ingenuity, which is the perfect complement to the vision behind Secret Harbour, a coastal community built upon a world of inspiration," says Michael Ryan, whose Orion Developers is also the owner and developer of The Residences and The DeckHouses here at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

Secret Harbour will be an intimate private coastal village with a vibrant urban sensibility influences from British colonial architecture and the great coastal villages of Great Britain, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia.

As D'Aquino describes it, Secret Harbour is "romantic and sensual like Venice, but with much better weather," clearly evident once you sneak out on the Secret Harbour terraces that overlook the harbor, water, golf course or island landscapes. Discovery will be an integral part of the Secret Harbour experience, according to the design team.

"Owning a residence at Secret Harbour will be like having a beautiful, closed heirloom box and anticipating what is hidden within," D'Aquino adds. "Everyone is intrigued by secrets. Secret Harbour conceals mysteries, and at the same time, invites everyone to explore and daydream."

The heart of Secret Harbour's design is the lovely waterfront  community, featuring a 12,000-square-foot private clubhouse, swimming pool, wine bar, gourmet café, executive boardroom, private movie theater and other facilities intended to welcome a broad cross-section of guests and residents from around the world. It is the arrival and departure point as well as the social hub and recreational center of the community.

As with other residences and vacation homes at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, Secret Harbour offers owners access to the many amenities and facilities of the world-class 144-acre-sea-to-sea Caribbean resort, including a Greg Norman-designed golf course, the Silver Rain spa, five restaurants including one by Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, a tennis center, with programs designed by Nick Bollettieri, and Jean-Michel Cousteau's "Ambassadors of the Environment" eco-adventure family program. In addition, these new residences will feature their own amenities including an on-island fitness center and a water ferry service.

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Dye Designs' First Golf Course in Central America Ready to Open

(ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA) -- Hall of Fame golf course architect Pete Dye and members of his family are en route to Guatemala on his private jet today to unveil Dye Designs latest masterpiece here in the central highlands of Guatemala.  The grand opening celebration, scheduled for March 28, marks the first Dye-designed course in Central America on a spiritual tract of land that once housed a coffee plantation.

Located outside the ancient colonial town of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the golf course has been named "Fuego Maya" or Mayan Fire and will be the centerpiece of the new upscale residential resort community known as La Reunion.

The 18-hole course was carved alongside the base of the active volcano named Fuego (Fire) and it offers the golfer inspiring views of three other volcanoes, plus the Pacific Ocean in the distance.   "Fuego Maya" will play to par-72 and stretch 7,302 yards.  The challenging carries over deep canyons, signature Dye bunkering and the subtle green complexes will put La Reunion's course on everyone's must-play list.

"La Reunion will be Guatemala's first foray in the golf tourism business," says Roberto Roesch, co-developer and member of La Reunion's board of directors.   "We hope to put Guatemala on the map as a world-class destination and attract golfers and general tourists to our resort.  With our Pete Dye golf course, we are sure to be recognized as the next best place to visit."

When fully developed, the 1,384-acre La Reunion community will feature 950 units between private lots, villas and residences.  The project also will include 26 golf course casitas, a luxury hotel, a boutique eco-hotel, spa, observatory and cultural center.

"We are very proud of La Reunion's golf course and we believe that it will be recognized as one of the great courses of the world," says Perry Dye, son of Pete Dye and fellow architect who oversaw the development of Fuego Maya.  "An especially notable feature is that we have the only bent grass greens, tees and fairways in Central America. This magical, majestic setting has allowed us to create a spectacular layout that golfers of all ages and abilities will enjoy for years to come.  This is a very special place and we cannot wait to share it with the world."

Guatemala is located between Mexico and Honduras and is known as the "country of the eternal spring" because of the mild temperature throughout the year.  With the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific to the south, Guatemala offers unparalleled sport fishing, as well as a world center for Mayan culture. Various airlines offer daily direct flights from the U.S. to Guatemala City.

La Reunion's Pete Dye golf course will be open to resort guests and members.

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