Bringing the Ritz home - Real Estate in the Pipeline

South Florida CEO, August, 2003 by Raquel Kaufman

If you've ever stayed at a Ritz-Carlton hotel, you probably spent some time wishing that you could live there. Well, now you can. The company has opened its first residential project, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa, Jupiter. The 285-acre, gated compound in the Palm Beach County resort town of Jupiter features a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and a spa, along with three different private house options: The Residences--Mediterranean-style courtyard homes; The Estates--4,200- to 5,500-square-foot homes with golf course views; and time-share Club Homes. Among the very "Ritzy" amenities available to homeowners are personal chefs and golf concierges, which the company says will follow you around the course with your favorite beverages in tow. Even more valuable is the service one golfer received when he left his laptop on the course: a Ritz-Carlton employee got on a plane and flew the computer to him. Nearly 75 percent of the Residences and Estates have been sold, the company says. Several Residences have already finished construction, and the first phase of the Club Homes will be ready in November. The only thing this property doesn't provide is what you expect from Ritz-Carlton: hotel accommodations. This project is strictly residential, the first of its kind in the world.

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