Having two islands is key to pulling off the concept, he says. It allows him to keep staff accommodations, buildings for generators, and other infrastructure on the second, smaller island, so guests can feel completely alone. The employees consist of two couples who tag-team on everything from cooking (one of the women is a certified Le Cordon Bleu chef) to spa treatments (massages are offered, gratis, as often as guests wish). And to prevent visitors from getting startled by the staff, there are small warning lights in every room of the hotel that flash red when support team members are venturing across from their standalone islet.
Although Gladden has two bedrooms and can accommodate four guests, 70 percent of Krolow’s bookings have come from couples like Worthington and Levins who are often celebrating birthdays or anniversaries. In an overconnected world, seclusion has become even more of a benchmark of luxury.
Among other private-island resorts is Little Peter Oasis ($4,995 for a four-night package), also in Belize, which has space for four guests in a two-bedroom villa built over the edge of a private lagoon protected by a reef. It’s a place where you can channel your inner Brooke Shields, with or without a bikini.
In the Maldives, Cheval Blanc Randheli, the tropical offshoot of French resort Courchevel 1850, has 45 traditional villas on one site but also operates a three-bedroom “owner’s villa” (price upon request) on a nearby private island only a five-minute sail away. Thirty staff are available to either pamper you or ignore you, whichever your preference.
The 14-acre Dolphin Island in Fiji ($2,790 for two nights) sleeps eight, and a local fisherman will stop by every day to drop off his freshest catch for the on-site chef to prepare. Satellite Island ($2,730 for four people for two nights) is a rugged, high-end hideaway with a lodge for one family off the coast of Tasmania. It’s ideal for outdoors types keen to hike in isolation or swim in crisp, clear waters. In northeast Ireland, the lakeside Trinity Island Lodge is a converted granary that once served the now ruined Trinity Abbey in nearby Cavan. Starting from $1,297 per week for six, it features its own sauna and game room, as well as miles of forest trails.
According to Chris Laugsch, who runs the high-end villa rental agency Welcome Beyond, “People have seen and done the five-star hotels—that’s the usual stuff. More and more, people really want to disconnect during their holidays, and what better way to do that than on a completely private island?”
Eager to meet the demand, he’s just added to his portfolio an entirely private island, an eight-person hideaway off Nicaragua’s coast that’s fully staffed, much like Gladden.
With the growing trend clearly meeting a need (or at least a strong desire), it’s no wonder that Gladden is sold out for much of next year—or that Krolow is planning a sister property on a similar island in nearby Nicaragua. But he isn’t sure he’ll ever be able to indulge his ultimate goal, which he mulled before beginning construction on Gladden.
“I wanted to take it one step further and make it for one person,” he says. “But not enough people travel alone.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.