You never forget your first...

Where my love affair with islands and villas began..

Being a Luxury Villa Specialist is not an easy job. I can confidently say that it is impossible to be an expert in this business without a passion and respect for luxury villas and their beautiful locales. My understanding and love for Villas began on my first business trip to St. Barts. My assignment: look at the villas, get to know the island, bring home some information and have fun! I landed on the island with my backpack, my new iPhone (an absolute necessity for a traveling business woman such as myself), and some notes from my boss offering advice on where to go in my free time. Travel Keys set me up like one of our guests for the full experience, so, after an incredible 10 minute flight from St. Martin to St. Barts, I stepped off the small Winair plane, smiling ear to ear, arrival documents in hand, and scanned the very small St. Barts airport until I spotted the crew who would assist me in my first St. Barts task- the rental car pick up.  With their help the rental process was a breeze and soon we were off—up and away to my villa in Colombier!

The journey to Villa L Enclos - CLO was quick; I found myself captured by the views, barely able to listen as the airport crew gave me important numbers, a list of restaurants, keys to the villa and other useful information. They asked if I has any questions, “NO” was the fast word out of my mouth and off they went, leaving me with instructions on where to meet early the following morning for my first official day of St. Barts training!
This is a photo I took from the top of Colombier Point before I took the trek down! I highly recommend this trip for those of you who enjoy a hike. Don’t worry it is not too hard, just remember to wear your tennis shoes! Colombier Beach is only accessible by boat or a rugged trail and the 30 minutes of sweating is well worth the secluded, calm and white sand you will find at the end.
In my mind I thought, “Awesome… I will see some cool villas, eat amazing food all day and lay on about 6 different beaches during the week, piece of cake.” My thoughts on the upcoming week were not wrong, just a little less intense than reality. During the week, I spent my days with two incredible and knowledgeable men who turned me into the passionate villa expert I never knew I wanted so badly to be. Villa after villa I fell more in love with what each had to offer and found simple villas just as beautiful as the grand. I began to think like a villa specialist, “Who would this villa work for? What if my guest has $50,000 to spend on a week? What if they had $2,800? Could I just as comfortably put a guest in a villa that cost $3,000 for the week as I could the other? YES!!”

I did not notice at the time, but laying on the beaches and relaxing in restaurants all week had taken a back seat to my new mission: see every beach and restaurant long enough to feel the sand, smell the food, note how it applied to my guests, and move along! With that mission mindset, I set two goals for myself: 1—acquire the most thorough knowledge of luxury villas any person could have (we’ve all got our thing right?) and 2—become an expert on the lovely and inspiring island of St. Barts (the first Island on my long, ever-growing list).
A not so petite view from one of our villas in Petite Saline.
After a week of nonstop villa touring during the day, I felt confident that I had achieved my first goal—newly equipped with the intricate knowledge that can only be gained from five days of 8am-6pm villa touring (trust me), I had transitioned from an office villa consultant to a true villa specialist.

Goal # 2- St. Barts expert, yes please! Of course I wanted to learn as much about St. Barts as possible because so many of our clients choose to travel there, but also, I was personally captivated! It did not take long to understand what all the hype around St. Barts was about. It is everyone’s island! It is known for being for the rich and famous but it was my island too! Laid back and sophisticated? It was true! If someone had told me that I could go on a reasonably priced villa vacation to St. Barts before this experience, I would have laughed. Now, I find myself directing people with a wide range of budgets and interests to St. Barts. Often, my guests act surprised and, ultimately, thrilled to know they can and will go to St. Barts!

For couples, I love to include, Duette - AUM, in my list of recommendations that starts at under $3,000 per week! From this sexy, sleek, and comfortable villa a couple can enjoy privacy but still be able to walk into the beautiful and highly desired town of Saint Jean! For larger groups who are looking for privacy but also want the bustle of the harbor town of Gustavia, I make sure to offer Villa Wickie - WIK, which blew my mind with her every tiny detail. For each guest, I am confident there is a perfect villa- it’s only a matter of investigating, sifting, and finally, discovery! For many people, outlining the location, style, and pricing of our 350 plus St. Barts villas may appear a tedious task, but, it is my job, and I love it.


By now you know that “Villa Specialist” is my title, but I have plans to consult with my leaders about a longer more intense title. I think changing my business card to read, “Luxury Villa Expert and Island Connoisseur” would work for me. I took a trip and fell in love; now I see, feel, and believe in ALL things villa (that may become a T-shirt). What is a villa vacation without respect for the island you will be taking in every morning from your terrace? Only an island with the most breathtaking beauty and some of the greatest gifts nature has to offer could inspire artists (or more likely, millionaires who employ artists) to create these luxurious villas for you to make your home (if only for a week each year) and, of course, for myself to specialize in.

What am I doing in Maui?

Just a few of the boring things I have been up to here in Maui..

*Countless tours of the island - there were times helicopters were necessary

*Searching for the famous Maui sunsets (turned out to be pretty easy to find)

*Traveling to the black sand beaches to catch the perfect combination of light and land

*Stopping to take in the views - each one different and beautiful

*Sugar overloading on Hawaiian Shave Ice in order to find the best stand for you

*Viewing all of the beautiful villas of course...this is a favorite for sure

The beautiful Makila House

St. Thomas - Villa Style

View from our pool at Star Garden

Just like any die hard villa fan - When given the opportunity to really get to know an island, I treat the destination just as I would a new boss I need to impress! Therefore it only makes sense that I would arrive early and prepared for my first meeting with the Virgin Islands! I arrived at the airport a few hours before the 2 co-workers I was to travel with - so of course I sat at the tiny bar in the St. Thomas airport waiting with a rum drink in hand!


Once my partners arrived we were greeted just as our clients are by an on island representative who helped us get our car rental, handed us a walkie talkie and then instructed us to follow her up up up the winding roads of St. Thomas to the villa we would be staying in. I loved the walkie talkies and thought they were the best idea! She used them to give us information from her car to ours about little things we were driving by. Upon arrival the the beautiful villa she gave us the general "villa rundown." We each picked our room (I got the master:)) and then she gave us keys, wireless codes, maps, phone numbers and more information than anyone would never need about our villa and our new island of residence .

By the time we were oriented and left alone at our villa - the sun had already decided to start her show- and what a performance it was!  Maybe it was the long day of travel or being out of the office - that had us all giddy like children - but I believe it was the magical mixture of sitting in the infinity pool overlooking Magen's Bay along with knowing that the next 10 days was all villas and Virgin Islands that made this particular sunset one for the books.  Believe it or not- these small moments of "me" time are few and far between on FAM trips - so I sat with a big smile on my face and really let the beauty around me sink into my skin.

 

Sun showing off on our pool at Star Garden

I thought listing some highlights of  the destinations as well as the villas I have been lucky enough to stay in might be better than the ramble that tends to come from me :).

My favorite fancy meal while on the island: On night one, after enjoying an incredible sunset we got dressed for the business dinner we had arranged with our closest partner on the island. The owner of our partner company who I like to call “The Villa Goddess”, picked us up from Star Garden and took us to meet her team at a wonderful restaurant called The Grille at Mahogany Run and it was beautiful and delicious! I enjoyed a large portion of shrimp and scallop garlic pasta along with a fantastic glass of white wine! The food and atmosphere were almost as good as all the villa gossip!

My best laid back meal in St. Thomas: Day two was a whirlwind of villa viewing! At 7:30am we set out to meet our first friend from the airport the previous day! Sherri and her bag of keys to over 15 villas scattered around the island were as ready as we were to tackle the villas! After villa number 5 or 6 we were all getting pretty hungry so we took a nice break and went into Red Hook to grab a bite at a great little place called The Big Bambooz Bar and Burger Hut! My coworker and I split the Ahi tuna wrap and the fish tacos with mango salsa, both were delicious!


My most memorable moment while in St. Thomas: The perfect early morning walk we took on Magen's Bay before breakfast. The beach was quiet and I immediately knew why all the hype around Magen's Bay existed.


My favorite local treat: Udder Delight! Yes, that is Udder! The establishment itself is a small, cash only, eat outside joint with the best ice cream and shakes I have ever had! They have several flavors and even offer "adult" additions for your frozen dairy beverage!

How I felt about St. Thomas before the trip: Easy access! I felt St. Thomas was perfect for anyone who wanted to get somewhere tropical with non-stop flights. To be perfectly honest however besides the ease of getting to the island I did not feel the urge to guide someone into traveling there.

How I feel about St. Thomas now: Rent a beautiful villa in St. Thomas!! The island has so much more to offer than I ever imagined! The villas have stunning views and offer so much privacy yet you are still SO close to several great restaurants, bars, beaches, shopping and fun!!

What I loved most about Star Garden as a villa was: There is nothing to not like about this villa! If I must highlight one part however I will- but it is still a bit broad. What I loved MOST about Star Garden was the outside of the villa. The infinity pool and hot tub with a perfect view, the expansive porch, the lush gardens all around and of course the actual name sake of the villa -the "star garden" in the middle of the yard where the owners have a small lawn cut perfectly that slants downward just slightly so you can sit alone or with friends in a great Adirondack chair and view the stars!!

My favorite place to spend alone time at Star Garden: Right outside of my bedroom! Although I was in the master suite and had a large kitchenette, work area, and living room connected to the main bedroom, ALL of the bedrooms enjoyed their own porches, coffee makers and stunning views! When I did have time to spend alone at Star Garden, I used it to drink my coffee on my own little porch while taking in the fresh air.


I would recommend Star Garden for: Couples! The idea of staying in this villa again with my significant other and 3 to 4 of our best couple friends sounds too good to be true! Every room is comfortable and large enough that no couple would feel like they were getting "the short end of the stick" plus each would have their own private space! Therefore, even if you were lucky enough to travel with a group of friends, you would still feel the intimacy of being alone on your porch with your hunny or even yourself! I would also recommend Star garden to families with older children in an instant! Everyone likes a little privacy and the owner of Star Garden has successfully found a way to balance the human need for both time alone and time with family and friends!

A small detail Star Garden offered that made a big difference: Sugar, spices and coffee! I have stayed in several villas while working in this industry where the pantry was bone dry. After making my coffee on morning one, I thought "shoot, I will have to drink black coffee today", but no! I went to the pantry and found sugar and spices galore! This little detail made our last morning at Star Garden far from bland! Before loading up to head to St. John for the next portion of our trip, I sipped my sweet cup of joe while whipping up a breakfast for three- a breakfast with flavor! We drove away from our villa not only savoring the spice of our morning meal - but also holding onto the lasting tastes of Star Garden and the island of St. Thomas!

Working Hard and Falling in Love with Italy..

I was in St. John staying at the beautiful AVALON and getting ready to run “8 Tuff Miles” (that's another post entirely) when the phone rang at the villa. My brother in law answered as I was giving him the "don't pick up" signal (This was not a normal work trip and I was not too interested in spending my time on the phone) but as things go, the phone was handed to me and it was my boss…. Now for most people I know the boss is the last person they want to talk to on vacation - for me (and don’t call me teacher’s pet) I love hearing from all of my bosses –I know weird. 

He asked me how things were going with my work on St. John, we had a little more small talk and then he said it “Would you like to travel to Italy to inspect our villas?” GASSSSP... OK play it cool Lauren... “Yes I think that would be great” – we agreed to talk more details when I returned from St. John.

I was stunned, weak in the knees and emotionally overwhelmed. In school, I was sure that the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas were mythical bodies of water that had dragons swimming in them– but alas, a few months later I was on a very long flight that actually landed in Italy!  

My travel partner for this Familiarization Trip or "FAM" trip if your down with our lingo - was my buddy, Zach.  I like to call FAM trips Family trips because well - it sounds nicer and you truly do bond with co-workers on these things. More than you want really.. like family :). So after ten completely packed days and nights together I guess we can call Zach my family now.

I am not going to go into all the details of this particular FAM schedule because I am truly scared that if Zach ever re-read the itinerary - he would hang his head in exhaustion and have to take time off to recover from remembering his fatigue. 

What I will cover is where we stayed what we loved (everything) and of course-  Zach's inability to fight through jet lag.  

We had a flight overnight from Atlanta to Paris and then another into Florence where we landed some 15 hours later swollen from plane food at 9am in Italy - aka- time to get to work! We were instructed to bring one carry on each as we were being picked up by 2 ladies in an economy car - and not just to be driven somewhere to unwind but for the FOUR of us and our FOUR carry on size suitcases to spend the next 10 days together winding through Tuscany and down to the Amalfi Coast viewing over 35 villas and staying in 3.
If you do not "do" villas for a living you say "Wow - your job is not work at all! You just travel around the world and vacation" - I am not saying my job is not awesome but until you spend 3-14 days in any beautiful destination and inspect villa after villa after villa watching the other tourists lounging, tanning and having cocktails- you do not get to say that this is easy work. Don't get me wrong - we always make time for fun and we love villas so - yes this job is awesome.. but easy? No- no- no just ask Zach what can happen to a 28 year old healthy man with a terminal case of jet lag when climbing 300 plus steps to 10 different villas on day 7 of villa boot camp - it can get ugly. 

OK- Back to what you most likely care about if you are reading this - Is anyone reading this?.. Mom? 

The three fabulous villas that opened up their doors, kitchens and beds to us while in Italy:


First - Villa Prima :) 9 bedrooms to welcome the four of us! We were very tired at this point and I do believe Zach got lost several times in this villa..

Ahhhhhh Aiola! This fantastic country villa located in Southeastern Tuscany near Umbria offers are completely different Tuscan experience. Elegant yet comfortable- Aiola sits on a 1,700 acre estate and is the perfect option for privacy while still not being too far removed. In only 15 minutes you can drive to San Casciano dei Bagni - a small medieval village with a huge character and home to the thermal hot springs. I have to admit - the way the name - San Casciano dei Bagni rolled off my tongue-like a true Italian had something to do with my initial warmth towards the village.. however after visiting- I was in love and wanted to stay at the lovely Aiola forever. 

We are not in Tuscany anymore, Zach! We must be somewhere over the vineyards, way up high (300 stairs high- on a cliff )! Our arrival “home” to the sleek and sexy Villa Giulia was conformation that the rolling hills of Tuscany were far far behind us.

Giulia is modern yet elegant with white walls and high end designer furnishings - which is why we decided to open the classy bubbly and celebrate the beginning of the Italy - Part 2!   

So you can see they are all beautiful and each offer something completely different than the other - the third villa for instance is located on the Amalfi Coast.. so very different from Tuscany where every time I walked into a Villa - I felt like it was supposed to be called a Villa (per the history books). The coast is so different - it was- without a doubt two separate trips. If you are thinking about tackling the country in a few days, I would be more than happy to talk you out of it.