Absolute privacy is a luxury only a few can afford. For the super-rich, low-key living in the suburbs doesn’t always prove a reassuring option as it might for even A-list celebrities, forcing many to spend millions on establishing a veil between themselves and prying eyes or the paparazzi. Luckily for them, residential property agents and luxury hoteliers across the world are offering privacy as one of their ultimate amenities alongside 24-hour services, fitness and wellness facilities and on-site members clubs and restaurants.
Developments in the world’s richest cities are providing homes with state-of-the-art amenity specifications with privacy in mind, offering residents what is effectively a completely secluded private members club in bustling urban locations. Private members clubs have been at the heart of affluent metropolitan society for hundreds of years, particularly in London. Boodle’s and Brooks’s, for example, have been operating in the same way since the mid-18th century. Now, prestigious residential developments are pioneering the same level of comfort and service in the style of these exclusive hang-outs with the added luxury of owning a home in some of London’s most coveted developments.
The prestigious Chelsea Barracks development (with homes by top designers including Taylor Howes, Albion Nord and Elicyon is just one example. The Garrison Club is its on-site private residents’ club with a spa, business suites, a cinema room and a billiards room, not to mention service to rival that of any world-leading hotel. Sources close to the development have revealed there is underground access to the Garrison Club from some of the most expensive plots in the development, allowing residents the ultimate privacy as they retire to the spa or for an aperitif in the evening.
For shorter-term privacy requirements with a residential feel, be it for holidays or business travel, there are properties available for hire in the UK acting as private house hotels, offering peace and seclusion for ultra high net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) and celebrities. Benham Park in Berkshire is just one example. Albion Nord, the design studio behind several properties at Chelsea Barracks, has completed the full restoration and decoration of the stately Henry Holland-designed property for Bluedoor Advisors, which is now available to hire on application. The overall effect is one of quiet luxury, a mix of antiques and contemporary art in soothing, generous rooms. The property includes several wings with beautifully appointed bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms, as well as large lounge areas, a vaulted gym and a whiskey room.
The top hotels and spas are also experts in privacy, especially for VIP clients that they’d like to keep sweet. Velaa Private Island in the Maldives, for example, boasts the most private hotel room in the world, offering uninterrupted ocean views, a gym, a personal butler and a private chef. It is only accessible by boat, allowing guests a total and complete sequestration (and sole use of the jacuzzi, pool, sundeck, sunken outdoor bath, and of course, the private lagoon).
Closer to home, Fairmont Windsor Park, a new luxury spa and wellness hotel that opened at the beginning of the year, is located on the edge of Windsor Great Park. For guests who need an extra level of privacy, the spa’s Signature Royal Suite comes with private access to a VIP spa area, the Salutaris Suite, a name taken from the Old English for “health-giving”. The Salutaris Suite is accessible only from the Signature Royal Suite via a private lift and features a hot tub, a steam room, day beds and private access to the hammam.
