Luxury living in the wilderness

THINK of Newfoundland and you probably think of a snowy wilderness somewhere up near the Arctic, whales and icebergs or Annie Proulx’s bleak book, later made into a film, The Shipping News.

You probably wouldn’t think of manicured golf courses, a top class spa and multi-million pound holiday homes.

But the Humber Valley Resort on the west coat of the Canadian outpost is making people think again about this raw and beautiful island.

It’s the vision of local man Brian Dobbin who bought vast swathes of land by a river near the town of Deer Lake with the aim of creating a luxurious retreat in the forest without destroying the natural beauty.

Work started in 2002 with a new bridge linking the land to the main highway which runs round the island, the creation of an 18-hole championship golf course, a club house up on the ridge and a beach house bar and restaurant down by the lake. To date they have completed 160 impressive lodges, with another 60 under construction and another 80 due to start this spring.

Land is not an issue here (they have 2,500 acres to go at) and each of the houses sits hidden in its own forested acre plot. What you mainly see as you drive around are trees, not property.

Awards

The resort has already won a clutch of awards and is one of the few places where the reality actually lives up to the spectacular publicity pictures.

The scenery is breathtaking and the properties are on a different scale – vast timber houses with vaulted, glass-fronted living rooms looking out over forest or golf course; four, five or six bedrooms, most with their own bathroom and wide decks, many with hot-tubs.

The first sales were targeted at savvy Irish investors who are not afraid to buy off-plan if the potential is there, followed by sales in England and now the Europeans.

The deal is that you buy your plot of land and then decide what design of house you want built on it. This is obviously not as easy as it sounds and ex-Wham! star Andrew Ridgely and his wife Karen Woodward bought a plot here by the lake three years ago and still keep changing their minds about what to build.

The cheapest plot of land currently available is 280,000 Canadian dollars (about £140,000). It has a mountain view and you could build a three-bedroom chalet for $308,000, but you also have to factor in site development and furnishings which would take it to around $672,000 (£300,000).

About 40 of the chalets that have been built are now being re-sold by the owners with prices for a totally kitted out place ranging from $650,000 (£287,000) for a three-bedroom house with basement in the forest to $1.6m (£708,000) for a five-bedroom pile down by the lake.

The capital value increases since the resort launched have been impressive but with so many re-sales, price rises have slowed.

Ursula Monaghan, property sales asociate for the resort, said: “People who got in early and shared the vision have doubled their money. Right now we are concentrating on re-sales and we have 40 finished houses and 40 pieces of land to sell.

“We are continuing to is invest in the resort so that owners continue to benefit from wonderful facilities and increased values.”

What they are creating here is a world-class resort (they are adding a swimming pool, fitness centre and tennis courts this summer) in an unrivalled setting in the Appalachian Mountains and the key to it all is renting out these beautiful homes to holidaymakers.

While some owners prefer to keep their homes just for their own use the vast majority put their property into the rental pool.

The resort manages the properties, arranging cleaning and keys and welcome packs of food and, in theory, all the owners get a share of 70 per cent of the net revenue – whether their houses are occupied or not.

However, to achieve this pay-back there has to be an occupancy rate above 37 per cent – something that so far has not been achieved, with figures running around 25 per cent.

Knowledge

The trouble so far has been pulling in the tourists. A lack of direct flights and a lack of knowledge about Newfoundland are the key factors but that is changing.

Direct flights between Gatwick and Deer Lake started this winter and you can now be in front of a roaring fire in your chalet in less than six hours.
London-based Barwell Leisure, which specialises in upmarket and unusual holidays, now offers trips here with a winter ski break for under £400.

The airport at Deer Lake is being expanded to cope with increased charter flights and this summer there will also be two direct flights a week from Dublin.

Ursula said: “Direct flights were always the key. But we are slowly getting the message across that Humber Valley is just a five-hour flight from the UK and holidaymakers increasingly want something more than a sun and beach holiday.”

It is a year round resort with good skiing in the winter ten minutes at nearby Marble Mountain.

In the summer you can explore the Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site,
on foot, bike or kayak. Then there’s salmon fishing in the Humber, whale and iceberg watching out off the coast or, indeed, the golf.

Last year in response to demand the resort started building three blocks of apartments, 24 in total.

The one and two-bedroom units will be fitted out to the same standard as the chalets but offer a more affordable option.

They are positioned close to the Beach House restaurant and all the two beds have sold already, with one- bedders still available at $360,000.

Such has been the demand they have decided to build more, this time all two-bedders behind the Eagles Perch clubhouse where they are also planning some town houses.

This more compact accommodation will form its own rental pool with the emphasis here on the conference market and more corporate clients. 

Ursula said: “I think it is amazing what has been achieved here and we know people who come love it as well.

“Owners looking for capital increase should regard it as a long-term plan and you have to love it and enjoy coming here yourself.”

More information: humbervalley.com
Sales – newfoundproperty.com  020 8605 9520
Holidays – Barwell Leisure – 0208 786 3092.

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