Highlights - Marbella Luxury Real Estate Magazine 2019

Highlights
Whether it’s an apartment designed by Armani, a penthouse where your Porsche
will be transported to your door in a bespoke lift, or a condo where you can enjoy on-tap
cocktails from Ritz-Carlton, having a branded home these days is big business.
By Zoe Dare Hall
There are more than 400 new
developments with some 55,000
branded residences around the world.
Traditionally, that means a hotelled
scheme whose integrated or linked properties
come with the built-in security and reputation for
quality that the brand brings, plus access to the
hotel’s management services and luxury facilities.
“Wealthy buyers want the five-star hotel service they
experience in their travels to exist in their homes
too,” explains Knight Frank’s prime central London
development expert Ian Pidgeon of the appeal.
Leading the way among hotel-branded residences
is the Marriott, which has lent its name to a third of
the world’s branded schemes, with a further 60 in the
pipeline. But in this ever-expanding and diversifying
sphere, non-hotel brands are entering the fray – in
particular, fashion designers including Missoni,
Armani and Versace, and premium car marques such
as Porsche, Aston Martin and Bugatti.
Such partnerships are particularly loved by
property developers in Miami and Dubai. They are
both locations that love their
bling and attract wealthy, global
buyers who instantly recognise
the brand and know what to
expect, even though their off-plan
property probably won’t be built
for a few years. In the meantime,
the developer can build the hype
– such as at Miami’s Porsche
Design Tower, whose futuristic
car elevator, the Dezervator, has
become a celebrity in its own
right. And in Dubai, there’s big
excitement over the new branded
residences that will form part of
the world-famous Royal Atlantis
Resort on The Palm. “They are
set to be a new icon for Dubai,”
The Royal Atlantis Resort, Dubai, see page 133
Opposite page: one of Finca Cortesín´s many leisure areas
Above: Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, Madrid, see page 122
21