Luxury Living in Cayo EspantoFlying toward the San Pedro airstrip on Ambergris Caye off the coast of Belize the pilot points out Cayo Espanto in the sparkling aqua and teal
Caribbean waters. The tiny island, about the size of a football field, is lush green with six villas spaced out along its sandy shoreline.
From the airstrip, you’re ferried by a small motorboat to the island where the Cayo Espanto staff is lined up in uniform to greet you. Your houseman has
your cocktail waiting on a silver tray. Thus begins your visit to a fantasy island where you’ll be catered to and pampered all day long or left alone to
savor the paradise as you so choose.
If you tire of hanging out in your hammock, getting massages on your patio and kayaking around the island, you’re free to opt for a private dive, snorkel or fishing charter or an adventure excursion into the rain forests on the mainland. The exclusive island, which isn’t much bigger than a football field, has hosted such notables as Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Tiger Woods and Chelsea Clinton. Leonardo DiCaprio has visited the island several times and is a business partner of Cayo Espanto owner Jeff Gram. Gram and DiCaprio have bought a nearby island, Blackadore Caye, which also will eventually be developed. “Because Cayo Espanto offers both a high level of luxury and privacy we attract celebrities, business executives and foreign dignitaries as well as other affluent guests,” says Gram, an American based in Atlanta. No more than 16 guests are allowed on Cayo Espanto at any one time, and guests rarely if ever see each other because they have their own villas and dine on their own patios or docks.
Because Casa Estrella is positioned at the tip of the island, it has two docks and its own secluded beach area. It’s surrounded by clear, green waters, which become aqua and then deep blue as the water deepens. The calm Caribbean Sea seems to go on forever to the west and Ambergris Caye can be seen to the east. Although the day I arrived was sunny a gentle wind cooled me as I surveyed the scene from my covered patio. The two-story villa itself is a work of art with its elegant simplicity, a perfect balance of form and function. Festive turquoise plantation doors and window shutters used throughout allow for maximum airflow and a mint-green plunge pool is a cool oasis. By the time I had unpacked and settled in my houseman, accompanied by one of the island’s chefs, called to plan my dinner menu. One of the options was lobster, my favorite, so I chose that. A little later Johnny and Karim began dressing up my patio and dock for my evening meal. They set out tiki torches and luminaries along the dock and set my table with beautiful linens and silverware as well as fresh flowers. The five-course dinner that followed was scrumptious.
Days on Cayo Espanto can drift slowly by as it’s easy to get caught up in a nirvana of looking out over the sparkling water and watching the pelicans fly and dive. Reading in my hammock was one of my favorite occupations while I was on the island. And I took advantage of my private villa’s patio to receive a fresh-air deep-tissue massage. The local waters are a fisherman’s paradise whether you’re interested in fly fishing, reef fishing, deep reef fishing or deep sea fishing. As the world’s second largest reef is located off the coast of Belize, those who enjoy diving or snorkeling shouldn’t miss the opportunity to take a private charter from Cayo Espanto. If you’re staying for more than a few days, you may want to opt for an excursion to the mainland, which is known for rainforests and Mayan ruins. The morning I left Cayo Espanto it was overcast and raining. As the staff thinks of everything, they had a rain suit for me to wear and wrapped my luggage in plastic to prepare for my boat ride back to Ambergris Caye. The staff is so dedicated that they patiently waited in the rain waving as I departed. The clouds dispersed before my flight from the San Pedro airstrip and we were clear for take off. As we flew over Cayo Espanto I understood a new meaning for Gram’s translation of the island’s name, “Phantom Key.” Of course, once you visit, the memory of the island will haunt you forever. “As you can imagine, many of our guests return year after year,” Gram says.
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Upon my late afternoon arrival my houseman Johnny Berganza and his assistant, Karim Madrid, ushered me down the center of the island on a palm tree
lined path to Casa Estrella, the largest of the islands six villas. There I finished my welcome cocktail and began to take in the beauty that
surrounded me.
That night when I turned in, the cushy bed surrounded by a mosquito net seemed like a cocoon and I slept soundly. The next morning I slept in and gave
a call to my housemen when I was ready for my coffee.
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