A seven-bedroom luxury residence at the Aga Khan’s Costa Smeralda Resort in Sardinia is on the market for £10.6 million (Dh60.8m).
The single-storey Villa Amoras is one of 12 luxury villas in the upscale (obviously) neighbourhood of Miata at Porto Cervo, at the northern end of the Italian island. The villa overlooks the Mediterranean at Liscia di Vacca, as well as the La Maddalena archipelago and at times snow-capped mountains of Corsica.
In the vicinity is Hotel Cala di Volpe, which was featured in, among other films, the 1977 adventure The Spy Who Loved Me, with Roger Moore starring as James Bond.
The star of the 9,687 square feet Villa Amoras home is a swimming pool that passes underneath the entire house, visible through a glass floor in the main reception room. If you’re a diabolical madman, this is a great place to keep the sharks.
• Take a look inside the property here
The villa has open-plan living and a dining room of 1,500 square feet. The kitchen is spacious and fully equipped with a large storage space and central island. The home has a master bedroom suite and three more en-suite bedrooms with walk-in wardrobes.
Vaulted ceilings like the hull of a boat, floor-to-ceiling windows, terrace gardens, a teak deck and bar area, outdoor kitchen and covered dining area combine to create a pleasant outdoor evenings.
The Milan-based architect Luca Scacchetti designed the villa along the lines of the rural houses of the local Gallura region, but more expensive. As such, Villa Amoras comprises several buildings that surround a courtyard around a part of the pool.
All the bedrooms have access to a terrace. The Turin-based luxury furniture maker Poltrona Frau has customised the furniture, the ceiling panels are bespoke, and the villa has air conditioning, heating, wireless internet, satellite TV, an alarm system, fitness area and covered parking spaces. The buyers can build a spa and two further suites on the grounds of the villa.
The listing agent is London-based Beauchamp Estates. Viewings are by appointment only.
Q&A
What are the amenities one can find nearby?
Besides Hotel Pitrizza, with 49 rooms and 16 villas, and Hotel Cala di Volpe, with 100 rooms and 16 suites – both managed by Starwood – the residents can enjoy the beaches, Pevero Golf Club, the Cervo Tennis Club and designer boutiques, spa hotels and fine dining.
What is the back story of the resort?
Prince Karim Aga Khan IV developed Costa Smeralda towards the end of the 1950s. He also developed the exclusive Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in the 1960s. The club is popular with the likes of the Saudi billionaire Nasser Al Rashid, who home ports one of the world’s largest yachts Lady Moura at the club, and the American businessman David Geffen, who anchors the superyacht Pelorus, which was bought from Irina Abramovich in 2011. Celebrities such as George Clooney, Cindy Crawford, Denzel Washington, Lenny Kravitz and Bruce Willis are among those who have visited the resort. The Russian businessman Roman Abramovich and Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi have estates there.
How attractive is this place as an investment?
“Sardinia’s Porto Cervo and the surrounding Costa Smeralda are the location of choice for most prime international buyers,” according to Knight Frank’s Italy Insight Report 2013. “The typical requirement is for an already-restored beachfront villa between €5m [Dh20m] and €10m”.
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