Be a member of this luxe eco-island in the Bahamas for a cool $725,000

Picture the scene: an exclusive, members-only luxury resort tucked away in the Bahamas, ringed by solar-powered catamarans. 

The island and surrounding waters are just as pristine as when construction first started. It's your luxury Caribbean vacation home — but with a conscience. 

At least, that's the promise behind Club Ki'ama Bahamas by Silent Resorts. Set within the new Ki'ama Bahamas enclave on Elizabeth Island, just minutes from Great Exuma, it offers a unique proposition: to become the world's first equity club that maintains all the niceties — private, secure and sophisticated — without the environmental overheads.

The catch? This is an equity club, (a similar concept to a golf club, where life membership can be sold or gifted), which means you're sharing the island and its amenities with other members.

Members are accorded a minimum of five weeks and 10 yacht days per year, for an introductory price of US$525,000 (S$725,000). 

The island will boast 16 ultra-sustainable, four-bedroom residences, an oceanfront beach club, spa and restaurant, all erected with strict adherence to designs that "complement the natural topography of the island" to minimise "disruptions to the natural landscape".

In fact, less than a fifth of the island will be developed, leaving most of it in pristine condition.

According to Silent Resorts, construction — once it begins next month — will be "the lowest environmental impact of any development in the Caribbean". They've achieved this by pre-fabricating most of the buildings before they reach the island, thereby reducing the impact on local flora and fauna. 

The residences, which come with high ceilings and a plant-lined 'living roof', will be powered solely by solar energy, and come with advanced water purification and wastewater treatment systems.

Members will be able to whiz around on an octet of fully-crewed, solar-powered luxury catamarans courtesy of a partnership with Silent Yachts, which specialises in seafaring vessels without fuel-guzzling engines. For shorter trips to nearby cays, there are also electric day boats.

Despite the membership model, there will be tight limits on the number of members — meaning more privacy, better maintained facilities and greater access to amenities, including the island's six private beaches and two-acre protected marina. 

It's unlikely most holidaymakers are spending their entire year on the island anyway, says Steve Dering, a resort development partner.

"We provide abundant owner use while consuming less land with fewer homes…it's incumbent on us to protect Elizabeth Island's ecologically sensitive environment, while creating comfortable spaces to enjoy the best of the Bahamas."

More information here.

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This article was first published in The Peak.