The Bahamian island of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw spent years and millions developing and is on the market for $ 35 million.
The country music power couple bought Goat Cay Island in 2003. It’s located in Exumas, a district of the Bahamas that consists of a chain of over 365 islands about 280 miles east of Miami.
An aerial view of the main residence on L’ile d’Anges.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The area is also known as Goat Cay and is located in Exumas, Bahamas.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
Hill and McGraw renamed the paradise they came up with as L’ile d’Anges, which is French for Island of Angels. The couple turned a vacant 19.77-acre island into a resort-like property that includes a 6,517-square-foot main residence, two beaches, and hundreds of imported palm trees.
“This has been over 10 years of exercise,” said Edward de Mallet Morgan, the London-based luxury real estate agent and partner at Knight Frank, who is running the listing.
De Mallet Morgan declined to comment on its customers or even to confirm their identity. However, the property and its famous owners were featured in a 2017 cover story for Architectural Digest. The island also appears regularly on McGraw’s Instagram feed.
In a 2017 interview, Hill told the magazine: “We were all over the world and we really wanted to create a special place that we couldn’t find anywhere else.”
She went on to explain the challenge of developing a remote island.
“We wanted to build a house,” she said. “Little did we know we had to build everything else. We basically had to build a small town.”
McGraw added, “Every time we land the plane and go to the beach and go to the house, we turn to each other and say, ‘This is the best place in the world.’ “”
Here is a look into the tailor-made paradise:
The main residence in L’ile d’Anges consists of eight interconnected buildings.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The main residence consists of eight structures which de Mallet Morgan calls “pods”. The pods are connected by 5,000 square meters of thatched verandas and breezes.
The breeze path leads from the main house to a dining area next to the pool.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
Each of the four bedroom suites in the house stands alone in a capsule. There is also an owner’s suite with intricate beamed ceilings, glass accordion doors, and lush greenery.
The owner’s suite and terrace.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
Steps from the room’s king-size bed is a huge deck with a large bathtub on one side.
There is an outdoor bathtub on the terrace of the owner’s suite.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
There is a large white sun lounger on the other side.
From the sun lounger on the terrace of the owner’s suite you can enjoy a lush green view.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The living room has a wall of windows that disappears into the ceiling at the push of a button.
The living room with its glass wall opened up to the pool area.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The space opens to a sundeck with a built-in swimming pool surrounded by a row of ivory-colored lounge chairs, matching outdoor sofas, and a porch with an al fresco dining area.
A view of the pool area in L’ile d’Anges.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The open kitchen of the chef has a wall of windows and another dining area of the house.
The dining area in the open kitchen.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
In the showroom-worthy kitchen, an industrial double oven and hob by Wolf are on display, a wood-paneled ceiling and elegant cupboards.
Another look at the open kitchen.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The island has two beaches covered with powdery white sand.
One of the two white sand beaches of L’ile d’Anges.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
At the end of a strip of beach there are two large white yurts with private bathrooms.
A stretch of beach with white yurts on the far right.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The sturdy tent-like structures are air-conditioned and include wooden decks.
Beachfront yurts with wooden decks are just steps from the water.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
One is set up as a bedroom while the other is a beach gym.
A look into the yurt on the beach, which is set up as a bedroom.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The 568 palm trees, perfectly scattered across the coast, were embarked from South Florida.
The island’s beaches include palm trees that have been transported to the island.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
In fact, most of the landscaped landscaping had to be imported.
The lawn and garden are adjacent to the main residence.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The tallest structure on the island is an observation tower connected to the main residence.
The lookout tower in L’ile d’Anges.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
There is a large bell at the top and a spectacular panoramic view of the turquoise waters that surround L’ile d’Anges.
The view from the top of the observation tower.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
The island includes a dock and an adjacent loading ramp with a driveway that leads to the main residence.
The island’s dock and cargo area.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
L’ile d’Anges can also be reached by seaplane.
A seaplane floats on one of the beaches at L’ile d’Anges.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
There are 6,000 square feet of additional structures on the island, including three waterfront villas, each with two suites for staff or guest accommodation.
There are three waterfront villas on L’ile d’Anges for staff and guests.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
Some of the features of L’ile d’Anges that cannot be seen in any marketing image are worth noting.
“Every modern convenience and service you need is provided, from waste treatment and disposal to a reverse osmosis system to provide fresh water,” said de Mallet Morgan.
These modern conveniences include: eight giant tanks that can hold 64,000 gallons of filtered drinking water, two mobile home-sized generators to power the entire island, two satellite dishes for TV service, and two other dishes with high-speed internet access. De Mallet Morgan said the redundant systems are necessary to provide seamless backup if a system fails.
There is a smoke-free incinerator for household waste and a small medical area with medicines, bandages and a defibrillator. The room is equipped in such a way that concierge doctors can be reached remotely via video conference in an emergency. Several large storage rooms hold a small fleet of wave runners, industrial-grade laundry facilities, backup equipment, pantries, and cold storage rooms.
An aerial view of L’ile d’Anges.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
When you add the cost of labor, infrastructure, landscaping, and general upkeep, maintaining a private island doesn’t come cheap.
“For islands this size, you’re probably talking about $ 1.5 million to $ 2 million a year, depending on your maintenance, your staff, and your level of utilization,” said de Mallet Morgan.
The pool area as night falls.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
“Today there is probably the highest demand for turnkey private islands that we have ever seen.”
Edward de Mallet Morgan
Partner, Knight Frank
Typically, realtors look at comparable home sales in the area to calculate value and come up with an asking price for a listing. However, according to de Mallet Morgan, pricing is a little more complicated for a private island like this one.
“It is not an exact science to calculate the value, but a combination of factors,” he said. “Typically, you start by understanding the initial cost of the island itself and then you add up all the development costs and consider the equivalent replacement costs to create the same thing. You then take into account the time and opportunity costs to add them up.”
The view from one of the three waterfront villas on the island.
Brett Davis / Knight Frank
De Mallet Morgan said there was a lot of interest in private islands following the Covid pandemic.
“The pandemic and everything related to it has really helped fuel interest and appetite for private islands and high quality real estate around the world,” he said.
“Today there is probably the highest demand for ‘turnkey’ private islands that we have ever seen in the Caribbean and Bahamas,” he said.
