Jonathan Morrison
Richard Branson’s Moskito Island — visit the new Necker
Richard Branson loves his Caribbean hideway so much, he got himself another one. Jonathan Morrison pays him a visit on Moskito Island
High on a rocky promontory at one end of Moskito, a muscular steel frame is being extended horizontally over the spume and spray. When complete, it will cradle an enormous glass-bottomed hot tub, which will allow visiting plutocrats to watch the waves crash and speckle 100ft below as they sip champagne and enjoy the sunset.
Yet the bubbles of the whirlpool bath and the Dom Pérignon will constitute merely the latest attraction at one of the ultra-luxurious estates that dominate this tiny Caribbean island, already billed by Sir Richard Branson, who bought it in 2007, as a first-class upgrade on the high-society favourite of Mustique, further south.
A suite at the Oasis Estate
The “Village” villa, at which the hot tub is being built, is still a work in progress, but will eventually have an ersatz pub (the owners, whose identities remain undisclosed, are clearly British) to go with the Balinese huts and the two infinity pools linked by a water slide and containing a swim-up bar, fire pit and Playboyesque grotto. Then, should you start to doubt the opulence, there’s a hydraulically elevated DJ booth, a gym and cinema, a sculptural spiral staircase encased by interwoven strands of LEDs, and a “disco shark”. I still have no idea what a “disco shark” is, but viewed from afar at night, the whole place is lit up in purple and pink like a lighthouse on LSD.
The 125-acre island, with its atomic-blonde beaches and manicured palms surrounded by alternating bars of dark blue and azure waters, is still in the early stages of development, but three complexes are now available to rent. They cost from £13,000 a night for the Point Estate, which sleeps up to 14 adults and eight children, rising to £20,000 a night at the Oasis for 18 guests.
Branson’s estate
Unlike Mustique, which has more than 100 villas, Branson says that the island will only ever have ten plots. Only three are still undeveloped and for sale – each for about £25 million (although the price dropped in conversation to £20 million, so perhaps there’s a Luxx readers’ offer?) Then you have to factor in the cost of construction, depending on what you want: a full-size basketball court, as required by the latest arrival (Obama, is that you?), doesn’t come cheap.
Because the little group of owners, each with a 10 per cent stake in the company that runs Moskito, have the final say on who builds what, there will be no skyscrapers or apartment complexes, and, so far, the oligarchs and Middle Eastern princelings have not come calling. The style of each of the ten properties is determined by the owners. Branson’s estate – which was the first on the island and where he spends time with his children, Holly and Sam – was designed by the American architect Dewing Schmid Kearns, and has villas linked by wooden walkways that nod vaguely to the bucolic and, er, South Pacific with their straw roofs and sumptuous hardwood interiors. On the other hand, the Oasis, which commands the summit and is also designed by the same firm, is more blandly contemporary and slightly resembles a super-yacht ploughing through its own encircling pool. But then, it is intended to be a home from home for the sort of people who have super-yachts – and a big boat is the only method of getting to and from the nearest airport at Beef Island.
Although neighbours on nearby islands include Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire, on Eustatia, the staff are tight-lipped about other residents of Moskito (this includes Michael and Xochi Birch, the founders of Bebo, an early social networking website). Definitely in residence are mosquitoes, after whom the island may or may not be named depending on whom you believe (the name is also variously attributed to a tribe of Indians and a type of cactus). In fact, the local variety would give the Scottish midge the fight of its life in a world-title bout.
A view of Moskito
Not that they put off Branson, who bought the island for £10 million after the original owner started mulling a sale to a hotel chain and the prospect of a high-rise resort threatened to spoil the view from Necker, Branson’s main island home two miles away. While the 2017 hurricane that wrecked Necker – and turned the main house into what Branson calls “a sort of Noah’s Ark with flamingos sheltering in the shower and shit everywhere”– may have imposed delays on transforming Moskito, he is now intent on turning the island into the jewel of his property and hospitality empire.
“Thankfully when I spoke to the man selling the island, he was only too happy for me to buy it,” says the 71-year-old billionaire, who still kitesurfs across from Necker and is limping from a recent cycling accident when we meet. “Protecting this unspoilt part of the British Virgin Islands was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass on . . . I’ve been all over the world and there’s nowhere as nice as this part of the Caribbean to live in and spend time, and it would be a waste if it wasn’t shared.”
As to whether it’s better than space, he pauses. “Moskito is barefoot luxury – paired with incredible experiences. Space, on the other hand, is just an incredible adventure.”
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