Residential enclaves within resorts lure second home buyers to Hawaii by Kim Fredericks Robb Report Vacation Homes Winter 2005 From the moment you slip behind the gate and into the elegant courtyard framed with Singapore plumeria, giant white birds of paradise and red ginger, you understand why Ken Heller felt instantly at ease. The intoxicating scent sets the stage. Step up to the door, and you are greeted by a sprawling view of the Pacific Ocean. The wide glass entry doors open to a spacious living room with a disappearing back wall. This design allows indoor space to flow seamlessly out to the lanai and into an infinity pool that appears to spill over the edge into the sea. "When I walked into this house, I felt an instant sense of peace," Heller says. The 48-year-old Los Angeles businessman had been vacationing in Hawaii for nearly 25 years. Most recently, he and his partner Patti Magdalin had become fond of Maui, particularly its resort community, Wailea. "We were spending a lot of time at the Four Seasons and stumbled upon the Maluhia at Wailea," he says. "Maluhia afforded us the ultimate in second home ownership - exceptional living, security, peace of mind and fulltime concierge service," Heller says. It also delivered what many upscale second home buyers have discovered they cannot live without - the resort connection. Heller's 6,000-square-foot home, called Hale Ola, the Hawaiian phrase for "house of life," is one of just 14 in the private gated community. Each of Maluhia's homes is built in collaboration with an architect and a designer and treated like a work of art. Each home receives a Hawaiian name and is designed around a fictitious buyer. Heller's home, for example, was created for a family that traveled, collected art and loved music. The home was furnished with a baby grand piano, artwork from contemporary Chinese artists and pottery salvaged from a shipwreck in the South China Seas. Bookshelves were stocked with classics, beds were covered with handcrafted silk bedding, even bath slippers were placed beside the door that leads to an outdoor Balinese-style garden. While Heller was not planning to purchase a furnished home, he was impressed with the effort that went into the design. "The architects and designers created an environment that works. It was like nothing we had ever seen before," he says. Maluhia is the only enclave of single-family oceanfront homes in Wailea, yet it is technically a condominium complex. By keeping it communal rather that being subdivided, Maluhia was able to stay low key and avoid being subjected to county standards, which would have meant double-wide roads, brightly lit street lamps and large setbacks. Once inside, the development seems off the beaten track, but it is at the core of Wailea and within easy reach of three golf courses, five top hotels and spas, a tennis stadium, high-end shopping and restaurants. Mokapu, one of five Wailea's five white-sand beaches, is just steps from the community's private beach club. The rush to capture a slice of paradise is evident throughout Maui. The island was ranked as one of the top five destinations for second homes in the nation, according to the National Association of Realtors, and its popularity is reflected in rising home prices. According to the Realtors Association of Maui, the island has seen land sales soar 49 percent and median home prices rise 32 percent, from $410,000 to $539,000 during a one-year period between August 2003 and 2004. Wailea, where inventory is tight, holds one of the highest median home sales prices on Maui at $1.45 million. While new development is noticeable, Wailea residents are backed by a master plan that promises low density. Maui is the most popular island, but it is not the only one experiencing a surge in home sales and new development. Close behind is the Big Island, where home sales rose 28 percent last July compared to the previous year, according to the Hawaii Information Service. The Mauna Lani resort on the Kohala Coast harbors the Fairmont Orchid and the Mauna Lani hotels, as well as two golf courses and secluded beach. It also encompasses the discreet Pauoa Beach community, a collection of 46 private homesites and custom homes perched on the beach of just above, and nine golf cottages clustered along the greens. Like Maluhia, custom homes here embrace open-air living. Named for the elements, the homes feature a Na Hale design, with a separate "pod" structures for living, eating, gathering and sleeping, all centered around an open courtyard and pool. "It's important for our owners to have their own facilities, but the fact that they have access to two major resorts is also key," says Bob Rediske, principle broker for Pauoa Beach. Pauoa Beach residents enjoy usage privileges at the two hotels as well as discounted rates and premium tee times at the golf courses. At both Maluhia and Pauoa Beach, residents benefit from an on-site concierge to arrange prearrival setup or sessions with a personal trainer. "Our concierge also serves as a party planner when homeowners want to entertain," Rediske says. "She's a local. She has the aloha spirit and the connections to the best that is available on the coastline." Amenities aside, homeowners also revel in the comfort of being able to kick back and embrace the aloha spirit by simply enjoying their natural surroundings. For Heller, the pleasure of being in Wailea is ultimately not about golf, dinners at Spago, spa treatments or the ease of being able to connect to the internet - it is about the simplicity of sunsets and ocean breezes. "I just like living at the beach," he says.