Posh island that hosted Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce: ‘Where you go to exhale stress’
Photos of Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce vacationing on a tiny island in the Bahamas have been widely circulated (and discussed) on social media over the last couple of days.
By now Swifties even know what brand of swimsuits they wore in photos taken by sneaky paparazzi.
Roughly six weeks after helping the Chiefs win Super Bowl LVIII, Kelce jetted with Swift to an island popular with the rich and famous. Swift is taking a two-month break from her Eras Tour before heading to Europe in early May.
They’ve been spotted out and about in Los Angeles where they are believed to be staying at Swift’s Beverly Hills mansion.
The country’s most famous couple booked a famously stunning spot for their home away from home.
Harbour Island is a small piece of land, just a half-mile or so wide, and 3.25 miles long, per an island guide, with beaches of powdery pink sand and turquoise water.
Swift and Kelce reportedly stayed at a luxurious private mansion that will cost you and one guest $20,000 a night to rent, depending on the time of year, according to the travel website Vrbo.
Travel experts describe Harbour Island as a hidden gem favored by celebrities who prefer to frolic in the sun in privacy, though the paparazzi somehow managed to track down Swift and Kelce.
Celebrity guests have included Tom Hanks, Mick Jagger, Bono, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Hudson, George Clooney, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Kardashian family member Kylie Jenner.
And look who else is on that celebrity guest list — Swift’s BFF Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
“High profile visitors may come with their private jet or yacht but they don’t come to Harbour island to show off, they come with their family, friends to enjoy an intimate time,” according to a Harbour Island travel guide.
But the tiny island’s charm is said to be more about the plentiful starfish than movie stars.
Exhale stress, inhale peace
“Despite all of Harbour Island’s loyal famous fans and harbors filled with multi-million-dollar yachts, this little slice of paradise isn’t about all the glitz and glam,” writes travel and lifestyle expert Karen Schaler, creator of Travel Therapy TV.
“Harbour Island is where you go to exhale stress and inhale peaceful, picturesque surroundings, where the place to be on the island is walking the beach at sunrise and sunset.”
The homes on the island have a New England feel, which likely charmed Swift, who owns an oceanfront home in Rhode Island.
“On its harbor side is Dunmore Town, which was founded in the eighteenth century. This adorable village has pastel-colored clapboard cottages with picket fences and gardens full of colorful bougainvillea, oleander, and hibiscus,” describes UltraVilla, a website for luxury rentals around the world.
“On the Atlantic side is one of the loveliest beaches ever, which runs the entire length of the island. Its pale pink sand against the turquoise ocean is a sublime visual. Life here is unhurried and peaceful — which stands to reason, as there are no cars for rent — only golf carts.”
Those homes, as one might expect, don’t come cheap. Southeby’s website shows houses for sale range in price from $580,000 to nearly $40 million.
A fancy Airbnb
“Harbour Island is one of my favorite islands in the world and that’s saying something because for my Travel Therapy TV features I’ve visited more than 68 countries,” Schaler writes on her Travel Therapy website.
“There are no high rise hotels or casinos here. Harbour Island is where you to relax, reboot, and reenergize. On this island you rent golf carts instead of luxury cars and ‘the’ place to be and be seen is walking the beach at sunset or sunrise.”
Swift and Kelce were seen at Rosalita House, the oceanfront luxury villa Jenner’s fans will recognize from Instagram photos the cosmetics queen posted when she stayed there four years ago. The home is tucked in a private spot at the end of a small lane.
“She’s actually been staying in an Airbnb, which seems like something the average person would do, but don’t worry, there’s nothing average about this property,” House Beautiful wrote when Jenner stayed there.
The magazine described the estate as “a stunning six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bathroom private beachfront villa that includes a whole wait staff” that can accommodate up to 12 guests.
“The Caribbean escape has a swimming pool equipped with a diving board that is apparently really great for photo shoots (as Jenner has demonstrated), an alfresco dining area, a terrace, a cabana, a wet bar, and more.
“The home’s colorful, tropical interiors are absolutely delightful and provide ample space to dine or just chillax.
“As the listing notes, it’s a great place to host a wedding, or if you’re Kylie Jenner, a quick little getaway.”
Guests don’t have to lift a finger for anything.
The house comes with a “chef and his assistant, a house manager, three butlers, three housekeepers, three garden/beach maintenance employees and a security guard at night,” the estate’s website says.
Pink sands
Schaler and others who have visited the island gush about its Pink Sand Beach with its baby-power-soft sand and Instagram-ready turquoise waters.
“If this beach beauty doesn’t take your breath away, I don’t know what will,” Schaler has written. “On this beach, you can happily walk barefoot because the pink sand is silky soft.”
But did anyone even notice the sand in all those pics of Swift and Kelce?
