Five-Star Living

Visitors to any of the 14 model homes on the 2005 Greater Naples Luxury Home Tour will notice they all have at least one thing in common. Found in some of Southwest Florida's most prestigious communities and tallying a cumulative price tag of more than $50 million, these homes demonstrate what homes in Florida do best-play up the great outdoors with spe-cialty features like outdoor bars, fireplaces, summer kitchens and, of course, world-class pools and spas. It takes no stretch of the imagination to picture yourself lounging away winter days in near-80-degree weather on a covered verandah overlooking rolling golf course greens and lazy lakes, and just wondering how the rest of the world is coping with snow, sleet and subzero temperatures.

The self-guided Luxury Home Tour, a collaborative effort between Gulfshore Life and Minneapolis's Midwest Home, is offered for three consecutive weekends, Friday through Sunday, Feb. 4-20, and gives potential homebuyers the chance to experience Florida living-if only for an hour or so. "We've assembled a group of the best luxury builders in Southwest Florida and the tour includes some of their best works," says Gulfshore Life publisher Lynne Groth. "These homes represent the latest in interior design, architecture, pool design and furnishings. Whether visitors are in the market for a new home or new ideas for an existing home, the tour provides them with an insider's look into the high-end market here."

The homes, priced from $1.3 million to nearly $7 million, offer from 2,450 to 8,750 square feet of living space, and open up a world of possibilities for entertaining, relaxing or just plain doing nothing. Five tour homes have dedicated theaters and media rooms, three have exercise rooms, several have elevators and most all have at least one fireplace. You'll also see wet bars, wine rooms, libraries and luxury finishes like imported granite and marble, wood and stone and silks and chenilles in interiors that seem fit for royalty.

Displaying very different personalities that border on contemporary to traditional and Tuscan, these homes all have one thing in common-a close interaction with the outdoors. You'll see expansive al fresco spaces that allow us to do what we do inside-cook, eat and relax-outside. Visitors will see outdoor kitchens equipped with commercial-grade grills and rotisseries, refrigerators and icemakers and bar seating, and cozy seating areas oriented to fireplaces, spas and pools, which feature extras such as built-in benches, tables, disappearing edges, lap lanes, shallow beach areas, glass mosaics and pergolas. It really is a wonderful life, and these homes prove that at every turn, offering butler's pantries, wine cellars, and luxury bathrooms that rival the nearest day spa. Visitors will also discover multiroom master suites with sitting areas, exercise rooms and morning kitchens.

Fine finishes are in high style in these 15 models, seen in the exotic hardwoods covering library floors, Venetian plaster and faux finishing that warm walls with artistic flourish, and detailed ceiling treatments-think barrels, groin vaults and trays-lit dramatically. Architectural embellishments are found throughout, as well, and include marble floors accented with exotic stone, carved stone fireplaces, columns, arched windows, loggias and colonnades.

"Launching a tour in the Naples/Fort Myers area was a natural fit for us because Southwest Florida is known nationally and internationally for its high-end, luxury homes and gated golf course communities," says Tom Gavaras, director of operations and marketing for Midwest Home, which has sponsored successful annual tours in the Minneapolis area for four years and launched a Chicago tour this past summer. "The fast-growing Southwest Florida real estate market is the next logical step."

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Tour homes are priced from $1.3 million to nearly $7 million and found in nine of Southwest Florida's most exclusive communities-The Estates at Bay Colony Golf Club, Fiddler's Creek, Quail West Golf & Country Club, Shadow Wood at The Brooks, Treviso at The Colony Golf & Bay Club, Tibur?, Tuscany Reserve, Villas of Fairway Terraces at The Moorings, and Vineyards Golf & Country Club.

Nine builders are participating: Bordeaux Homes by Vision Builders of Naples, Borelli Construction Corp., Gulf Bay Construction Co., Gulfshore Homes, Jaksich Enterprises, McGarvey Custom Homes, Premier Builders, Southern Bay Homes and WCI Communities.

Hours are Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tour passports, good for one-time admittance to each home, are $15 in advance at Robb & Stucky stores and participating CVS/pharmacy locations, and are available for $20 at each home. For more information, visit www.napleshometour.com or call (866) 895-8912.