HotelChatter

The Specs

Musha is 700 acres of seaside splendor where the temperatures average a high of around 82 degrees year-round, and dip to 77 in summer and all the way down to a still-balmy 70 in winter.

It’s about 90 minutes from Miami by plane, or three from New York or Chicago either to Nassau or Mosstown on Greater Exuma, from which you’ve got to hop on a 15-minute charter flight right to Musha Cay’s private runway (about 45 minutes from Nassau). All the better to take advantage of your time there.

There are a total of 12 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms (plus a half-bath) spread throughout five villas on the island. Each villa is decorated uniquely in styles that range from tropically exotic to whimsically romantic—though all is done up in a Tommy Bahamas-friendly palette and accented with unique pieces and artifacts from David Copperfield’s personal art collection.

Dibs!

We like views, so naturally our eye was first drawn to Highview, the villa that sits atop the islands highest hill with uninterrupted 360-degree views. The largest of the island’s residences, Highview is 10,000 square feet. It has two master bedroom suites, a hidden loft, private gardens, a steam room, an outdoor fireplace and a private beach, all accented with Asian artistic touches.

Pier House is a brightly painted 3,200-square-foot “cottage” that also has two master suites and its own living and dining room, plus a private beach, pier and sundeck that jet out into the ocean directly from the front door.

But if you don’t get there in time to snag Pier House, there’s always the comparably sized Blue Point cottage, which is farther up on the island on a rocky outcrop, and has a wrap-around mahogany porch. Don’t worry, it’s also just a quick walk to its own private beach.

Billed as the most romantic of the villas, the cozy Beach House is an open-air one-bedroom cottage with a thatched roof on its own very private crescent-shaped white-sand beach and a little garden area enclosed by a small gate. Let the randy young couples take this rustic island getaway beacuse…

...Families can take the 4,500-square-foot, five-bedroom Palm Terrace, with two master suites upstairs, and the other three bedrooms downstairs. Everyone gets their own space, though, since it also has a huge wrap-around mahogany porch, a spacious living room, a private entertaining patio, and its own beach.

And though this is a secluded island, not to worry if you just can’t leave the modern world behind. All the accommodations have air conditioning, DVD-CD players, iPod docs, flat-screen televisions with satellite reception, international phone service, WiFi, and butler service. In case you need someone to reboot the WiFi.

Caribbean Cuisine

You didn’t think the service ended with personal butlers, did you? Oh no. Because when you book Musha Cay for you and your entourage, you’re asked to provide a full fact sheet of your food preferences and dietary requirements, and charter flights are arranged to bring in all “necessary provisions” to complement fresh-caught fish such as tuna, mahi mahi and lobster, and salsas made from the fruit of trees grown on the islands. Guests also get the key to a 500-bottle wine cellar, and a sommelier can be brought in to arrange tastings and pairings.

But the real luxury comes when guests decide to picnic on their excursions. They can have a meal to themselves on a nearby secluded cay with a mile-long pink-sand beach, or a romantic dinner under the stars on a private beach. There’s also a special dining table on Musha’s Main Dock, with torches lighting the steps down to the water. The Landings is another of the dining rooms with space for dozens at the glass-topped table, and four walls of windows for great views. It also has the added benefit of being a short walk to the plush living room that also has pool tables and…wait for it…a karaoke theater

Water Sports

The real draw of Musha Cay is the outdoor activities though, whether it’s just relaxing on the beach, or snorkeling the aquamarine waters.

Those who prefer to bronze in bliss can take a break in the Beach Pavilion, a huge beach shack under a thatched palapa roof with a hand-carved table for alfresco lunching and dining, especially before an evening of movies on a projection screen set up on the beach with lounge chairs for the audience.

Musha’s flat-bottom boat will also take you to a special white-sand beach that only appears at low tide for a lunch under the shade before an afternoon snooze back at the island. This is also one of Musha’s signature experiences since the sandbar stretches a whole three miles into the sea while it is above water, and there is no one else to be seen anywhere around, so if you are really craving solitude of the Robinson Crusoe variety, this is the place to go.

When you’re not curling up in a hammock for a nap, er, we mean, to catch up on your reading, guests can hang out by the oceanfront pool and hot tub, or take advantage of the island’s fleet of watercraft to do everything from windsurfing and paddle boarding to snorkeling and waterskiing, fishing, scuba, and wave-running.

As for the toys, the cay has a 37-foot boat to take you to various islands, a 23-foot jet boat for flying over the waves, a catamaran, two Boston Whalers for waterskiing and fishing excursions, Yamaha jet skis, and two small Hobie Cat sailboats.

Back on land, guests can hike and walk the tropical paths around the island, play tennis on the lighted court, smack around a volleyball or challenge friends to badminton, get a massage, have a private yoga or pilates session, or tone up in the private gym.

The staff is also happy to arrange various activities like hermit crab races, shell hunts, arts and crafts, cave exploring, beach tiki parties, croquet, scavenger hunts, and kids’ activities like face-painting, flashlight tag, and football.

The Cost of Luxury

Now for the impolite question. Just how much does all this luxury cost? We looked into it, and it turns out that Musha Cay is one of the most expensive private islands in the world.

Rates start at $37,500 a day—yes, you read that correctly—for up to 12 people, all inclusive. Are you more popular than that? For every additional guest up to 18 people, you pay $1,500 each per night, after that, it’s $1,000 extra per person per day up to a maximum of 24 people, which will run you up to a max of $46,500 a night.

That’s a bill so big, even David Copperfield would have trouble making it disappear. But hey, if you’re gonna go big, might as well go really big, right?