This year’s coronavirus pandemic has seen more than half the world’s population forced to stay indoors and embrace a new way of living. But not all lockdowns are created equal. For those with the resources on hand, quarantine has meant tropical islands, A-list mountain lodges and even private bunkers. Let’s take a look at the locations the super-rich have been heading to live out the lockdown in style.

The Hamptons are where wealthy New Yorkers go to escape the city smog and take a well-earned break from the trials and tribulations of the Upper East Side. When the Big Apple became a Covid-19 hotspot, many headed off on their vacations a few months earlier this year. While the pandemic has generally been disastrous for the tourism industry, landlords in the Hamptons have seen an unprecedented rise in bookings.

Luxury property developer Joe Farrell told the New York Post that a textile tycoon stranded in Manhattan had contacted him to request to rent out his luxury Hamptons villa, nicknamed ‘The Sandcastle’. Featuring 10 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and a cinema, the property costs a whopping $2 million (£1.6m) to rent for six months. According to Mr Farrell, the tenant “wanted to leave the city on a day’s notice”.

Though AirBnb has struggled through much of 2020, Hamptons rental agencies have flourished. NestSeekers International selling agent Dylan Eckardt told Variety magazine he received a call in February from one wealthy client looking for a deserted oceanfront compound to lease until the end of the year. The magnate was prepared to pay any price provided same-day move-in was on the cards.

Eckhardt claims he has put 14 houses into contract over the past couple of months for super-rich renters looking for “their own safe haven.” Among the properties available on the NestSeekers website is this stunning 10-bedroom home on the aptly named Shelter Island. Just a five-minute ferry ride from the Hamptons, the colossal villa sits on an acre of land, making it the perfect retreat for wealthy tenants.

Famed for its striking sandstone formations, Sedona is a popular tourist destination and a magnet for keen hikers and bikers. Thanks to its remote location and low population density, the area had been relatively unaffected by coronavirus with fewer than 100 diagnosed cases until the end of March 2020. The dramatic natural landscape and expansive villas have proved a big hit with America’s super-rich as they flee the cities in search of luxury boltholes.

Since the pandemic, the small town has seen an influx of wealthy renters take up residence. Arriving by private coach or plane, the affluent visitors have been paying up to $8,000 a month to lease some of the area’s most lavish remote properties. According to local mayor Sandy Moriarty, the mass exodus from the cities has left Sedona “too crowded” at this critical time.

One of the luxury houses available for rent is the Sedona Grand View & Casita, described by the owners as “the perfect option for those looking for a long-term stay”. Nestled in the shadow of the red rocks, the spacious property sleeps up to 10 guests and has a 2,847-square-foot floor plan. The neighbourhood is “quiet” but has supermarkets and restaurants if tenants want to order food in.

Outside, there’s a pretty walled garden so that guests can enjoy the outdoors without having to encounter the swathes of other travellers who have flocked to Sedona. Though those with second homes in the area can perhaps be forgiven for setting up camp, Moriarty has urged tourists to stay away from the high-desert valley. Despite her directions, the number of luxury properties available for rent suggests the surge of super-rich visitors may yet continue.

With its magnificent scenery, temperate climate and wealth of outdoor activities, New Zealand is an appealing holiday destination for many. Add to that its early success in quashing the coronavirus and it’s no wonder the filthy rich are flocking to shelter there. In an interview with Bloomberg, luxury real estate agent Graham Wall admitted many of his wealthy clients believe “the safest place to be is New Zealand right now”.

If you’re looking for the ultimate pandemic hideaway, a reinforced, off-grid bunker is probably the way to go. Bomb shelter building company Rising S Bunkers has produced a significant number of these blast-proof homes for New Zealand-based tycoons over the past few years. Complete with a lifetime guarantee, these billionaire boltholes are designed to keep their inhabitants safe from any possible threat, including global pandemics.

In early March, Rising S Co general manager Gary Lynch received a call from a Silicon Valley executive who had forgotten how to open the secret door of his million-dollar bunker. According to Lynch, the wealthy business owner “went out to New Zealand to escape everything that’s happening”. He eventually managed to access the underground shelter and was allegedly self-isolating there.

The impenetrable steel bunkers cost anything from $3-8 million (£2.4-6.4m) to buy and can be built to be entirely self-sufficient. Aside from swimming pools, bowling alleys and games rooms, the most expensive can also run on solar energy and even house subterranean greenhouses. With pandemics set to become more frequent in the coming years, we may well see an increase in billionaire bunkers like this one.

Located in the Tarantaise Valley in the French Alps, the commune of Val d’Isère has long been a holiday hub for the uber-wealthy. And with the onset of the pandemic, the upmarket mountain resort saw a dramatic increase in long-term bookings of its luxury lodgings. According to Ceri Tinley, managing director of Consensio Chalets, many affluent families have enquired about the possibility of sheltering in-place with their nearest and dearest.

Tinley claims that her clients “see a season holed up in a European chalet as their own personal 'bubble' into which only their inner circle can come". The rich and famous bring only their closest family and bodyguards, although some plan to open up their rental properties to a few select guests as the season wears on. Many expressed an interest in Chalet Montana, an opulent mountain retreat in the exclusive Les Carats enclave. 

Available for the entire ski season, Chalet Montana will set visitors back $831,000 (£663k) for a winter stay. Consensio Chalets offers to arrange private flights for its clients as well as helicopter transfers to help holidaymakers keep away from others as much as possible. To put wealthy travellers at ease, tenancy agreements now also include ‘corona clauses’ to cover any foreseen cancellations or changes of circumstances.

The gorgeous private chalet has a total of six bedrooms designed to sleep up to 10 adults and five children. To help residents stay happy and healthy, there is an entire floor dedicated to wellness with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and massage area. Complete with on-demand meal service, unlimited champagne and security safes, this is the perfect pandemic safe haven for anyone with millions to spare.

With Grand Teton National Park on one side and Yellowstone on the other, Jackson Hole has always been popular with those fleeing the stresses of city life. A ski resort in winter and activity hub in summer, the town offers a range of luxury holiday packages. Since coronavirus panic set in at the beginning of March, the valley has once again played host to a large number of well-heeled visitors.

According to a New York Times article, there has been an influx of wealthy travellers arriving in Jackson Hole. Many come on private jets and hole up in their second homes with stashes of medical supplies and even personal ventilators. One employee at a company offering exclusive delivery services estimates that there are now around 30% more of these wealthy residents than normal hunkering down in the valley.

For those who don’t already own property in Jackson Hole, the Amangani Resort is a lifeline for the super-rich. The luxury hotel costs between $975-$1,200 (£778-£957) a night and is located on a private mountain road away from the bustling resort. Despite the spread of the coronavirus across the US, the hotel is still open to those guests who have the means to afford its services.

Another option for billionaires trying to escape the virus is to purchase property in Teton County. This sprawling mansion is currently on the market for $80 million (£63m) and comes with 278 acres of private land. Located to the north of Jackson, the property is the perfect hideout for the monied classes and may well be snapped up if the current trend for remote residences continues.

If you want to keep away from the hoi polloi, what could be better than your own private ranch? According to a recent article, ranches have become the new coronavirus status symbol. California Outdoor Properties told the media outlet they registered a 76% increase in website traffic in April compared with the previous year and recently sold a $5.6 million (£4.4m) ranch to a wealthy buyer looking to escape the pandemic.

Similarly, ranch brokerage company Hall and Hall saw a 60% year-on-year increase of visitors to its website. One of the firm’s most profitable deals to date was the sale of this $46 million (£37m) ranch to New York-based billionaire Mike Bloomberg. Known as Westlands, the estate covers a colossal 4,600 acres and is located near Meeken, Colorado.

The 19,000-square-foot property has five bedrooms and an impressive great room with double-height ceilings and log rafters. Quarantine activities are in no short supply as the house has its own wine cellar, a games room and even a private cinema. Residents can fly in via helicopter as the estate also boasts its own helipad and hangar.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a four-hole golf course, a swimming pool, various outbuildings and a private fishery. An hour’s drive from Aspen, Westlands is remote enough to avoid any contact with the outside world but still close enough to civilisation in the event of an emergency. As Bill McDavid, director of Hall and Hall says: “It makes sense for people to be thinking about more rural places in the midst of a situation like we are in.”

At a time when a mysterious and potentially lethal virus is tearing through continents across the globe, travel is the furthest thing from most people’s minds. Not the super-rich though. A feature by CNN Travel in March uncovered a new trend taking the world of the wealthy by storm. While some hotels have been converted into hospitals or emergency housing, others have been opening their doors to affluent clients looking to self-isolate in luxury.

Several hotels were offering takeover packages for those who could afford it, including Cape Arundel Inn in Maine and Blantyre Country Resort in the Berkshires. Wealthy businessman Francis Lynch rented out the entirety of Longueville House in Cork for an extended retreat with his family. While the Lynches normally travel abroad, the pandemic forced them to reconsider their plans.

"When you stay in a hotel with other people, it's hard not to have social interaction," says Lynch. "The best way to get close to total privacy and to control your environment is to have the whole place to yourself." The buyout may have ensured seclusion for him and his family, but it did not come cheap. The 10-day holiday is said to have set Lynch back around $28,000 (£22k).

Situated in the heart of the Irish countryside and surrounded by rolling hills and tranquil woodland, Longueville House is one of the most idyllic location is which in to isolate. The hotel has a 500-acre estate which affords guests the opportunity to practise falconry, go fishing and enjoy tastings at the on-site cider press. As concerns over international travel continue, maybe the all-inclusive staycation will become the new preserve of the super-rich.

Sun Valley in Idaho is another of the luxury hotspots attracting a slew of wealthy visitors. Located in Blaine county, the resort city has long been a destination for the rich and famous and this year was no exception. The Guardian reported that after an influx of tourists during the ski season left the area with one of the highest infection rates in the entire nation, officials urged travelers to stay away.

Despite the warnings, well-off executives and their families continued to pour into Sun Valley. An article by NPR from the end of March stated that the resort’s small airport was packed with private jets while vehicles with California and Washington registration plates were a frequent occurrence. Though their numbers are purely anecdotal, residents report seeing many families who appeared to be treating the pandemic like a holiday. 

Sun Valley has a host of luxury hotels and resorts with celebrities including Mark Zuckerberg, Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger known to have holidayed here in the past. There are also many wealthy Americans who own second or even third residences here, many of whom fled to wait out the pandemic in the valley and nearby town of Ketchum including Demi Moore and her ex-husband, Bruce Willis along with their children and his wife. With such A-list residents, there are some incredible luxury properties available for those who can afford them, like this five-bedroom house that was on the market for $5.9 million (£4.7m).

This classic lodge style home is over 6,600 square feet and comes with 0.9 acres of beautiful grounds with amazing views of Bald Mountain. With more than five bathrooms, huge amounts of comfortable living space and a fantastic yard with covered dining area and outdoor fireplace, it's the perfect refuge to hole up in.

Kiawah Island in South Carolina is another luxury destination that has proven popular with affluent Americans. Located southwest of Charleston off the Atlantic coast, the 13-square-mile landmass is home to the lavish Kiawah Island Golf Resort. An increase in travel to the area from outside the state prompted Governor Henry McMaster to impose a 14-day quarantine on arrivals from cities particularly badly affected by the pandemic. However, this hasn’t deterred affluent golfing enthusiasts who have continued to shelter on Kiawah Island. All pools are open to guests under modified operations to promote social distancing and allow frequent sanitation, and their five golf courses have remained open too.

For those who don’t fancy purchasing property on the island – houses here go for up to $20 million (£15.9m) – the resort’s hotel is about to reopen to those looking to escape the city. Rather fittingly named ‘The Sanctuary’, the five-star guesthouse could prove a hit with wealthy families seeking to self-isolate on the island. Although it closed its doors at the height of the pandemic, the hotel is now opening back up to visitors with new safety measures in place.

Over the past few months, second-home owners from Atlanta, Charlotte and the New York Metropolitan Area have all flocked to Kiaweh to quarantine. The first half of the year has seen a surge in those playing golf on the island as residents seek out new forms of entertainment. In the words of Patrick Melton, the founder of South Street Partners, which owns and manages The Kiawah Island Club & Real Estate and The Cliffs, the island is “not the worst place to have to hunker down”.

For any super-rich buyers looking for a prime piece of real estate in idyllic surroundings, there's not much better than a beach house on Kiawah Island. Many of these luxury abodes come with their own docks, private elevators, screen porches and, at extra cost, membership to the golf club. 

This dreamy five-bedroom, six-bathroom house on Rhett's Bluff, a private riverfront community overlooking the Kiawah River, is on the market for $5.9 million (£4.7m). With beamed ceilings, oversized fireplaces and handsome staircases, the house is designed to the finest specifications. It also has nearly an acre of land and private river access with a boat lift – perfect for whiling away the days in lockdown. 

What could be better for escaping the pandemic than buying your own private island? Located 20 miles off the coast of Belize, this atoll refuge has been incredibly popular with the super-rich in recent times. While just one night on the island will set you back a staggering $2,950 (£2.3k), you can’t put a price on safety and peace of mind.

According to Chris Krolow, CEO of luxury rental company Private Islands, Gladden Caye is “probably the safest place on the planet right now”. The paradisiacal Caribbean retreat has enjoyed success with those trying to escape the pandemic thanks to its remote location and “complete privacy”. Staff stay on a separate island and use a light signalling system to let guests know when they are calling by so adequate social distancing can be observed.

The stunning private villa can only be accessed by helicopter and accommodates up to four guests at any one time. There are two master bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, a living room and a spacious kitchen. An in-house chef caters to visitors’ every culinary need and bar service is also available whenever required.

Outside on the terrace, guests can sip cocktails in the shade of the palapa, swim in the sunken pool and enjoy spectacular views out over the ocean and coral reefs. Whilst hosts can also arrange trips to nearby islands or the mainland, those with corona anxiety can assuage their fears by staying put on their secluded islet. With many prepared to pay a premium for this level of isolation, are private islands set to become the lockdown setting of choice for the super-rich?

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