Join the Yachting Set in Your $55,000 Beachfront Condo

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Dear Reader,

Ecuador’s premier resort of Salinas sits a on a spit of land just 90 miles from the international airport in Guayaquil. Heading into Salinas, you’ll see dirt roads and sidewalks, tiny houses, and even tinier shops, with the owners watching the world drive past. You’ll wonder why Salinas ranks as one of Ecuador’s top seaside resorts. And you’ll reckon that $55,000 condo is over-priced.

Then the scene switches. The beach comes into view and the houses get bigger and more luxurious...a modern shopping mall appears, followed by a swathe of high-rise hotels. This is up-market, beach resort living.

It feels like two different worlds, and in fact it is. The one by the beach caters to the middle- and upper-class Ecuadorian families who have come to Salinas for decades, vacationing and relaxing on the wide sandy beaches. By now, you’re anxious to see that $55,000 condo…because you can see yourself spending time here.

Salinas isn’t just popular for its wide, sandy beaches. In the 1940s and 1950s, Ernest Hemingway, Harry Truman and Pablo Picasso fished here. A deep-sea fishing port, Salinas regularly holds fishing world records. Hemingway commented that Salinas has “the best damn fishing in the world”. Gleaming boats moored at the yacht club testify to the city’s continuing appeal as a boating and fishing destination.  

Salinas’ Yacht Club splits the 9.5 miles of city beach in two. Salinas Beach, where the hotels are located, is the busy side. A waterfront drive (known as the malecón) separates the hotels from the beach. In high season, swimmers and sunbathers crowd the sand, along with vendors selling ice cream, sunglasses, and jewelry. You can rent a beach umbrella and chair, hire a jet ski, or go deep-sea fishing or whale watching during the day.

At night, the trendy casinos, bars and nightclubs open up…and Salinas parties, Miami-style.

Just outside Salinas, is another yacht club—Puerto Lucia Yacht Club—a popular destination with international sailors.

Here, in a condo development called Spondylus, you can live just minutes from grocery stores, a shopping mall, a country club, the yacht club, restaurants, and medical clinics. Plans for the condo community include an oceanfront social area, a gym, pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, and secure parking. Not surprisingly, only a handful of units remain in the first tower which is nearing completion. Ocean-view condos from $55,000, for a 580-square foot unit, aren’t going to stay on the market long in a high-end location like this.

Amy Pinoargote, one of the developers of Spondylus, runs real estate tours in and around Salinas. You’ll spend a few days with the jet set, taking in Salinas’ beaches and oceanfront, while checking out those Spondylus condos, and the Puerto Lucia area (of course). You’ll also see properties in Ballenita, 10 miles north of Salinas…and this quiet beach town has some real property bargains. In a quiet private community, just across from the beach, is a townhouse for $58,000. This 1250 square foot home has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and plenty of closet space. $55,000 buys you another townhouse with 1200 square feet of living space. The five-year-old property is located in a beachfront complex with a pool, workout area, and a soda bar.

Plus, Amy will take you to an undiscovered, unique beach town, which was a hit with some of Ecuador’s earliest expats. It slipped into anonymity in more recent years, but is slowly regaining its popularity. Here, an ocean-view home with 3-beds and 3-baths in a large lot is just $68,000…a fully restored 4-bed 2-bath home on two-thirds of an acre, with more than 70 tropical trees, is $100,000...and a 3,000 square foot home with breathtaking ocean views is $150,000.

The next tour runs July 14-17th, 2010, and costs $499 per person if you book before June 14th (after that date, the cost rises to $549). If you’d like more details, contact Amy here. But don’t hang around. Spaces are limited, and this tour is on a first-come, first-served basis. Plus, there’s only a handful of those Spondylus units left—and only one at $55,000.

Margaret Summerfield

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Posted Under:

ecuador, beachfront

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