Take a Vacation, Find a Home

Jet-set to a golf community, play a free round and savor a swanky dinner at the clubhouse. Or escape to the mountains for a weekend, learn to tie some flies and return to a guest cabin for a gourmet steak meal. And do it all as the guest of luxury living communities, whose developers and brokers are hoping to entice second-home buyers to fall in love with the land, the amenities and—ultimately—a place to call home.

The latest trend in second-home buying is a hybrid of an old-fashioned vacation and a purpose-driven house-hunt. As potential buyers acquaint themselves with an area, developers and brokers are reaching out to them with plush incentives to buy.

Marabou Ranch in Steamboat Springs and Cornerstone in Montrose are among the state’s high-end developments that welcome prospective buyers to taste their finest in recreation, real estate, lifestyle and of course, dining. Check out the May issue of Colorado Homes & Lifestyle to get the flavorful details, view a sample guest itinerary and see if this kind of vacation suits your fancy.

Marabou Ranch is a sustainable preservation community on more than 1,700 acres of active ranchland in Steamboat Springs. Sixty-two homes are slated for the development, which leaves more than 1,300 acres of land designated for agriculture. MarabouRanch.com

Cornerstone sits on 6,000 acres of the Uncompahgre Plateau in western Colorado. Member perks include a Greg Norman-designed golf course and a lounge in Telluride Mountain Vilalge. CornerstoneColorado.com