Forbes Profiles Living Like a Billionaire (For a Few Days) At Fisher Island Club & Resort

    FISHER ISLAND, FL, September 25, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Located off the tip of Miami Beach and accessible only by private yacht or ferry, Fisher Island Club & Resort is one of the most exclusive private membership clubs in the world, catering largely to the 1300 residents of Fishers Island. This elite community situated on 216 acres represents one of the most expensive zip codes in the US and one of the greatest concentrations of wealth on the planet. Residents have included Oprah Winfrey, Boris Becker, Mel Brooks, and late actress Anne Bancroft.

If you don't happen to have $250,000 to become a member (like myself) and want to get a taste of how the .001% lives, the property offers 15 luxurious overnight accommodations including four Historic Cottages (one 3-bedroom cottage, two 2-bedroom cottages, and one studio bedroom cottage), six Courtyard Villas, and a Guest House with five 1-bedroom Junior Suites.

To put it in the simplest terms, Fisher Island Club is the pinnacle of world-class food and wine, club sports, and exclusivity--because they have to be given their clientele. Guests of the resort have full access to the club's private beach and beach club, the P.B. Dye 9-hole championship golf course, 18 Grand Slam tennis courts, two deep-water marinas, seven restaurants, a full-service spa & salon, a state of the art fitness center, an observatory for stargazing, and an aviary with dozens of exotic birds.

We were recently invited to the Club and it was clear from our first minute on the ferry that no detail goes unnoticed or unattended. The club's bellman Omar greeted us on the other side in his golf cart--which is how everyone gets around the island--and wound us through the resident buildings (one-bedroom condos start at $2 million) to the island's southernmost point. Two peacocks welcomed us to the Club strutting under one of the largest Banyan trees in south Florida. The aroma in the air was the club's signature perfume, "1936" that celebrates the year that Vanderbilt built his mansion and blends bergamot, tea, orange blossom, coriander, jasmine, and rose with base notes of amber, musk, and sandalwood, creating a fragrance that captivates your senses immediately.

Bernard Lackner, CEO of Fisher Island Club tells me, "Fisher Island is a very special place. We commissioned '1936' as a tribute to our island's storied past and a way for members and guests to bottle their memories of our paradise, wherever they are in the world."

The next morning Lackner takes us on a guided tour of the property in his golf cart with a "CEO" plaque on the front windshield.

"One of the perks," Lackner jokes. In reality, though he's not kidding. Fisher Island Club really does need a CEO--because CEOs and other billionaire types are the people Lackner is tasked with keeping happy. "We can't just deliver 'wow'," Lackner says, "We have to deliver 'wow-wow' for both our residents and equity members and the guests who come to experience the island."

The Lackner 'wow-wow' is an ethos that permeates everything and everyone at Fisher Island Club. And the island's two indulgent centerpieces, the Spa Internazionale and the Beach Club, are no exception. For a few brief moments of total relaxation, you're worth millions (or billions) and your every need is not simply catered to--it's predicted before you even know what you want. Given that half the people on Fisher Island's beach likely own a private jet (or two), Lackner knows as well as anyone in the luxury hospitality business that this level of personal attention is an art form. And it comes with a price.

"Of course, we have a budget," he says smiling, waving out towards the grass and clay tennis courts. "But it's a big budget."

The essence of the Fisher Island Club experience is captured in these tiny details. No matter how many world-class hotels or clubs you've been to, there's always something that's not quite perfect because everyone likes things their own way and you can't please everyone. But somehow Fisher Island Club & Resort manages to get it right everywhere, every time. Case in point: turn down service, which I typically wouldn't even mention at any hotel. But every evening at Fisher Island ends with a tray of handmade desserts that I didn't even know that I wanted. Because that's what billionaires demand.

This article was written by Meggen Taylor, Contributor to Forbes.com. To read the full story, please click here.

Fisher Island Club is a 216-acre tropical paradise located off the tip of Miami Beach. Accessible only by a seven-minute ferry ride or private motor yacht, the Club features its own palm-lined private beach with powder-soft sand imported from the Bahamas, a luxurious Hotel that is a member of Leading Hotels of the World, a beach club, a P.B. Dye 9-hole championship golf course, two deep-water marinas, seven dining venues, a full-service spa, salon and fitness center, an observatory for stargazing, and an aviary with dozens of exotic birds. For more information visit www.fisherislandclub.com.

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