Second homes & retreats

What a second home and retreat really means

This is a small, growing selection of homes for the chapters of life that happen away from the primary base. The thread that runs through all of them is lock-and-leave living: serviced, secure, ready to step into, and easy to leave again. Some sit on the water, like Azure Bay on Boka Bay in Montenegro. Some are branded residences run to a hotel standard, like the Four Seasons Private Residences on the Jeddah waterfront. Others are quiet enclaves built for time spent rather than time managed, like Rayana at Wadi Safar beside Diriyah.

It suits people who want a second base without a second list of chores. The service model is the point here. A managed residence handles the upkeep, the concierge keeps the place ready, and the home does not become a project. That frees the time you actually came for, whether the draw is a marina morning in Tivat, golf and open landscape at Wadi Safar, or a city footing in the UAE at Meridian Residences, which is coming soon.

The selection spans a few distinct lives, and it helps to know which one you are buying into:

• Waterfront retreats, where the setting is the reason to come: Azure Bay, Tivat, on the Bay of Kotor.
• Branded, serviced residences run to a hotel standard: the Four Seasons Private Residences, Jeddah, and Meridian Residences, UAE.
• Low-density enclaves built around space and sport: Rayana, Wadi Safar, set around an 18-hole golf course beside Diriyah.
• Turnkey delivery, so the home is ready to use rather than ready to finish.

Weighing it as both an investment and a life decision

A second home carries two questions at once, and they deserve separate answers. The life question is honest and personal: how often will you really be there, who comes with you, and what should a year in this place feel like. The investment question is about the fundamentals underneath, and the ownership terms differ by market. In Saudi Arabia, foreign freehold opened to all nationalities within designated zones from 22 January 2026, with no personal income or capital gains tax, and qualifying real-estate investment from SAR 4 million able to support residency eligibility. The UAE offers freehold in designated areas and a path to a 10-year Golden Visa from AED 2 million. Montenegro lets foreign buyers own apartments and buildings outright, with ownership supporting a renewable temporary-residence permit, while the country remains an EU accession candidate.

We will not put a return on a retreat. No one can responsibly promise yield or capital growth, and a home you use is not a spreadsheet. What we can do is help you read the market context clearly, understand the service model and the running costs, and check the things that quietly decide whether a second home is a pleasure or a burden: how the residence is managed, what an optional rental programme actually involves, the transfer costs on a future sale, and how the home holds up when you are not there.

This is where the exploration begins rather than ends. Tell our advisory team how you want to live in a second place and which markets pull at you, and we will share what is happening on the ground, walk you through the homes that genuinely fit, and stay with you long after the keys change hands. Begin the conversation, and we will help you understand the choice before you make it.