Thirty-five years ago, Robert De Niro was sailing through the Caribbean when he came across the island of Barbuda, a barely touched, little-developed island in the Lesser Antilles. The fine white sands of Princess Diana Beach, named in honor of the royal who once frequented them, stayed with him even decades later. So present was his vision for what could be on the untouched stretch of shore that when a waterfront parcel of land came up for sale years later, he took notice.

Now, De Niro and his business partners are part of transforming the rarely visited little sister of Antigua into a destination all its own.

This decades-in-the-making vision for one of the Caribbean’s most pristine beaches started taking shape in late 2020 with the debut of Nobu Barbuda. The first restaurant of its kind on the island, it pairs the iconic Nobu dining experience with an exclusive beach club and lounge on an island that still receives only a fraction of the visitors of Antigua.

Though instantly a hit, Nobu Barbuda has been just a taste of what’s to come on the island: an exclusive resort and residential community set to make the island much more than just the day trip destination it has been. It’s now taking shape with The Beach Club, Barbuda, a low-density, sustainable-minded development that stretches across nearly 400 untouched acres and along more than two miles of beachfront.

The property will soon be home to Nobu Beach Inn, a boutique, 17-key resort with amenities like a beach club, fitness and wellness spaces, and dining exclusive to resort guests.

“Nobu Beach Inn will have just 36 rooms spread across 17 independent two- and three-bedroom villas,” said Katy Horne, managing director of The Beach Club, Barbuda, in an interview. “The idea is to keep the space quite lowkey, private, and laidback, just as the island naturally is,” said added. It is slated to open to guests in 2027.

Nobu Beach Inn will also offer a collection of 25 privately owned Nobu Beach Inn Residences, each ranging from 5,000 to 6,000 square feet in size and offering 100 feet of direct beachfront access. These residences will be fully serviced by Nobu Beach Inn, offering owners all the flexibility of having access to the resort’s amenities and services but with a “private resort” feel, explained Horne. Owners will also have the option to add their properties to the resort’s rental pool.

Across the rest of the property, The Beach Club will be comprised of a collection of 23 private villas and seven estates, all offering direct beachfront access. At the heart of the community will be a clubhouse dedicated exclusively to villa and estate owners and their guests, featuring a restaurant and bar, a pool and cabanas, wellness facilities, and more.

Sales of the property’s beachfront real estate launched just a few months ago, but with the height of the Caribbean’s busiest travel season starting to draw to a close, a number of the lots have already been sold. For Andrew Robson, sales director of The Beach Club, Barbuda, part of the property’s great appeal is its set-apart location and exclusivity, despite the island of Barbuda being increasingly easy to access.

Barbuda has always been about a 90-minute boatride from Antigua, which has a well-serviced international airport that receives regular flights from North America and Europe. But the distance has always been a deterrent to many visitors. However, in late 2024 Barbuda debuted its own Burton-Nibbs International Airport, which receives small commercial and private planes and helicopters. It has made Barbuda far easier to access, a game changer for the island—and The Beach Club.

“Barbuda is now just a quick day trip from some of the most sought after places in the Caribbean,” said Robson. “People can fly in and experience the island first hand for the day with friends, much more easily than they ever would have been able to in the past,” he continued.

For visitors considering what it might be like to be a resident of The Beach Club, that added accessibility is even more important. “With Nobu Barbuda already having been here for several seasons, it’s easy for visitors to see the vision and live the lifestyle of what is still to come,” Horne said. “They can come for a day and have the experience for themselves in a way that goes beyond just hearing about the development or standing in the middle of a still-empty lot.”

Despite the island’s increasing accessibility, Barbuda hasn’t lost the lesser-visited allure that De Niro felt when he first encountered it decades ago. “Barbuda has a rare balance compared to other Caribbean islands in that it is both easy to access yet still quiet and private,” said Horne. “This makes it a perfect place for The Beach Club; residents will really value having that seclusion, but will also be conscious of the ease of getting to their second home.”

Ground is already breaking on the Beach Club Villas and Estates, but with the Nobu Beach Inn set to debut next year, Robson expects even greater momentum around the project. “It will give visitors and prospective buyers a deeper sense of what it’s like to actually live here,” said Robson, “even further beyond what a single afternoon at the Nobu Barbuda already offers.”

Nobu Beach Inn Residences start at $12 million. One-acre lots for The Beach Club Villas start at $7 million, while six-acre lots for The Beach Club Estates start at $15 million.