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    Julia Roberts’s Former Hawaii Hideaway Can Be Yours for $30 Million

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    Always wanted to live out your very own Pretty Woman fantasy—albeit one that involves idling away your days at a tropical beachfront retreat in Hawaii as opposed to a posh Beverly Hills hotel? You’re in luck, because a blissful estate that Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts once called home has just popped up for sale on Kauai’s magical North Shore in the remote town of Hā‘ena, asking a dash under $30 million. Neal Norman of Hawaii Life holds the listing.

    With a main home and a guest cottage offering up a total of four bedrooms and four baths in nearly 3,150 square feet, the secluded residence has plenty of room for any like-minded dreamer to eat, pray, love, and more while enjoying some particularly stunning ocean and mountain views. Famously owned by the Oscar-winning actress and her longtime cinematographer husband Danny Moder for more than a decade, records show the ranch-style property was last sold to an entity linked to a Miami-based LLC in 2020 for around $20 million.

    A spacious great room spills out to a covered lanai with picturesque views of the Pacific.

    Gelston Dwight

    RELATED: Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 Million Property Portfolio

    Tucked away off a private road on three contiguous parcels that total 8.3 acres and offer 400 feet of ocean frontage on pristine Limahuli Beach, the three-bedroom, three-bath primary dwelling was built in 1970. Remodeled during Roberts’s tenure by the San Francisco architecture firm Walker Warner, it comes complete with rustic hardwood floors, soaring exposed-beam ceilings bolstered by steel tie bars, wood-paneled walls, and vast expanses of glass, plus new solar panels.

    Upon entry, an open-concept great room features a living room, a dining area, and a kitchen boasting a butcher block-topped eat-in island that seats up to four for casual meals and an accompanying workstation. French doors lead out to a covered lanai. The primary bedroom sports a spa-like bath with a large oval soaking tub and access to an outdoor shower, and one of the guest bedrooms has been converted into a gym.

    An infinity pool overlooks the towering, cathedral-like green peak of Makana Mountain.

    Gelston Dwight

    RELATED: Kelly Slater’s Hawaiian Hideaway Hits the Market for $20 Million

    In addition to a detached one-bedroom, one-bath guest cottage, the alluring grounds also host a 490-square-foot infinity pool integrated into a wood sundeck, along with landscaped gardens, a running stream, and plenty of grassy spots suited to alfresco lounging and dining. An added bonus: The retreat is adjacent to protected land that includes Hā‘ena State Park and the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

    Roberts and Moder acquired the Limahuli Beach spread in June 2009 for $10 million, and they previously owned another Kauai property, a charming compound on Hanalei Bay they bought in late 2011 for $13.3 million and offloaded to Michael Fleiss, creator of ABC’s The Bachelor, in 2016 for $16.2 million.

    Click here for more photos of the Kauai residence.

    Gelston Dwight

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

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      A Hawaii Hideaway Once Owned by ‘Firefly Lane’ Writer Kristin Hannah Just Listed for $9 Million

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      Always wanted to live like a celebrity—specifically, a successful and prolific novelist with countless bestselling books under her belt? Now’s your chance, because the striking Hawaii estate that Kristin Hannah once called home just popped up for sale on Kauai‘s north shore, asking a dash under $9 million.

      With three bedrooms and a matching number of baths spread across nearly 2,800 square feet of open-concept living space, the residence offers plenty of room for any like-minded writer to easily conjure up ideas in style while enjoying sweeping ocean views. Famously owned by Hannah for nearly 18 years, property records show the place was last sold for just over $7 million in spring 2021 to Aranzazu Casal, the widow of Apple software engineer François Jouaux.

      “For me, paradise begins on this pink, shell-strewn ribbon of Anini Beach,” Hannah said of her island home when it first hit the market back in 2018. “From the moment you pull into the crushed coral driveway and park under the giant palms, you feel it: a stillness that soothes the busiest soul.”

      A wraparound lanai overlooks the lush backyard and ocean beyond.

      Keani Andrade

      Built and designed by architect Norman Lacayo in the late 1990s—and tucked away on a lush half-acre parcel offering 150 feet of frontage on Anini Beach, not far from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vast compound—the multi-level structure boasts a mix of travertine and bamboo floors, high ceilings and pocketing glass doors spilling out to a wraparound lanai.

      Upon entering the antique carved-wood front door, steps lead up to a spacious living room that connects via a dining area to a gourmet kitchen boasting custom Koa cabinetry, a breakfast bar and stainless appliances. Other highlights include two downstairs bedrooms that share a bath, and an upstairs master retreat featuring an oceanfront office with a built-in desk where Hannah penned many of her novels, plus a spa-like bath sporting a dressing area, sunken tub and separate walk-in shower.

      An attached two-car garage has been transformed into a multi-purpose bonus space.

      Keani Andrade

      Elsewhere is a two-car garage that’s been converted into a lounge and recreation area; and outdoors, the picturesque backyard hosts an al fresco shower, along with a grassy swath of lawn and pathway heading directly to the sand. An added bonus: The home transfers with a coveted short-term vacation rental license.

      The lawyer-turned-writer—who bought the house with her husband Benjamin for $4.4 million back in 2003—has written numerous novels, including The Nightingale, The Great Alone, The Four Winds and Firefly Lane, the latter of which became a Netflix series starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.

      The listing is held by Amy Frazier of Hawaii Life.

      Click here for more photos of Kristin Hannah’s former Hawaii house.

      Keani Andrade More

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      Mark Zuckerburg Is Reportedly Building Himself a $270 Million Survivalist Compound in Hawaii

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      Mark Zuckerberg is making sure that when doomsday comes, he’s prepared with an ultra-secluded, Leave the World Behind-type hideaway.

      Per a recent investigation by Wired, the Meta CEO is reportedly building himself a sprawling 1,400-acre compound in Hawaii that will comprise at least 30 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms, divided among more than a dozen different structures. According to documents obtained by the publication, the Facebook founder has already shelled out a whopping $170 million in land purchases in Kauai beginning in August 2014 and will eventually fork over at least another $100 million in building costs.

      At the center of the vast compound, called Koolau Ranch, will be two mansions sitting atop a survivalist bunker. The two residential buildings will total about 57,000 square feet and include elevators, an industrial kitchen, and conference rooms. Plans show that many of the doors throughout the home are expected to be soundproofed and operated via keypad. The dwellings will be joined by a secret tunnel that leads to a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter that’s protected behind a metal door filled with concrete. The bunker will feature its own living space, a mechanical room, and an escape hatch. The property aims to be further self-sufficient with an 18-foot-tall water tank and the ability to produce its own energy and food supplies.

      Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is building himself a 1,400-acre residential compound in Kauai named Koolau Ranch.

      Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

      The compound won’t, however, be all post-apocalyptic doom and gloom. Not only does it function as a comfortable family retreat, but there are plans for a wellness center that includes a full-size gym, multiple pools, a sauna, a steam room, and a tennis court. Elsewhere, 11 circular treehouses will be joined by rope bridges so that visitors can climb from one treehouse to the next without stepping foot on the ground.

      The compound’s residential structures are hidden from the road, tucked behind a six-foot wall, and monitored by round-the-clock security guards. And, due to the scope and nature of the project, anyone who works on Zuckerberg’s property signs a strict nondisclosure agreement, sources told the publication. “For a private project to have an NDA attached to it is very rare,” a local construction official explained to Wired.

      Whether the tech billionaire will use Koolau Ranch as a part-time or full-time family retreat is still unknown. However, the magazine reported that he’s already hosted two different corporate events at the compound, so its charms, luxuries, and secrets may not stay so secret for long.

      Authors

      Abby Montanez

      Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, dining, travel and topics…

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      in Luxury

      A Former Hollywood Filmmaker Just Relisted His Custom Hawaii Getaway

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      Almost a year after it first hit the market with a $24 million price tag, a just-like-new residence near Hanalei Bay, on the sought-after North Shore of the Hawaii island of Kauai, has popped up for sale again. But you’ll still need a substantial chunk of change to pick up the custom-built bungalow, which is now listed for $18 million.

      Scott Sloan—who previously owned a Los Angeles film production company, and is most known for the independent features Dog Gone Love, Steaming Milk, and Jack and Jill vs. the World—and his wife Brittany, acquired a three-quarter-acre property for $2.8 million some 10 years ago. The Santa Barbara-based couple then subdivided the lot, renovated and sold an existing structure known as the “Bounty House” for $3.5 million in 2018, and enlisted California architect Kevin A. Clark to craft a new four-bedroom, five-bath vacation house for them on the remaining half-acre of land.

      The home’s gracious outdoor space is highlighted by custom Ipe-wood decks and railings.

      Travis Rowan Photography

      Completed in October 2022, the board-and-batten and corrugated copper-roof structure is nestled amid a double corner lot, just steps from world-class surf breaks, beaches, hiking trails, and the shops and restaurants of Hanalei Town. Tucked away behind automated tropical hardwood gates and a lava rock wall, the stylish abode has a little more than 3,700 square feet boasting wide-plank oak floors, high ceilings, wood-paneled walls and loads of built-ins throughout, plus Lutron lighting, audio-visual, solar and Tesla Powerwall systems. There’s also more than 1,000 square feet of outdoor space adorned with Ipe-wood decks and railings.

      Especially standing out is an open-concept great room featuring a soaring living room with an integrated entertainment center and sliding glass doors spilling outside. A dining area with a built-in banquette connects to the kitchen, which is outfitted with custom cabinetry, white marble countertops, an expansive eat-in island, and high-end Miele, Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances.

      The living room rests beneath a vaulted ceiling and has sliding glass doors leading outside.

      Travis Rowan Photography

      Elsewhere is a primary bedroom suite displaying a sitting area and walk-in closet, as well as a spa-inspired bath flaunting dual vanities, a huge granite soaking tub and access to an open-air rainfall shower for two people. Topping it all off are lush professionally landscaped grounds overlooking picturesque mountain vistas, and hosting a custom “spool” with an electric cover and wraparound lanai sporting a built-in Kalamazoo grill, along with an attached single-car garage.

      Sold fully furnished, complete with indoor/outdoor artwork, the turnkey home is being offered by Neal Norman of Hawaii Life.

      Click here for more photos of Scott Sloan’s Hawaiian retreat.

      Travis Rowan Photography More