Having never been to New York City, I perched on the side of my extra wide EOS seat enjoying the sights out of the window as the plane descended towards J. F. Kennedy airport. We land and I’m shuttled through the terminal’s eerily deserted border control and within 30 minutes I’m halfway across the airport, taking a short drive to the GA Terminal.

There would be no time for sightseeing as a Bombardier Challenger 300 sits idling on the runway, ready to take us to Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in less than 45 minutes. Useful, considering the alternative is a 5 hour car journey.

Whilst shuffling into the surprisingly spacious cabin of the Challenger I take a moment to reflect on my day so far and why I’m not tired or irritated with sitting in a plane. I guess it all began with the chauffeur driven S-Class that was purring patiently outside my flat in central London early in the morning. We traversed the city and avoided the heavily congested parts of the city thanks to a collaboration of my driver’s acute knowledge of the city and the latest technology embedded into the dashboard of the vehicle. We headed north towards Stansted Airport and as we pulled into the departures terminal, a friendly-faced individual opened the door and led me away from the car. A quick glance backwards confirmed that my driver is following with my bags – this obviously isn’t the first time they have done this. The EOS representative takes my passport and we head towards the private check-in facility that just happens to be around 20 paces from the entrance. I couldn’t help but feel a fraction apprehensive as an EOS baggage handler strolls away with my bags. If my luggage isn’t destined for the all-too-familiar bag crushing conveyor belt system we are all too familiar with, how on earth will it wind up on the plane?

Seeing as I got out of my car around 50 minutes before my departure time, I barely have time for my fresh coffee and muffin in the private lounge. The forty other passengers and I meander towards the plane, within 20 minutes and with a glass of champagne in hand – chocks away – we are ready to depart.

And the rest, as they say, is history. With enough toys, music, film and meals to fill a flight twice as long, the journey went outstandingly quickly. The lie-flat-seats are truly marvellous and the staggered seating arrangement really offers far more privacy that I originally thought possible.

“Why am I heading to JFK?” I hear you ask. I am heading to one of the most northerly points in New York State, to a hotel called The Point. It’s a 20 minute drive from Saranac “Airport” (an airfield only suitable for small aircraft and private jets) to our destination. As we enter the hotel compound Marc (The Point’s British ex-pat manager) reminded us to pay special attention to the surrounding roads and the route to the hotel - if we ventured outside there were no signposts, road names, or people to help us find our way.

Set on the shores of Lake Saranac, The Point is a converted camp that features a main building with a central dining room and lounge, from the corners of the lounge sprout doors leading to kitchens and corridors. In total, the eleven bedrooms are spread across four buildings all within 50 meters of the main entrance. Our tour began in the kitchen and I’m informed that if there is anything I want, I can ask any member of staff, alternatively I’m welcome to simply waltz into the kitchen and make or fetch it myself. A nice touch I thought, but thinking back to every other hotel I have stayed at, I couldn’t recall a single moment where I ever wanted to go into the kitchen, whether I was allowed to or not.

The tour continued as we were led out of the main building into the bitter cold of Upper New York, luckily in less than 20 paces we arrive at the front door of the Pub, a recreation room that offers a pool table, darts, games, The Point’s only television set and a surprisingly well stocked bar. Begrudgingly, as the tour continues I am forced to leave the Pub and follow my hosts down towards the lake, to the boathouse. It’s in here (underneath the property’s biggest room) that The Point harbours its secret weapon, a 32 foot electric-power glass-cabined riverboat with delicate styling and woodwork, it was however dwarfed by the beautiful all-American Hackercraft moored right next to it. The Hackercraft is a classic mahogany boat with an oversized engine that’s full of classic American grunt. It may have been minus 5 degrees with painfully bitter winds but after hearing the history behind the craft and its restoration, nothing was going to stop me from getting in that boat, this tour would have to continue from the lake.

It is only from the lake that you realise how carefully constructed this hotel was as it is almost impossible to see, the manager points out various parts but I can only see trees. A few lake-side fireplaces surrounded by benches look inviting, but it’s not until we made our way to the actual ‘Point’, the rock formation that the hotel takes its name that I really start to appreciate just how beautiful the surroundings are. The shores of the lake stretch for miles in every direction, and the grey stone mount that sits no more than 20 feet from the waterline is garnished with a single delicate tree and surrounded by chairs facing out onto the lake. With the tour completed we made our way back to the main building, I’m sure there’s more fun on the lake to be had later on, but for now it’s down to business. I have been treated well, flown out here with no expense spared, but who’s doing it – why am I here?

I’m due to meet the people behind a company called Everlands, a group of wealthy individuals that own a share in an exotic selection of properties all over the globe, including this one right here. At first glance the concept might not sound all that unique but I learnt more over the duration of the visit and my interest in the company grew.

For starters, there’s an interview to get accepted, you need to understand and appreciate the founder’s and other members’ concept and their beliefs. More importantly, you need to be a nice person because the properties Everlands are buying up are not small houses in secluded places, where a family can hide away for a few weeks in the year; they’re small hotels and manor houses. By selecting likeminded members, Everlands are making sure that when you turn up to one of their worldwide locations the few people you might bump into will make good company - particularly important considering you’re allowed to turn up un-planned and un-announced.

Still, it was sounding like a fractional ownership concept with a twist. It was time to find out more about the three people that ¬conceptualised, founded and currently run Everlands. James Millership, a late-thirties, well-travelled Canadian was on board for his passion and experience of the planet’s more obscure corners, he met Robert Burch (Everlands’ CEO) when he was working in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As the person in charge of new business initiatives at the Faena Hotel and Universe his achievements caught Robert’s eye, who was then, the project’s lead investor. The fact that James is proud of The Point is impressive, giving that he has lived in the Caribbean, London, Buenos Aires and New York and seen his fair share of the world and its various hideaways. It doesn’t stop there; he has been backpacking through Nepal, India, East Africa and Egypt, trekking to Everest base camp, summitted both Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua in South America. You cannot help but trust that with experiences like that, any property chosen to feature in Everland’s portfolio will be carefully selected and harshly judged.

Robert Burch can be spotted as the CEO from a fair distance; he is confident and seems to be pleased with himself; greeting every single person in the hotel excitedly. It wasn’t too long ago that Robert (and Everlands) bought this hotel. An entrepreneur with interests in retail, real estate, ranching, technology and finance, Robert and his wife purchased a ranch in Montana, The Hobble Diamond, back in 1997 – a haven where he and his family could escape to. Throughout my visit he speaks fondly of times and memories with his family and guests at the lodge, perhaps the Hobble Diamond was the seed, and James was the catalyst that allowed Everlands to become what it is now?

Kenneth May, the most recent person to come on board at Everlands met Robert two years ago. As CEO and Chairman of RCI, one of the largest timeshare, rental and hospitality consultancies he was operating a company with 10,000 employees and $2bn in revenue. It took time to get him on board but as he watched the concept grow (through regular updates from Robert) he joined the team, seeing it as an opportunity to create something unique.

Combined, Robert, James and Ken inspire more confidence in this project than any other shared equity concept I have seen before, there’s no denying they have the experience, passion and knowledge to make this a roaring success, but I had to understand financially how this would be possible. Everyone knows that there are some extraordinarily wealthy people in the world, but is Everlands restricted to the nano-percentile of the population that escape for several months aboard the Maltese Falcon or get their kicks taking a joyride into space with the Russians? In short, no. The current membership price for Everlands is $580,000 (£240,000), the annual dues they anticipate will be around $40,000 (£20,000). The club ‘triggers’ as Robert puts it, when they reach 100 members – it is at this point that they will take the member’s money out of escrow, close and refurbish the properties. They had 20 members when I last spoke to them – and the first 50 members will enjoy their first 2 years without having to pay any dues. With Everlands featuring properties all over the world and the US dollar doing what it currently is I cannot imagine finding 50 or 100 members will take very long at all. I suspect the only thing that will slow Everlands down from reaching their maximum capacity will be their selection of the right people. In a sector that remains almost unaffected by economic downturn, the Everlands team are free to take as much time as they want to put together the perfect group of members.

Everlands is not suitable for anyone who is simply after a cost effective way of having some truly unique holidays (although there is no denying that’s an added perk). With no annual subscription and the biggest payment being the one-time joining fee, Everlands are looking to attract people who see this as a long lasting investment, a new addition to their lifestyle. Something they can enjoy and share with their friends and families and continue to pass down the generations. As people begin to consider what they might leave behind for their children, a varied portfolio of exciting and thoughtfully acquired properties, that hold exciting and refreshing memories might seem like a bargain, especially when compared with the small suburban house your £240,000 would afford you in this country.