Vancouver from the air, the water and through the tinted panes of a limousine window - that's the view canny realtors want their elite clients to drink in.
British Columbia's top property agents know how to woo their high net-worth clientele, those wealthy individuals able to call any number of luxury pads across the globe "home."
This week, Sotheby's International Realty Canada flew in the world's top 10 property scouts for a taste of Vancouver's high life - and a look at the plans for the forthcoming Private Residences at the Hotel Georgia.
The landmark building is to be gutted and turned into a sumptuous boutique hotel, while an adjacent skyscraper will feature top-end apartments.
The restaurant will be led by one of Vancouver's top chefs, and residence owners will have access to the cuisine not only via room service but as meals cooked privately in their own kitchen.
But the Hotel Georgia is far from the only locale in the West catering to jetsetters.
Those marketing B.C.'s most exclusive real estate set their sights on the world's rich and powerful first, knowing that what starts off much too dear for the locals' bank balances develops a cachet as groups of international buyers step forward.
"Vancouver has been on the property investment map for some time," explains Ross McCreadie, chief executive officer and president of Sotheby's Canada.
In Whistler, meanwhile, resort company Intrawest is currently fielding British interest in Kadenwood - prime plots mountainside in Creekside, serviced by a private gondola.
With luxe options such as private ski chalets, costs can quickly balloon to about
$5-million, says John Morley, vice-president of development for Intrawest.
Once you reach that range of price point, he explains, local buyers are thin on the ground.
The well-heeled from Britain, however, are apparently all for such rugged decadence.
And, despite the common perception, the Olympics don't figure very large in the deal.
"This could be a second, third or even fifth home," he says.
"The Olympics give us differentiation from resorts like Aspen or Deer Lake right now, but they don't really influence this level of purchase."
Mr. McCreadie adds: "The Olympics won't sell real estate - people will buy real estate because they fall in love with Vancouver."
The agents - many of them millionaires in their own right and with billion-dollar client portfolios - hail from Dubai, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Germany, Britain and Seoul and represent everyone from Arab royalty to major global investors who prefer to keep their addresses private.
While Vancouverites may revel in their status as citizens of one of the world's most livable cities and imagine those who buy property here are buying into the West Coast vibe, in reality, those at the far end of the income bracket are betting on more than a ride around the sea wall.
"They look at where the population density is, and at all the natural resources close by that remain untouched," Mr. McCreadie explains. "They've been reading up on mining and uranium and that is where they see real potential. This is truly an emerging market.
"To locals, Vancouver is a city. To anyone from London, New York or Hong Kong, Vancouver is a town - and something of a frontier town at that. It's a whole different mindset."