It was not so very long ago that there was a fairly clear line between resort communities built around a grand hotel and residential communities that offered the same amenities, but were strictly private. There's always been some overlap, for sure. But most were known primarily as one or the other. That's changed in the last decade or so, as hotels have added villas for sale, fractional ownership or long-term rentals, and at the same time private communities like Reynolds have added hotels.

"Anyone who's got land and is in a resort destination now sees himself as a development company," explains Patrick Ford, president of Lodging Econometrics, which studies lodging and real-estate trends. "The hotel adds the talking piece to the community."

The Homestead in Virginia, for instance, has been a grand old hotel for generations. But until last year you couldn't buy a home anywhere on the property. Now with the opening of the 2,300-acre Homestead Preserve, you can purchase one of the 450 houses to be built there. And since your purchase price includes guaranteed membership at the Homestead and access to its spa, restaurants and three golf courses, it makes sense to stay at the hotel while checking the place out.

Your best access probably comes by roaming the equestrian trails that meander all over the property. The way the deal between ClubCorp, which owns the Homestead, and Celebration Associates, which is building the Homestead Preserve, was originally structured, resort guests and homeowners alike have guaranteed access to those 100 miles of trail.

"Hotel guests have the right to leave the hotel and [using the trails] cross property owners' land," says Steve Schneider, the Preserve's Director of Sales and Marketing. Similarly, Preserve owners "will have the right to go out their back door and go anywhere that 100-mile trail takes them."

Resort Limitations

Obviously, as helpful as those trails are for the real estate shopper willing to hike them, that sort of communal access isn't everyone's idea of peaceful, private living. That's something else to explore: Where exactly are the lines drawn between the privileges you enjoy as an owner and those given to resort guests? Will you be competing for tee times or dinner reservations? Are certain courses open only to resort guests at certain times?

This approach to scouting a place doesn't always provide complete access to the community. For instance, if you stay at the Greenbrier in West Virginia hoping to get a sense of whether you might like to live at the Greenbrier Sporting Club, which opened five years ago, you won't get access to the new Tom Fazio-designed Snead Golf Course, the private equestrian facility or spa. "Really, the only way to get the full experience is go into the sales office and ask for a tour," says Patti Spaniak, marketing director for the club. "You can be a member for a weekend. We customize the experience."