After an abundance of travel experiences before adulthood, powerhouse real estate broker Leisel L. Taylor was given the travel opportunity of a lifetime when she was invited to join an episode of Bravo’s hit television show Below Deck Sailing Yacht.
A spinoff of the network’s original Below Deck series, the reality tv show documents the lives and interactions of the crew members who live and work aboard a 50 feet yacht. The show kicked off its third season in Spain and Taylor was one of six guests invited to join them in the beautiful waters off the coast of Majorca, Spain.
“That was a Beyonce and Jay Z type of vacation,” Taylor said. “We had our own sailing crew. We had our own private chef and they just literally catered to us.”
An avid traveler, Taylor started traveling at a young age, flying back and forth between her home country of Trinidad, where her father lived, and her mother in New York City. As a successful real estate broker and franchise owner of Village Premier Collection Realty in Prince George County, MD, the entrepreneur has always made it a priority to travel and explore the world.
“Real estate can be a very time-consuming career and it can definitely take up your life if you don’t make time for it,” she said. “So that’s why I incorporate travel as a part of my work-life balance because that’s the time I really get to connect with my husband, my son, and my very close friends.”
When her best friend told her that she would be boarding the yacht for an episode of the Below Deck spin-off with a group of other realtors, Taylor originally had no intention of joining her. But when another guest backed out at the last minute, she was happy to sail off with the crew.
“One of the guys who was on the trip, he knew I already had my COVID vaccination so he asked me if I was interested and I was like why not? My best girlfriend is going to be there and I get to hang out with some cool people and go to another country? Absolutely!”
Taylor flew to Spain and joined the five other guests and crew aboard the yacht for a weekend getaway like nothing she’d experienced before. The scenery was beautiful with water on all sides and slight glimpses of the land and scattered islands as they sailed.
The crew took care of all their needs and they were surrounded by luxury and opulence at every turn. The filming was Taylor’s first time on a yacht and an unforgettable experience.
“Overall I loved the VIP experience we had because they truly catered to all of our needs and I guess that’s part of the reason why I work so hard at my business to be able to be afford those opportunities where I can take full advantage because that was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that I don’t think is going to happen again,” she said. “It was out of this world.”
The cameras were rolling throughout their entire stay and the drinks were flowing all day long aboard the yacht. The guests had exclusive parties on board, pulled alongside the land for beachside picnics, and had gourmet meals every day they were on the water.
“It was truly an experience and the food was amazing,” she said. “We ate three times a day and it was basically a four to six-course meal. Breakfast was like a Four Seasons brunch experience.”
After sailing on the water for two nights, the crew and guests returned to land with pockets full of memories, laughter, and blissful cheer. Although she has traveled around the world, Taylor says her experience on Bravo’s Below Deck Sailing Yacht was the second-best travel excursion of her life.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever experience anything in life like that ever again,” she said.
With her Below Deck episode airing on February 21, Taylor walks away from her time in Spain ready to continue exploring the world and learning from the places she is able to visit. She also has shared her love for travel with her son and believes that, through travel, it is possible to grow and evolve as people.
“I just think traveling is so important so that we get to see cultures outside of the US and get exposed to different lifestyles, different food, and the way that people live; that there are different ways people live and they live a full and good life,” she said.
As Taylor’s real estate business continues to blossom, the thriving businesswoman intends to expand even more as a traveler and explorer both abroad and in the United States. A lover of culture and authentic experiences, Taylor hopes to grow as an individual with every new destination she encounters.
“I want to die knowing I lived a life of experiences and that I got to try different foods, meet different people, learn different things, and see different things,” she said.