ST. BARTHÉLEMY
When people ask me about my favorite places in the world, St. Barths is at the top of the list. When I travel, I like to see new places and rarely go back to the same place more than once. Yet St. Barths draws me back year after year.
If you love the French lifestyle and mindset, but also the beach and a tropical climate, St. Barths is the perfect place to combine it all. From the seductive Caribbean Sea with its turquoise water and white sand beaches, to the island’s mountainous interior with majestic views, to the European vibe and the distinctively French cuisine, the island offers something for everyone. And given the added challenge of getting there, plus the lack of big resort chains, the island is relatively serene, without the big crowds of many of its neighboring islands.
SUGGESTED ITINERARY: While the more adventurous can go for a long weekend from the States, most people generally stay for week or more. One time I was there, I flew home in the middle of the trip for a one-day photoshoot in NYC, and flew back for the rest of my week-long trip. It’s that good! With affordable flights on Delta, United, JetBlue and American from New York to St. Maarten, you can then connect to Gustavia on WinAir or St. Barths Commuter. Alternatively, you can opt for the more luxury option with a chic plane from Tradewinds, which connects St. Barths to San Juan, St. Thomas, or Antigua. Connecting in Guadeloupe is also an option from France or the States. From London, there is a one-stop option via Antigua, or Europeans can fly direct from Amsterdam to St. Maarten on KLM.
While the approach into SBH, high over the mountain with a rapid drop to the short runway, is not for the weak of heart, it is certainly a memorable arrival experience onto the island, and offers an amazing panoramic view of the island’s beaches and coves. For those more weary of the small propeller plane, there is also a quick ferry option from St. Maarten to St. Barths.
STAY: We normally rent a villa, as it’s the perfect island for sharing accommodations with friends or family, and we generally are out and about exploring the island during the day, as opposed to simply lying at a hotel’s pool or beach. Villa rental services to check out are Le Collectionist, Wimco, Sotheby's, and Eden Rock. There are also several boutique hotels like Cheval Blanc, Le Toiny, Le Sereno, The Christopher, Le Barthélemy, and Le Guanahani, which are as fab as their nightly rates suggest.
ACTIVITIES: A typical day for us usually includes a beach club reservation, with lounge chairs and a feet-in-the-sand restaurant for lunch. One day during our trip, we will generally hire a catamaran with a captain from either Jicky Marine or Miguel at St. Barths Sailor, for a morning or a full day. Ask the captain to anchor at gorgeous Colombier Beach, which is only accessible by boat or hike (note: the hike is a perfect way for a friend prone to seasickness to meet you if they can’t stomach the thought of a boat ride). If you’re doing the full day, it’s fun to tender in to the beach restaurant Shellona for lunch. After lunch there, if you’ve had enough rosé to give you the courage, ask the captain take you to the cliffs around the corner to cliff dive off the rocks into the sea. It’s higher than it looks from sea! I had a blast…Glenn was peer-pressured into doing it and, once he climbed up, there was only one way down….
One of our favorite and more laid back daytime activities is driving from secluded beach to secluded beach. In addition to the chic beach clubs with lounge chair service, we equally love the bring-your-own-towel-and-lie-on-it sparsely populated beaches throughout the island. Some of our favorites are:
Saline: By far one of our favorite beaches (maybe in the world)!
Gouverneur
St. Jean: Home to Eden Rock and Nikki Beach, St. Jean beach is a long, sandy beach that runs along the north shore of the island. Glenn loves lying on this beach watching all of the planes take off and land, as it is right in the flight path. Don’t worry: there are no jets so it’s still perfectly peaceful.
Shell Beach: This beach, which is home to the restaurant Shellona (mentioned above), used to be covered in seashells, but all changed after the last hurricane. Since then it has become a sandy beach but it is still a great spot to catch the sunset or to relax after a long lunch at Shellona.
EAT: St. Barths offers a wide variety of restaurants, from upscale modern Parisian cuisine, to the casual beach shack like the kitchy burger joint Le Select, where Jimmy Buffett wrote “Cheeseburger in Paradise”.
Bonito’s all white beach chic restaurant is perched on a hill overlooking the harbor of the island’s main town of Gustavia, where all the mega-yachts dock. We always arrive early to grab an inventive cocktail at the bar, served by their universally attractive servers. We usually reserve here for the first night of arrival as it’s the perfect transition from city life to beach living.
Tamarin’s chic grounds, with its landscaped lawn among the palms, provides a gorgeous setting to relax with a delicious cocktail before dining, and always draws us back. Their covered dining area has great energy, but it can also be really enjoyable to dine at a secluded table amongst their gardens, which makes you feel like you’re in a rainforest.
Shellona (left and below left), located on Shell beach on the site of the former Do Brasil, is a perfect casual spot to grab a fabulous lunch while sitting on the gorgeous beach. It’s been renovated and turned into a trendy spot with multi levels and a DJ playing beach-lounge music during lunch. It’s also fun to hire a boat for the morning or day and tender in for lunch.
We generally like to sit outside when we are in the Caribbean, and we usually go for the local fare, but L’Isola’s authentic Italian cuisine, under the airy ceiling fans, is truly top notch. The food and service are wonderful and they have a great bar.
If it’s sushi you’re after, Orega is the only sushi restaurant on the island and it rivals any sushi restaurant we have been to in North America.
The restaurant François Plantation, located within the Villa Marie hotel on the island’s west coast, is worth a visit, even if just for a cocktail. One of the island’s original structures, its colonial-inspired decor is quite special. The last time we were there, the food was not superb, but I would certainly go back for a drink, for the atmosphere alone.
BEACH: Hotel Le Toiny has luxury villas scattered along a hillside on the west side of the island. We always make reservation to use their beach and arrive a few hours before lunch. Whenever you’re in the mood, you can stroll up to your table in the sand for lunch (and of course rosé). To get down to the beach, you’re escorted from the reception area high up on a hill down to the breach in the back of a Land Rover. Recently they added a pool down by the beach and there is a cute hotel boutique featuring the best of St. Barths lifestyle.
Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France (below): Owned by LVMH, this property, like others, took a beating in Hurricane Irma, after which it underwent a major renovation and addition to the property. There is now an uber chic and equally expensive restaurant on the beach. Like other hotels, you can pay for use of their lounge chairs on the beach which makes for the perfect day. The beach is long and has the softest sand on the island and you can wade out, play in the waves, or take a nice beach walk checking out the villas that line the shore.
PACKING INSPIRATION You’re in Europe…in the Caribbean! Think Côte d’Azur meets Capri meets (at least more recently) Upper East Side NYC style. It’s the most sophisticated island in the Caribbean and you should expect others to be dressed as such. Women aren’t scared to show up at the beach fully bejeweled, and even if your feet are in the sand, your top is certainly going to be eyed across the beach.
PACKING TIPS: During the day you’re hanging around in a bathing suit and tee or button-up short-sleeve shirt to go to chic beach club lunches. Don’t forget your sunscreen and beach bag as you’ll be going from beach to beach and likely in a Mini convertible! In the evening you should dress up like you’re at a beach resort in the Côte d’Azur.
SHOES: For this trip you’ll need:
Sandals or flip flops for the day.
Evening shoes that are casual but sophisticated.
Workout or walking shoes for walks around your villa/hotel or a workout.
SHOP SAM’S LOOKS