What is French, less than 10 miles in size, and the Caribbean’s native habitat for beautiful people? Welcome to Saint-Barthélemy, a.k.a St. Barths.
About two and a half hours from Miami by air (day trip!), the ironic thing about this island is that it was a total dive until the 1980s. But how things change: what was once the runt of the litter of French possessions in the Caribbean, it is now synonymous with the rarified world of the 1%.
And St. Barths is dang proud of it, thankyouverymuch. Touching down in the capital of Gustavia — whose un-Gallic name is a throwback to 1784 when Sweden was the landlord — visitors will be on the serious outs if they don’t have a luxury wardrobe, luxury handbags, and luxury key card.
Key card?
The first hotel to be built on the island, Eden Rock has never let go of the hammerlock it has on headcount and cachet. Built on a rocky promontory overlooking the stained-glass window of blue waters in St. Jean Bay, this is address to impress. Butler service? Check. Endless culinary orgasms courtesy of world famous Master Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten? Check. A villa complete with a studio stocked with the equipment John Lennon used to record “Imagine?” Checkity-check-check.
In the hyper-competitive game of luxury, Eden Rock trends a little towards OCD, but this is one of those rare cases where the ends justify the means. The property has five types of accommodations, the beach rooms, legacy rooms (those not sea-side), suites, cottages, and the afore-mentioned villas. Personally, if I’m going to St. Barths, I am going to have the beach within eyeshot at all times no matter where I go, room included. That being said, you really aren’t going to lose wherever you end up. No two rooms are exactly alike — some are painted a marble white, giving the impression you are adrift in a cloud, others are all rich wood and billowing curtains — but all have the same meticulous adherence to pure decadence one would expect on an island paradise.
As good as they are, you won’t be spending the majority of your time in the rooms (although masseurs that come right to your door will do their best). Far from being a tourist-trap with euro sings, St. Barths is undisputedly one of the Caribbean’s natural gems. Eden Rock yachts are available to take you on an ocean tour of the sugar-white beaches et al. Beaches, I may say, you have exclusive access to; the original property was on the promontory, but has since expanded to include less rocky real estate. Attendants, called Beach Boys, cater to your every whim.
So long as they are G-rated whims. Hands off the staff, people.
For more information, go to saintbarth-tourisme.com/en and edenrockhotel.com. Steele Luxury Travel provides VIP amenities and upgrades when booking at the Eden Rock Hotel and most luxury hotels worldwide. Visit www.SteeleTravel.com for more details!