St. Barths - French Caribbean Paradise Island

St. Barths has been on my bucket list for quite some time, and in February of 2022, I finally got the chance to visit! I had just become a U.S. citizen in January, so this trip was a celebration of getting my American passport!

As some of you may know, I’m a big fan of the French Riviera and I've often heard that St. Barths had a lot in common with the Cote d’Azur (with far better beaches), so I was very excited to check it out! We rented a chic, minimalist villa on the top of a steep hill with a gorgeous view of the sea near Anse de Cayes. Soon after our arrival, we realized that even though the island is small, it doesn't make very much sense to walk there because it has many steep, volcanic hills that can be quite a workout if you're just walking everywhere! Disclaimer: you should also be a fairly skilled driver in order to drive on the island, as the roads are narrow and there are no lights at night. 

The island is famous for its multitude of luxurious beach clubs, hotels and restaurants that are frequented by glitterati from all corners of the globe, and since it was high season, we booked all of our lunches and dinners in advance. First, we went to party at Bagatelle since we’ve been to the club in Cannes many times and we love it! The sushi boat and rosé were delicious, and the waiters were extremely friendly and the life of the party!

The following day, we had lunch at Cheval Blanc, which is a pristine LVMH hotel located near Flamands beach. Cheval Blanc has a gorgeous property covered in palm trees and a horseshoe shaped beach, and I really enjoyed the mocktails and juice at the bar, but the rest of the food was somewhat standard. 

My favorite beach on the island has to be Saint Jean, and that’s where the Eden Rock hotel, which is an outpost of the famous Hotel Du Cap in Antibes, is located. I really enjoyed having breakfasts there – the coffee was delicious, and there were tons of healthy food options like avocado toast, açaí bowls and omelettes, among others! The buffet was also good value, as far as these things go on expensive Caribbean islands!  Eden Rock's beach has a floating swim platform, and since I’m obsessed with the ocean and swimming, I spent half the vacation diving from the platform while meeting some nice people from NY and CA!

Thinking on beach clubs for a moment, two of the ones that I enjoyed quite a lot were GypSea and Shellona. Both had fantastic live music, DJs, and party all day long, with great grilled seafood right on the beach! 

The island also has a duty free shopping area in Gustavia – Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Hermes, Chopard, Dolce & Gabbana, and Dior all have little boutiques right there on the Main Street, which is called Rue de la Republique, and they're endlessly cute. The same street has a stylish French bakery called Sin Garden where we literally went every single day for pastries!

In terms of cultural experiences,  we had a little cultural experience visiting Rudolf Nureev's house on the eastern side of the island, and also checking out our friend Bjorn Skaarup's sculpture garden in Gustavia near the port.

For dinners, we checked out Nikki Beach and La Guérite – Nikki Beach is mostly known for throwing wonderfully outrageous beach parties with costumes, and it never disappoints! La Guérite is more of a dinner venue that turns into a party later on (perhaps similar to Bagatelle), and the crowd was on the older side, but the music and atmosphere were still pretty good.

In any case, this trip was mostly about 1) swimming – the water temperature is perfect like a bathtub, and I enjoyed all of the little waves and the gorgeous natural pools (make sure you bring the water shoes) immensely, and 2) French culture with the delicious cuisine and fun European party vibe!