St. Barth

[wild_turkey 3159]

I’ll be there in early December as well. It’s a great time to go because the island is nice and green, great weather, and it’s before high season officially starts.

The Carl Gustaf seems like a great hotel. I haven’t stayed there but I have eaten dinner twice at their restaurant (Fouquet’s) since they reopened the hotel and it’s phenomenal. The hotel decor is great and the views of Gustavia are amazing too.

Rent a car. Get something small like a Mini Cooper because the roads are narrow and parking spaces are small. You will want the car to explore during the day, and yes, driving in St. Barth can be fun.

From your hotel you can walk to many restaurants around Gustavia - Bonito, Isola, Shellona, Bagatelle, plus all the more casual places in town. If you are uncomfortable driving at night, your hotel can easily get you a taxi for dinner to anywhere you can’t walk.

I recommend dinner reservations at most places. Email your concierge about a week in advance and they should be able to help, or ask us here. Lunch reservations aren’t as important unless you want a weekend table at a popular beach club like Nikki or Gypsea.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

[benson32 7]

Highly recommend the chef seating menu at Zion. Incredible food and Chef Jean-Baptiste (JB) is fun to converse with. Veal tartar and the pigeon were the favorites.

There are only 4-5 seats so book ahead.

[Landomatic 3813]

On 5/7/2021 at 4:18 PM, wild_turkey said:

You haven’t met Mrs. WT who strongly prefers big lunches AND big dinners. Thankfully St. Barth is super cheap or we’d go broke.

Typical lunch rotation - Shellona, Nikki, Cheval Blanc, Pearl Beach, Isoletta, Le Select, Sand Bar (Eden Rock), Mango (Christopher), Le Toiny

Typical dinner rotation - Bonito, Orega, Tamarin, Santa Fe, Carl Gustaf, Bagatelle, Isola, Le Ti, Eddy’s

My favorite lunch is a baguette, fruit, prosciutto, water, and rosé while sitting in the sand at Saline or Gouverneur. Then we pass out until 9 pm and then get ready for a big dinner.

 

Le Ti worth it? Saying 1,000 Euro minimum for 2 of us. @Johnny Sack, @ChiTownDoc, @Reynolds Woodcock or anyone else ever been? Kind of feels like one of the only big party night places on the island.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

9 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

Le Ti worth it? Saying 1,000 Euro minimum for 2 of us. @Johnny Sack, @ChiTownDoc, @Reynolds Woodcock or anyone else ever been? Kind of feels like one of the only big party night places on the island.

I don’t love it.  I’d spend a few hundred at Nikki Beach on Sunday afternoon for partying.  Then after that go to Santa Fe for a few hundred for dinner. 

[ChiTownDoc 21139]

1 hour ago, Landomatic said:

Le Ti worth it? Saying 1,000 Euro minimum for 2 of us. @Johnny Sack, @ChiTownDoc, @Reynolds Woodcock or anyone else ever been? Kind of feels like one of the only big party night places on the island.

It was great when I went - but full disclosure we went when pretty much everything was packed to the gills so I don't think it's a good gauge of how it's like on more 'normal' weekends.  

[wild_turkey 3159]

2 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Le Ti worth it? Saying 1,000 Euro minimum for 2 of us. @Johnny Sack, @ChiTownDoc, @Reynolds Woodcock or anyone else ever been? Kind of feels like one of the only big party night places on the island.

First time at Le Ti was just the 2 of us, sat in the back, didn't have a great view of the cabaret show, and the food was just okay. It was the last night of our first time in St. Barth and we were disappointed after having fantastic meals everywhere else all week long. It wasn't horrible, just not great, and a weak way to end the trip.

Second time was better because we were there with a group and sat next to the stage so everything was front and center. Also, we went into it knowing that the food was mediocre and we were there to party with friends and that's what we got. That works for groups but it's hard for 2 people to get a table that close.

I would personally skip Le Ti and focus on better meals elsewhere. If you want a lively party atmosphere, Bagatelle is your friend. The party goes pretty hard there and you don't even have to eat there if you don't want to. Just show up around 10 pm after eating anywhere you like.

[Landomatic 3813]

Sounds like a pass...at least for this trip.

[Landomatic 3813]

Obligatory…

[Johnny Sack 8397]

21 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Obligatory…

Just seeing that brings me such good feelings.  Love that place.  Have a great time.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

Nothing better than the feeling when you get off the plane at SBH.  You take Winair or St. Barth Commuter?  Or did you splurge and do the Pilatus with Tradewinds from Puerto Rico?

[royiv 9244]

3 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Nothing better than the feeling when you get off the plane at SBH.  You take Winair or St. Barth Commuter?  Or did you splurge and do the Pilatus with Tradewinds from Puerto Rico?

Not big on context clues? Captain is wearing a Tradewind lanyard and the plane’s N number is N224TW which is printed on two separate plaques directly below the word Pilatus.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

10 minutes ago, royiv said:

Not big on context clues? Captain is wearing a Tradewind lanyard and the plane’s N number is N224TW which is printed on two separate plaques directly below the word Pilatus.

I was looking at the scenery, not lanyards or tail numbers.

[HeHateMe 883]

6 hours ago, royiv said:

Not big on context clues? Captain is wearing a Tradewind lanyard and the plane’s N number is N224TW which is printed on two separate plaques directly below the word Pilatus.

Thanks Carmen San Diego.  Why be a dick to the guy who has brought the most insight to this thread?  Thanks Johnny for the first hand knowledge. 

[tx ind 7006]

Just booked for June, 10th anniversary. Flying in on Tradewinds from SJU.  Christopher hotel and they had a package w/ a car.

Thanks to all to contributors on here for the suggestions.

Edited March 12, 2022 by tx ind

[wild_turkey 3159]

Christopher hotel and they had a package w/ a car.

The standard car is probably a Kia Picante or similar. It will have some trouble climbing some of the hills, depending where you go. Do yourself a favor and ask them to upgrade it to a Mini Cooper, which they will do.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

About to book ten days during Thanksgiving.  Ready to go back.

[tx ind 7006]

[VABuckeye 2472]

That runway. 

[Landomatic 3813]

On 6/7/2022 at 5:53 PM, tx ind said:

Love seeing this thread bumped. Was supposed to be there right now, but had to cancel because the wife had back surgery. So, not going back until December, which is far too long. I'll have to live vicariously through you to get my fix. Enjoy and post updates.

BTW I blame all you assholes for getting me hooked on SBH...especially @wild_turkey and Mrs Wild Turkey.

[Landomatic 3813]

Just re-read the whole thread for nostalgia sake and realized I never posted updates from our trips. Went in December and April and had an amazing time both trips. Stayed at Carl Gustaf in December for 8 days, which I would highly recommend for first-timers. It's right in town and we really felt it helped us get a lay of the land not knowing anything. Stayed in a villa in Colombier for 2 weeks second trip, which was great. I think I'm team villa from here on, but there are pros and cons to both for sure.

I've spent way too much time researching villas and hotels (and pretty much everything St Barth related). Plus I feel like we've crammed a lot into our short time there as pretty much every day consisted of some kind of beach club with lunch out during the day and some kind of restaurant at night, so hopefully I can provide some decent info. We never did the picnic on the beach thing, although we always talk about it and I really want to try that sometime. We also cooked very few meals at the villa. Way too many to list, but here are some of our favorites...

• Restaurant - L'Isola
• Hotel - Eden Rock (Cheval Blanc close second)
• Beach Club - Gyp Sea
• Day Party - Nikki Beach on a Sunday (but that's kind of an outlier as there's really nothing else like it on island)
• Night Party - La Guerite on a Wednesday (but we've had great times at a lot of them - also, there are definitely certain nights that are better than others at certain places)

Rented a car the first trip and never drove it. It literally sat the entire time without us ever getting it out of the hotel's valet. So, we didn't get one next trip. Had a driver take us everywhere, which we prefer, but I can see how some would prefer having a car. As others have stated, if you get a car, Mini Cooper seems to be the way to go.

We go through San Juan and fly in on Tradewind and they are amazing. I doubt we'll ever do it any other way. It's a bitch to get to St Barth, but worth it in my opinion.

Honestly, I don't have a negative review of anywhere we've been at all. Sometimes you get some snobby "French asshole" attitude on service, but it's pretty rare and you just have to kind of learn to deal with that being part of the culture. It can happen anywhere (except L'Isola because they're all Italian) but for the most part, everyone is lovely.

We have definitely fallen in love with St Barth. We've made lifelong friends with people who live there and all over the world. And, although I was busting his balls in my last post, @wild_turkey showed us noobs a great time our first trip, so big props to him and his wife for showing us the way. And thanks to everyone else on this thread who got us to go. Can't wait to go back.

[wild_turkey 3159]

Headed back in a couple of days. I could use a little mental health escape right now and St. Barth is my go-to when I want to forget the rest of the world exists. Can’t wait to turn my brain off and eat good food. I’ll probably head out to Saline and drink some rosé and tan my ass cheeks.