St. Barts Editor Picks

Seeking a place big enough to accommodate an entire family without splurging on a villa? Consider the gingerbread cottages at Hotel Guanahani & Spa – the largest resort on the island. Of the 68 cottages spread out over 16 acres overlooking Marigot Bay, the most charming are the colorful, oceanview houses that are right on the beach. Rooms have elegant wood floors and pastel accents that create a sleek Creole vibe that is at once contemporary and classic.

Bed down in this exquisite colonial-style gem on breathtaking Flamands Beach with enormous rooms, superb food and service, and a hedonistic spa.

One of the last bastions of formal French dining on St. Barths is found in the romantic...more

This exemplary eatery is known for its amiable owners, harbor views, gracious service, and...more

This restaurant in the courtyard of the Hôtel Baie des Anges is the spot for lobster -...more

The island’s most stunning beach is an untrammeled southern cove the hue of Champagne, encircled by steep cliffs, and occupied by a few buff, bronze, bare bods. The sunsets and snorkeling are both fabulous.

Villas are not only the island's best value for families and large groups thanks to their spacious accommodations, but also the most convenient option (because most hotels are small, it is often very difficult to book several rooms near one another). Wimco rents out over 250 magnificent properties on St. Barts, including a heavenly hillside villa once owned by Liz Claiborne (Wimco's villa VGM).

2008 SMART LUXURY WINNER
In-the-Know Villas

Vacation villas have a reputation as hideaways for nose-in-the-air moguls. But the secret of villa rental is that they are incredibly cost-effective. Travel with friends or family, and suddenly a three-bedroom beachside vacation home can bring even the priciest destination within reach. Plus, villas often boast full kitchens, daily housekeeping, private pools, and sometimes extras like workout rooms and tennis courts.

Wimco Villas & Hotels has 1,600 properties throughout the Caribbean, from modest one-bedroom cottages in Anguilla to multibedroom megavillas in Turks and Caicos. Listings are refreshingly honest, noting when a pool or room is small orwhen there's too much noise.

On the French-inflected isle of St. Barts, the smallest room at iconic Eden Roc in the off-season is $631/night and jumps to $882 in the high season; at ultrahigh-end Carl Gustav, suites go for $1,470 during the winter. This is not a cheap destination. Or is it? Wimco's Villa SIB AMS is a spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a pool that rents for $3,990/week in the high season. That works out to just $285/night for each bedroom, and way more space than a hotel (plus nobody's crowding the pool but you and yours). Another bonus: Wimco's services, such as airport transfers, restaurant reservations, babysitters, and private chefs, are free of charge.

Great Value Alternative: Rooms at family-run Village St. Jean on St. Barts have stellar views. From $284/night; www.villagestjeanhotel.com

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The A-list makes a beeline to St. Barts version of the super-hot club chain, which is arguably the island’s most hedonistic, exclusive, decadent, and outrageous. The space comes complete with split-level decks, tiki huts, and four-poster beds to encourage intimacy. Staffers are quite possibly more gorgeous than the model crowd.

Sunset at the “Goose” is as close to sacrosanct tradition as St. Barths gets: the...more

This shop sells Hervé Brin’s line of beauty products and scents extracted from Caribbean flora such as frangipani and passionfruit. The Brin family settled on St. Barts three centuries ago and claims many concoctions have been passed down over generations; all are beautifully packaged in miniature glass flasks.