ADorocke
SBH Member
Just got back late last night after 8 nights in Paradis! Except for losing a pair of beloved lunettes de soleil to Flamands, and a fainting spell at SXM, all went quite smoothly overall. Todd and I took our 9 year old, Audrey for her first visit to kick off her Summer vacation.
ORD to SXM on United... 4-5 hours in Business class was the way to go. Used PIV for the transit, and got on an earlier flight on WinAir. Audrey did not tolerate the heat shock very well at SXM but loved the flight over to SBH. We ran into GramChop and her granddaughter and ended up on the same plane! A great surprise! The pilots let Audrey shut down the aircraft after landing... she was invited into the cockpit to flip the switches!
We picked up our two rental cars... One came with the Villa - a Kia Picanto, and the other was the chosen VW T-Roc Convertible. Very fun but felt a bit wide on the roads. It handled the hills well though. I often though took "the Beater," as we came to call it, because it felt smaller and zippier and not so imposing on the roads.
Off to LePiment for a quick refreshment before heading to the Villa!
each:
Villa La Magnifica in Devet/Vitet did not disappoint. The views of Grand Fond were fabulous! However, the construction detour was very time consuming and made for some tough driving... I do not think that I would have gone with that location had I known what we were in for. I love driving on the island too. Vitet was a nice change of scenery but next time we will be back at Flamands:heart1:
Sunday was Nikki Beach to really start things off with a bang! :wink2: What a hoot! The sax player was fun. Very loud though - we are too old!? Had the nicest time in the water there following. No beach chairs/bed - 1000e liquor spend required. On Monday, we checked out the other side of St. Jean and spent the day at Pearl Beach for lunch and chaises. Saw lots of planes taking off but no access for views of landings.
On to the highlights... Dad arrived from ATL and we spent the day at Le Toiny Beach Club. Highly recommend! The setting is lovely. The ride down in The Defender is a real thrill! We enjoyed the pool. Had the Pea (tendrils) salad, and Mahi. (Pretty much had the Mahi, Dorade or Wahoo everywhere we went. The lobster shortage is still happening.)
Next day, we hotel/beach hopped over to Cheval Blanc at Flamands. It was interesting to see how these properties have been transformed over the past decade with the change of ownership. Loved the expanded setting here! Todd went in for the Mahi hot dog. :grin1: We had several glasses of wine between the three of us, and a hefty l'addition but it was well worth it, IMO. (Apparently, par la bouteille is the better to go.) Had access to the pools which was nice, especially for Audrey and after the ocean got surly with us.
Eden Rock Sand Bar for dinner... :heart1::heart1::heart1: Beautiful at night! Perfection, as always. Had the best mashed potatoes of my life!? (with the filet de beouf)
We had a perfect last day which started out at Grand Cul de Sac to see the kite-boarders/surfers. Spent the afternoon at Le Barthelemy - another gorgeous new property! Saw some baby sharks in the water... Did not go in, but loved this pool there which we rated a "10" :up: Then, late afternoon, we hopped back on over to St. Jean where Todd and Audrey rented one of those "electric body bullets" :questionmark: We (I) did not plan our Saturday dinner very well, with no reservations... tried to get in to Bonito to no avail (what a gorgeous setting!!), and ended up at L'Isola which was also beyond any expectations - so refined and authentic and intimate. :heart1:
Departed on SBC with PIV on the transit. Absolutely the smoothest, most pleasant experience overall! The plane was nicer, the crew nicer... maybe it was just because it was all from SBH... And Vincent's team were the best in ushering us through SXM in about under 15 minutes. It was so nice to bypass all of those lines even on the return home. Flew SXM-IAD-ORD because of no Sunday non-stops. Will possibly consider springing for Tradewinds next time, given what was spent on business class roundtrip and PIV.
It was great to be back on the best place on earth! Everyone was so friendly as always. Enjoyed struggling to speak French. It’s been too long!
Au revoir, St Barth... Je t'aime encore et toujours!
ORD to SXM on United... 4-5 hours in Business class was the way to go. Used PIV for the transit, and got on an earlier flight on WinAir. Audrey did not tolerate the heat shock very well at SXM but loved the flight over to SBH. We ran into GramChop and her granddaughter and ended up on the same plane! A great surprise! The pilots let Audrey shut down the aircraft after landing... she was invited into the cockpit to flip the switches!
We picked up our two rental cars... One came with the Villa - a Kia Picanto, and the other was the chosen VW T-Roc Convertible. Very fun but felt a bit wide on the roads. It handled the hills well though. I often though took "the Beater," as we came to call it, because it felt smaller and zippier and not so imposing on the roads.
Off to LePiment for a quick refreshment before heading to the Villa!
each:Villa La Magnifica in Devet/Vitet did not disappoint. The views of Grand Fond were fabulous! However, the construction detour was very time consuming and made for some tough driving... I do not think that I would have gone with that location had I known what we were in for. I love driving on the island too. Vitet was a nice change of scenery but next time we will be back at Flamands:heart1:
Sunday was Nikki Beach to really start things off with a bang! :wink2: What a hoot! The sax player was fun. Very loud though - we are too old!?
Had the nicest time in the water there following. No beach chairs/bed - 1000e liquor spend required. On Monday, we checked out the other side of St. Jean and spent the day at Pearl Beach for lunch and chaises. Saw lots of planes taking off but no access for views of landings. On to the highlights... Dad arrived from ATL and we spent the day at Le Toiny Beach Club. Highly recommend! The setting is lovely. The ride down in The Defender is a real thrill! We enjoyed the pool. Had the Pea (tendrils) salad, and Mahi. (Pretty much had the Mahi, Dorade or Wahoo everywhere we went. The lobster shortage is still happening.)
Next day, we hotel/beach hopped over to Cheval Blanc at Flamands. It was interesting to see how these properties have been transformed over the past decade with the change of ownership. Loved the expanded setting here! Todd went in for the Mahi hot dog. :grin1: We had several glasses of wine between the three of us, and a hefty l'addition but it was well worth it, IMO. (Apparently, par la bouteille is the better to go.) Had access to the pools which was nice, especially for Audrey and after the ocean got surly with us.
Eden Rock Sand Bar for dinner... :heart1::heart1::heart1: Beautiful at night! Perfection, as always. Had the best mashed potatoes of my life!? (with the filet de beouf)
We had a perfect last day which started out at Grand Cul de Sac to see the kite-boarders/surfers. Spent the afternoon at Le Barthelemy - another gorgeous new property! Saw some baby sharks in the water... Did not go in, but loved this pool there which we rated a "10" :up: Then, late afternoon, we hopped back on over to St. Jean where Todd and Audrey rented one of those "electric body bullets" :questionmark: We (I) did not plan our Saturday dinner very well, with no reservations... tried to get in to Bonito to no avail (what a gorgeous setting!!), and ended up at L'Isola which was also beyond any expectations - so refined and authentic and intimate. :heart1:
Departed on SBC with PIV on the transit. Absolutely the smoothest, most pleasant experience overall! The plane was nicer, the crew nicer... maybe it was just because it was all from SBH... And Vincent's team were the best in ushering us through SXM in about under 15 minutes. It was so nice to bypass all of those lines even on the return home. Flew SXM-IAD-ORD because of no Sunday non-stops. Will possibly consider springing for Tradewinds next time, given what was spent on business class roundtrip and PIV.
It was great to be back on the best place on earth! Everyone was so friendly as always. Enjoyed struggling to speak French. It’s been too long!
Au revoir, St Barth... Je t'aime encore et toujours!
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