The Most Fun You Can Have in a Hotel in St. Barth: Le Guanahani

JEK

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The Most Fun You Can Have in a Hotel in St. Barth: Le Guanahani


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The Playful Hotel Guanahani in St. Barth


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Le Guanahani

The main beach, perfect for strolling, or for venturing out to go windsurfing or kite surfing


The Caribbean’s most luxurious island is awash in exquisitely private villas and small hotels that are coolly minimalist in design or endlessly romantic in vibe—the kinds of places where you just want to hole up with your chic French furniture and your favorite travel companion.


There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but the sheer burst of joy I felt every time I stepped out of my room at Le Guanahanilast month came as a welcome surprise. (I stayed as a guest of the hotel.) Locking my door, I took in the sunshiney turquoise of my bungalow’s exterior. Heading down the path to the beach, I caught sight of the yellows and lavenders of my neighbors’ cottages in between riots of red and fuchsia hibiscus and bougainvillea and lush seas of green. Anyone who says bright color isn’t a balm for the soul hasn’t been here. The garden air smells of flowers mixed with sea salt, and small turtles occasionally amble onto the path to eat a fallen blossom.

Le Guanahani, which is most of the way through a major refresh that will be completed this fall, is also a place for people who are looking for a more active, explicit style of island fun. Although it’s in Grand Cul-de-Sac, far from the restaurants and nightlife of Gustavia, there’s a lot going on. It’s closest thing the island has (for now) to a big resort. With 67 rooms and suites, it’s still small, but it has big-resort amenities: the only full-service spa on the island (with excellent Clarins face and body treatments), two restaurants, two pools, two beaches, a kids club, tennis courts and a full-size gym with a beautiful ocean view.


Those rooms are the biggest on the island, very private (no more than two rooms under one roof) and beautiful to boot. Light-filled and airy, they’re designed in a timeless explorer style, with graceful four-poster beds and fun details like the retro-style luggage used to house the minibar. (The same motif shows up in the very groovy lobby.) Ten of them have two or three bedrooms and unique themed designs, such as the Admiral Suite, dedicated to Christopher Columbus, and the loft-style Wellness Suite, right above the spa, whose guests get direct access and after-hours use of the spa facilities and adults-only spa pool.

More than half the accommodations are suites, which helps explain why Le Guanahani is considered the most family-friendly hotel on the island. About half the hotel’s business is families, general manager Martein van Wagenberg told me, but I never felt like it was loud or too family-centric (aside from the shouts of “Marco Polo” during breakfast at the beach restaurant, which is edged on one side by the main pool).

Grand Cul-de-Sac is serious fun too. Le Guanahani has an ideal setting, with a bay on either side. One has a placid, child-friendly surface, while the other has bigger waves. That placid bay is also the island’s mecca for windsurfing and kite surfing, thanks to that calm surface and reliable winds. The hotel offers kayaks, SUP boards, windsurfers and lessons pretty much on demand—I was in the water 15 minutes after I asked about booking one—and the concierge can arrange lessons with the kite surfing outfitter down the beach.

Van Wagenberg, who arrived fairly recently from Las Ventanas in Cabo and Little Dix Bay in the BVI, has been bringing fresh ideas to the hotel. It’s about to get its Green Globe certification for its environmental initiatives, and it’s in the process of adding hiking paths and educational, nature-focused activities, such as moonlight kayaking trips. He’s also beefing up the wellness offerings, with the idea of making Le Guanahani a place for a wellness experience, not just a spa treatment. (A update to the spa itself is coming soon too.) There are regular yoga and pilates classes, and periodic retreats with former supermodel Estelle Lefébure, whose Orahe program combines stand-up paddle boarding with mindfulness, gymnastics and yoga.One thing van Wagenberg hasn’t had to mess with is the food. On an island full of great restaurants, Le Guanahani more than holds its own.

There’s the nifty Cook Your Catch program, which combines Atlantic deep-sea fishing with a chef-prepared lunch or dinner centered on your fish, grilled, as ceviche, as sashimi or whatever. Less work is the walk up to Bartolomeo, the fine-dining restaurant in a pretty garden, where the chef mixes Caribbean spices with Mediterranean flavors for dinner. Even easier is the stroll down to Indigo on the Beach, where feet-in-the-sand lunches often include ceviche or sashimi that someone else did the work of catching, and all kinds of other fresh deliciousness. A month later, I’m still daydreaming about Indigo’s big-as-your-face burrata with super-flavorful tomatoes. Lunching on that—for the record, I shared it—was its own special brand of fun.

The most fun way to get to St. Barth is on Tradewind Aviation, which replicates the experience of flying private on scheduled flights on Pilatus PC-12s from San Juan, St. Thomas and Antigua.


 
Ok, non, I did not write this but could have.. The author did a magnificent job, which is exactly why I would never write all this great stuff and crowd up my home away from home! Kids, let's keep this place on the down low and don't let it get out. I am afraid the legendary Guanahani cats are now out of the bag..(no worries, they are not wild but fed and vetted by an onsite girl, Agnes, paid by the hotel). So, let's keep this stuff under wraps, my dear JEK, svp.. Feel free to tell everyone to go visit San Diego and have a great time at the zoo. I'll even take them to Legoland myself if it will keep everybody out of SBH! Merci for the fab article. Now delete your post..:D!!!!
 
perfect response... yes... come to San Diego and go to the zoo. I am guessing this has been asked and answered but can one enjoy the 'beach" ath Le Guanahani without staying there? Lunch and linger?
 
,So, let's keep this stuff under wraps, my dear JEK, svp.. Feel free to tell everyone to go visit San Diego and have a great time at the zoo. I'll even take them to Legoland myself if it will keep everybody out of SBH! Merci for the fab article. Now delete your post..:D!!!!

my dear......that ship has looooooooong ago sailed......sorry

and there s no way you re getting that genie back in his lantern :cool:
 
perfect response... yes... come to San Diego and go to the zoo. I am guessing this has been asked and answered but can one enjoy the 'beach" ath Le Guanahani without staying there? Lunch and linger?

Ah, the zoo! Met Mrs. JEK in SD. Mr. A's was our spot, right on the glide slope to SAN.
 
Oh my goodness, what a great story! The guy that owns Mr. A's, a very elegant and scenic restaurant up on the hill, is a good friend, and he and his wife own a very beautiful restaurant in our little town which is the local "cantine"..lol! Mr. A's is on the landing path for SAN. It's like the planes play chicken with the clients and it is a great sport/entertainment to watch them. (You can't be at the zoo 24/7!). You must come back to celebrate your meeting with us. (Seriously, PM if you are in the area. I have a chance of maybe catching MikeR next time!)

Of course, MikeR, you are totally correct on your assessment of SBH. No secrets but always something to discover new. We ended up being pretty sloth-like the whole time here.
 
We have been to Mr. A's too. I even have matches from there. We stayed at the Del in Coronado.
 
When we first went to the island we chose between Guanahani and IDF. We choose IDF and were very happy. Now that we have been renting a villa for a number of years and visit the hotels, we agree that if we were to do it all over again- our choice would be Guanahani- more informal and laid back and more room to wander. IDF is more compact but very nice. The Guanahani has that big pool and 2 beaches although the beach at IDF is hard to beat.
 
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