Sharon
SBH Member
After getting engaged, we quickly realized that we were much more excited about planning the honeymoon than the wedding. When we decided on St. Barts, we spent hours looking at hotel and villa options. Ultimately, we reached out to the great community at SBH Online, and were pointed in the direction of Flamands Blue. We knew that it was meant to be, as Jeff’s villa had already caught our eye in our initial search. Everyone simply raved about it, and we tried to keep our expectations in check. Well, Jeff and the villa offered by far the best honeymoon experience we could have imagined.
It was an easy flight into St. Maarten, and the excitement really began when we boarded our St. Barts Commuter flight. We were the only “first timers” on our flight, and we could tell we were in for a treat by speaking with our fellow passengers. The mood was entirely different than it had been on our large flight to St. Maarten – these people were ready to have some fun! I was practically the co-pilot, and we got to see an amazing aerial view of our home for the next week.
Everyone was incredibly helpful in directing us to the the villa (although Jeff also provided excellent directions), and we got there without a hitch. Diana made us feel right at home, and we were so incredibly impressed by our accommodations. The photos don’t do it justice, and the view is one of the most spectacular around! We decided to head into Gustavia to have a nice, low-key night because we were still a little tired from our day of traveling. We’d had several people tell us that Bagatelle had terrific food and a fun atmosphere. Little did we know that the “fun” atmosphere translates into dancing on tables and group sing-alongs. We ended up staying out much later than we anticipated, but we had a blast watching (and participating) in all of the fun. An evening here was such a great way to start the trip.
The following day, we took Jeff’s advice and picked up croissants from the little bakery just up the hill. Enjoying the delicious pastries every morning on the villa terrace became one of our favorite things about our stay. We also discovered that they have delicious (and affordable) sandwiches for lunch!
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We decided to spend the day exploring the island, and broke out our map and sunscreen. We made it to 10 beaches on the first day, and had such a good time navigating around and seeing the whole island. It was a great way to decide where to revisit on the following days.
We spent the next few days lounging on all of the island’s beautiful beaches – it was so hard to pick a favorite! Flamands is definitely one of the best around, and it’s so nice to be able to walk from the villa. We also discovered that Shell beach has great swimming, and wonderful restaurant to pop into in case of a rain shower and emergency glass of wine!
We’re so glad that Jeff told us about the hikes that are available on the island, as these are some of our best memories! Colombier is absolutely breathtaking, and we spent an incredible afternoon there. The hike to the natural pools was incredible in itself – we felt like real adventurers! The pools were a wonderful reward to reach at the end of our journey.
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The next day was spent soaking up some serious luxury at Cheval Blanc Isle de France. It’s a stunning hotel, and just down the hill from Flamands Blue. It’s definitely worth the splurge to enjoy lunch there and take advantage of their beach loungers for the day.
While on the island, we met some of the members of the SBH online community. They were so friendly and welcoming, and even invited us to their sunset watching “party” at the lighthouse in Gustavia. We felt like we were part of the crew, and can’t wait to be on our 20[SUP]th[/SUP] trip showing the island around to newbies like us one day!
On our final day, we planned a return visit to Colombier. This time, at Jeff’s recommendation, we booked a trip on a chartered catamaran with Jicky Marine. It was incredible to see Gustavia and Colombier from the perspective of being out in the water, and we had such a blast snorkeling.
There were 3 other couples on the boat with us, and two of them were also honeymooning! We hit it off so well, that we agreed to meet at Baglatelle that night for our send-off party. Again, we had so much fun, and it was a great place to begin and end our trip.
We both agree that the island has some of the best food we’ve ever eaten, and we looked forward to dinner (when we splurged a little more) every day! It was so nice to spend a day at the beach, come home and shower and dress for dinner, while watching the sunset over Flamands from our window. All while enjoying an aperitif, of course!
We ended our trip enjoying yet another fabulous meal, this time at the sandwich shop that Jeff recommended near the airport. It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip.
It was so hard to leave Flamands Blue, and the island, and taking our last photos was bittersweet. It definitely eased the pain to know that we had officially been on our honeymoon, and it was better than we ever imagined. We can’t wait to return the island, and to Flamands Blue, for future special occasions or “just because” getaways.
It was an easy flight into St. Maarten, and the excitement really began when we boarded our St. Barts Commuter flight. We were the only “first timers” on our flight, and we could tell we were in for a treat by speaking with our fellow passengers. The mood was entirely different than it had been on our large flight to St. Maarten – these people were ready to have some fun! I was practically the co-pilot, and we got to see an amazing aerial view of our home for the next week.
Everyone was incredibly helpful in directing us to the the villa (although Jeff also provided excellent directions), and we got there without a hitch. Diana made us feel right at home, and we were so incredibly impressed by our accommodations. The photos don’t do it justice, and the view is one of the most spectacular around! We decided to head into Gustavia to have a nice, low-key night because we were still a little tired from our day of traveling. We’d had several people tell us that Bagatelle had terrific food and a fun atmosphere. Little did we know that the “fun” atmosphere translates into dancing on tables and group sing-alongs. We ended up staying out much later than we anticipated, but we had a blast watching (and participating) in all of the fun. An evening here was such a great way to start the trip.
The following day, we took Jeff’s advice and picked up croissants from the little bakery just up the hill. Enjoying the delicious pastries every morning on the villa terrace became one of our favorite things about our stay. We also discovered that they have delicious (and affordable) sandwiches for lunch!
View attachment 35580
We decided to spend the day exploring the island, and broke out our map and sunscreen. We made it to 10 beaches on the first day, and had such a good time navigating around and seeing the whole island. It was a great way to decide where to revisit on the following days.
We spent the next few days lounging on all of the island’s beautiful beaches – it was so hard to pick a favorite! Flamands is definitely one of the best around, and it’s so nice to be able to walk from the villa. We also discovered that Shell beach has great swimming, and wonderful restaurant to pop into in case of a rain shower and emergency glass of wine!
We’re so glad that Jeff told us about the hikes that are available on the island, as these are some of our best memories! Colombier is absolutely breathtaking, and we spent an incredible afternoon there. The hike to the natural pools was incredible in itself – we felt like real adventurers! The pools were a wonderful reward to reach at the end of our journey.
View attachment 35583
The next day was spent soaking up some serious luxury at Cheval Blanc Isle de France. It’s a stunning hotel, and just down the hill from Flamands Blue. It’s definitely worth the splurge to enjoy lunch there and take advantage of their beach loungers for the day.
While on the island, we met some of the members of the SBH online community. They were so friendly and welcoming, and even invited us to their sunset watching “party” at the lighthouse in Gustavia. We felt like we were part of the crew, and can’t wait to be on our 20[SUP]th[/SUP] trip showing the island around to newbies like us one day!
On our final day, we planned a return visit to Colombier. This time, at Jeff’s recommendation, we booked a trip on a chartered catamaran with Jicky Marine. It was incredible to see Gustavia and Colombier from the perspective of being out in the water, and we had such a blast snorkeling.
There were 3 other couples on the boat with us, and two of them were also honeymooning! We hit it off so well, that we agreed to meet at Baglatelle that night for our send-off party. Again, we had so much fun, and it was a great place to begin and end our trip.
We both agree that the island has some of the best food we’ve ever eaten, and we looked forward to dinner (when we splurged a little more) every day! It was so nice to spend a day at the beach, come home and shower and dress for dinner, while watching the sunset over Flamands from our window. All while enjoying an aperitif, of course!
We ended our trip enjoying yet another fabulous meal, this time at the sandwich shop that Jeff recommended near the airport. It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip.
It was so hard to leave Flamands Blue, and the island, and taking our last photos was bittersweet. It definitely eased the pain to know that we had officially been on our honeymoon, and it was better than we ever imagined. We can’t wait to return the island, and to Flamands Blue, for future special occasions or “just because” getaways.
