A little different trip report (4/16/17 - 4/28/17)

My wife and I just returned from almost 2 weeks on St. Barts. This was our fourth vacation on the island. We now try to come every other year although we missed last year because our daughter was pregnant with our first Grandbaby and we did not want to tempt fate with Zika.

We love St. Barts for so many reasons. The people are so friendly (except the motorcyclists) and the island always feels very, very safe, again, except the motorcyclists. We have vacationed at many, many Caribbean islands and have not felt comfortable from a safety standpoint on most of them. St. Barts is the very rare exception.

For the second time in a row, and not the last, we stayed at Villa "Sud Ouest" in Corossol. This villa is perfect for us and the owner, Ernest BRIN, could not possibly be a nicer person. He comes every day very early morning before he goes to work as Harbor Master and makes sure everything is ok with the pool, etc. The few times we were up when he came by he was just so informative on the "goings on" on the island and anything else we wanted to know. Great views of the Corossol Bay and the planes flying in.

So here's where our trip report is a little different. We are not "foodies" at all so no pics of meals or restaurant reviews. Our routine consists of coffee and fresh croissants from La Petite Columbe in Corossol on the pool deck in the morning, either lunch at Le Piment (our favorite place on the island) or sandwiches or salad from La Petite Columbe or perhaps lunch somewhere else. We then pick a beach and go for the better part of the day. On the way back from the beach in the late afternoon we sometimes pick up salads, or cheeses and meats and a bagette (and a few bottles of wine) and then spend the rest of the day at the villa. First, cocktails in the pool until it gets to be dusk listening to music from the outdoor speakers and then a lite supper gazing at the stars and drinking some fabulous wine. Then we repeat this until time runs out and we need to leave. For the first time, we actually cooked a couple of lite meals at the villa. We rarely go out to dinner mostly because driving on the island is difficult enough sober, and after drinks at the pool, and then drinking at dinner, it seems like too big of a risk (and again, we're not "foodies"). We did check to see if Uber was on the island but no go. We, once again, got massages at the villa by Cleo and once again they were outstanding. We get massages regularly in the states and hers are as good as the best we've had. Highly recommended, (cleosbh@gmail.com, http://www.cleo-massage.com).

Some observations... the island is bustling with construction. This has to be a great sign for the economy of St. Barts albeit sometimes a little annoying for us visitors. Le Piment, as I said earlier, is our favorite place for drinks, appetizers, and lunches. The two gentlemen working there everyday we were there were just so nice and friendly. The food there was excellent, and we tried several different things. We had dinner at Les Bananiers, delicious, and had a fabulous pizza from there one night. (Note the drive to Les Bananiers from the villa is about 2 minutes.) The beaches seemed more crowded than usual in April, our normal time for vacation. And it was very windy these last two weeks. Not sure if this is a product of the time we went or just the weather. I need to research this a little because I have a skin condition and cannot take too much direct sunlight for too long a period of time. We have a great umbrella that works very well in windy conditions but even it was challenged this trip. One note to self, do not look at the weather forecast, ever. It is never accurate and just depresses you. We made that mistake the first week and it predicted rain the entire second week, and a lot of it. We had rain one day we were there and we were having cocktails at Le Piment so no big deal.

One disappointment is the fence on St. Jean beach. Going to the "other" end of St. Jean was one of our favorite things to do. Watching the planes landing and the quiet nature of that end made it a favorite. Last trip, we got to see a bunch of young children there most days with what looked like a "school" activity and it was great fun watching them play in the water. The fact that there is no way to enjoy that end of the beach now is too bad.

Overall, a fabulous vacation as always on St. Barts. Can't wait to come back in 2019! In the meantime, I'll go back to lurking on this website.

Nice report!

I enjoyed your write up..thank you.

Thank you for your report . . . I found myself relaxing, simply by reading it. I particularly like that you enjoyed "some fabulous wine" . . . instead of Vin ordinaire . That's the way to go on St. Barths!

Wonderful report. We, too, have stayed at Sud Ouest and it is a wonderful villa. Looking forward to returning there in February.

re the fences: When we were there this year, there was a report that the Collectivity was going to charge taxes on hotels and restaurants for chairs and umbrellas on the beaches -- and part of the monies collected was going to pay for surveillance on St. Jean beach at the end of the runway and the fences were going to be taken down. AND, no, this was February - not April 1!!

Ellen - or Rosita - or anyone in the "know" -- is this true? If so, when will the fences be removed and I have to wonder what does "surveillance" mean?

Hi Libby! I'm not necessarily "in the know," but it was explained to me last year by a friend at the Collectivité that there is a plan to do as you describe -- have a guard in some sort of a small structure at the end of the runway who would intermittently allow people to cross the beach there. Details were not refined . . . and no timing had been determined. I gathered, however, that the concept is to have gates that could be opened & closed by the guard, in coordination with the airport tower, as safe crossings were feasible. A bit like going from one side to the other at an old Berlin border crossing!

To us your trip report was not 'different.' Enjoying your pool, the beaches, meals at home and at Piment and Bananieres- life is good! Thank you for sharing!

You enjoy the island your way. Good for you!

Jgf711; although there is no Uber on the island, there is Minicab, which I had used successfully during the Bucket. They were very responsive to my emails and were quick for a pickup when I callled.

That's great input, Linda . . . I've heard reports about "Minicab," but you're the first I know with personal experience. It's a great concept, & I hope that it's in conformity with local taxi regulations so that it doesn't get shut down.

Thanks for all the feedback and the advice on minicab. We will definitely try it next trip, which cannot come soon enough.

Enjoyed your report very much. We happened to be on "the rock" for two weeks the same time as you. And you are absolutely correct about ignoring weather reports. We were checking the forecasts every day before we left and were so depressed seeing rain forecasted for a week or more. As you said, we had one day of rain. Having good weather was important for me as this was the first time I was to try shooting videos and not just photos of Saint Barth. It worked out well. And yes, you are right. The beaches were a little more crowded. We asked someone at Saint Barth Properties and they said that right after the rates go down (April 15th) there is an influx of visitors and then it tapers off quickly. We noticed the construction too. I have mixed feelings about that. I am happy to see people benefit economically but also being a benefactor of Saint Barth Essentiel I have concerns about the costs to the environment. Thank you for posting.