stbartslover
Senior Insider
We had not been to our Flamands Blue since late last March. Weather was a little rainy at first but the island is very green.
Flights in/out were smooth and it was great to be home here.
Our staff is excellent but I found things to tweak about the villa which is always fun for me.
Cata-Cup races were happening during the trip which was fun to watch.
It's amazing how nicely the island has recovered.
View attachment 47809
Fortunately, we were able to connect the first day with our friend Dennis Carlton and were joined by Henry and Carole at nearby La Langouste for lunch.
That evening we went to the Wimco event at Tamarin which was a very nice affair with food, drinks and music then afterward met our neighbor at L' Esprit which was excellent and a very good value.
We had a nice lunch at Villa Marie (the former Francois Plantation) with a gorgeous dining room and this pool which is open to lunch guests afterward...towels included.
One of our old favorites L Entracte. It been remodeled with a new menu that is very good.
We spent a long afternoon at the completely remodeled Hotel Le Barthelemy in Grand Cul de Sac. We had lunch in the sand, swam the pool and viewed the beautiful spa for another time.
The path to Saline Beach has been re-planted with palm trees and boulders have been placed along the route. A great deal of restoration has been done to the dunes as well.
Perhaps the best fish dish on the island for me was at Santa Fe. It's always a pleasure to dine with owner David.
Heidi joined us the last few days of the trip. She loves St Barts and tells us she has retired from jumping the cliffs, though.
We took advantage of some of the sales in the shops in St Jean and the sidewalk has been widened which is very nice and safer, too.
We met Diana for lunch at Pearl Beach (the former LaPlage) which is beautifully re-done.
A real treat was spending the day at Hotel Manapany which is an old favorite that is SO beautiful now. General Manager Franck's staff was excellent and we love the ambiance of this place.
We all had spa treatments in rooms right off the sea.
Next afternoon we lunched and watched the boats return from racing at Nikki Beach.
Last morning we took a long walk on Flamands and checked Cheval Blanc which was nearing the final stages of work for their December 1st opening.
It almost never works out this way, but we scheduled Heidi's flight departure on Winair with ours on Tradewind (you get hooked on the service) which allowed us to have a leisurely lunch at Shellona on Shell Beach.
A great time on St Barts, we plan to return in Spring----enjoy your trips, too!
Flights in/out were smooth and it was great to be home here.
Our staff is excellent but I found things to tweak about the villa which is always fun for me.
Cata-Cup races were happening during the trip which was fun to watch.
It's amazing how nicely the island has recovered.
View attachment 47809
Fortunately, we were able to connect the first day with our friend Dennis Carlton and were joined by Henry and Carole at nearby La Langouste for lunch.
That evening we went to the Wimco event at Tamarin which was a very nice affair with food, drinks and music then afterward met our neighbor at L' Esprit which was excellent and a very good value.
We had a nice lunch at Villa Marie (the former Francois Plantation) with a gorgeous dining room and this pool which is open to lunch guests afterward...towels included.
One of our old favorites L Entracte. It been remodeled with a new menu that is very good.
We spent a long afternoon at the completely remodeled Hotel Le Barthelemy in Grand Cul de Sac. We had lunch in the sand, swam the pool and viewed the beautiful spa for another time.
The path to Saline Beach has been re-planted with palm trees and boulders have been placed along the route. A great deal of restoration has been done to the dunes as well.
Perhaps the best fish dish on the island for me was at Santa Fe. It's always a pleasure to dine with owner David.
Heidi joined us the last few days of the trip. She loves St Barts and tells us she has retired from jumping the cliffs, though.
We took advantage of some of the sales in the shops in St Jean and the sidewalk has been widened which is very nice and safer, too.
We met Diana for lunch at Pearl Beach (the former LaPlage) which is beautifully re-done.
A real treat was spending the day at Hotel Manapany which is an old favorite that is SO beautiful now. General Manager Franck's staff was excellent and we love the ambiance of this place.
We all had spa treatments in rooms right off the sea.
Afterward we swam the pool and watched the Cata Boats in the background.
Next afternoon we lunched and watched the boats return from racing at Nikki Beach.
Last morning we took a long walk on Flamands and checked Cheval Blanc which was nearing the final stages of work for their December 1st opening.
It almost never works out this way, but we scheduled Heidi's flight departure on Winair with ours on Tradewind (you get hooked on the service) which allowed us to have a leisurely lunch at Shellona on Shell Beach.
A great time on St Barts, we plan to return in Spring----enjoy your trips, too!