Review of my first trip

jpa742001

SBH Member
Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

After saving money and researching for more than 3 years, my wife and I finally touched the ground on St. Barth’s on Saturday, June 22. I did a massive amount of research on the island before going such as reading countless vacation guides via google, reading every review on trip advisor about everything on the island, and reading forums such as this one. I felt very comfortable once we got there with my expectations, which eventually were blown away by the following Saturday when we left. The week went by slow to where two days ago seemed like a week ago. It was phenomenal.

Day 1: We flew from Newark to St. Maarten and then took the Ferry over to Gustavia. I read a lot of reviews of the ferry and took the advice of many and sat towards the end of the boat and looked at the horizon. The boat ride was fantastic. We took the Voyager 3. Not one problem. It was a beautiful day. We got splashed a little bit, but overall the ride was nowhere as bad as some people said it might be. We got off the boat and met our villa manager Carlos from sibarth.com. He was fantastic. He drove us to our car rental and then our villa: Villa Palmier (more on that later). We arrived at the villa at about 5:30 p.m. and were given the rundown of things to do and villa information. We rested and admired the view of the ocean for a couple of hours. We made reservations at Le Ti for 9 p.m. We went back and forth on whether or not LeTi was for us. A client of my wife’s said we needed to go just to check it out so we decided why not. The restaurant was almost full, but it was not crazy. The entertainment was ok, but nothing great. I was really worried about the food because it did get a lot of terrible reviews, but truthfully the food we had was very good. We got burrata (more on that later also), which was excellent. I got a steak which was very good. My wife got mahi-mahi, which she said was not bad. She enjoyed the vegetables on the side that we got. The desserts were ok. Overall I was glad we went because we made the most of the few hours we had on Saturday. We were exhausted. We got lost going back to our villa. Finding our driveway was an adventure.

Day 2: On Sunday morning we had breakfast at Le Bar de L’Obuli. Wife loved her omelet. It reminded her of the ones we have here, but even better, she said. I had a baguette with different spreads and their homemade iced tea, which was fantastic. The baguette was fine, but my wife really enjoyed the omelet so much so we went back later in the week.
We booked a couples massage at Le Sereno. I know a lot of the hotels had gone through a lot, but Sereno was beautiful. The massages were fantastic and the atmosphere was amazing. I would definitely go back again. After Sereno we went to Saline. The walk there was not too difficult at all. At first, I was not impressed with Saline. But once we got established and went into the water, we truly enjoyed ourselves. The water was warm and without much seaweed. The water was also beautiful. I am not sure what underwhelmed me at first about this beach, but as the day went on I grew to love it. After the beach went back to the villa to swim in the pool and relax and get ready for dinner. We had reservations at 8 for Tamarin. I read a lot of postings here and a few on Trip Advisor that it was not the same as it used to be. I don’t know what it used to be, but this place was phenomenal. I don’t want to sound like a food snob, because I am not, I am 15 minutes away from NYC and have gone to some of the best restaurants I suppose in the country, but Tamarin blew me away. The grounds are spectacular. There is a restaurant in New Jersey that has nice grounds and is very good called Rats in Hamilton, NJ. But Tamarin is way better. It is absolutely beautiful. I felt like I was experiencing St. Barth’s reputation. We had a burrata appetizer (see the pattern) and the carrot mango soup. Both were stupendous. So good we wanted more. My wife had the grilled ribeye and I had the Filet here (I am not against fish, I just like the land more). I thought both were great. My wife had a Vanilla sundae and I had the Banana Splash. Great Desserts. Service was sooooo good. My wife has allergies and they were so accommodating (all St. Bart’s restaurants were amazing in that regard). We walked around the grounds for a little bit and went back to the villa.

Day 3
On Monday morning we went to La Petite Colombe. We indulge ourselves with croissants of all varieties, coffee, and various pastries. It was all delicious. We went back here numerous times. After breakfast, we made our way over to Shell Beach. We had lunch reservations at Shellona. We got out early and drove around downtown Gustavia for a few minutes to get a feel for the town and then at about 10 a.m. we parked and went to the beach. Obviously, there are shells, but the water was beautiful, calm, and warm. I loved this beach in retrospect. It was great for taking pictures. It was not crowded at all. We rented chairs there and it was awesome. Literally only a few other people. We went in and out of the water for a couple of hours.
Shellona is a beautiful restaurant with a beautiful view. The waitress was great! She already was aware of my wife’s allergies and made recommendations and told us the chef would accommodate us on whatever we ordered. We had grilled eggplant and zucchini appetizer which was great. I had a chicken sandwich with fries. I loved loved loved the bread they gave us and the sea salt to pair with olive oil. So good. My chicken was pretty good. My wife got meat with yogurt. We also had dessert which was fantastic. Loved the view, the drinks, and the food was very good.
After Shell Beach, we went to St. Jean beach because I read online about the Seabob machine and I wanted to try that. We kind of winged it. We ended up near the new Pearl Beach Hotel. We got a chair there and towels. I really liked Pearl Beach Hotel’s restaurant. We only ordered drinks, but the atmosphere was fun and I thought it was affordable. I did the seabob and that was fun. I went by the coral out in the distance and scooted around Eden Rock. I kind of went everywhere. It was a great memory. I thought the water at St. Jean beach was the best. It was calm and warm. We kind of just floated around for a few hours. To me, my Monday St. Jean beach experience was exactly I went to St. Bart’s for. The beach was not crowded at all. At about 4:30ish it started to rain and we were done with the sun and headed back to the villa. We grabbed a baguette on the way home with some fresh mozzarella on the way home. It was delicious.
We had reservations at Bonito for dinner. Another beautiful restaurant. Stuff you do not see in the states as much. Beautiful restaurants exist here, but there was something magical in St. Barth’s about every experience. Surprise we got the Burrata! This might have been the best one on the island. So before I told you Shellona’s staff was excellent, but the best waiter/waitress experience I had on the island was at Bonito. These guys literally knew everything about the menu. The food allergies, ingredients, and taste. There was no going back to the chef to find out. They knew! That was awesome. Real professionals. Besides the Burrata, I had a salad as an appetizer. For dinner, I had the filet with mac and cheese. It was delicious. My wife had the lobster risotto, which was awesome as well. We both picked on each other food. This might have been my second or third favorite dessert of the week. It was a five-layer chocolate concoction. It was so good. My wife got something too, I just don't remember what it was. I know she enjoyed it though. After about 2 hours we left. When we got there it was empty, when we left it was more than half full. Back to the villa stare at the stars.

Day 4: Woke up and had breakfast at Choisy Boulangerie. I liked it a lot. I can’t say it is better than Petite but it is just as good. My wife and I tried different souffle and pastries. All were delicious. After breakfast, we headed over to Gouvernors Beach. This was the best. The drive down was beautiful. There was not much seaweed this particular day (other days there was). The water was sooo nice. I think it was my favorite beach. We met another American couple and got together with them for dinner twice while in St. Barts. We swam for over two hours, took hundreds of pictures, and truly enjoyed ourselves. I was in the water a little too long and got burned, but it was worth it.
After the morning trip, we went to Nikki Beach. It was not busy or crazy. I thought it would be, but I know this is the downtime. We got a shrimp and garlic appetizer, which truly was the highlight of the meal. It was very good. Just as good as here. We eat a lot of Portuguese food and it was just as good as when we went to Portugal. My wife wanted pizza for lunch and ordered one of their specialty pizzas and it was very good. I got the ribs and they were ok.
We got a bed, which was nice because I was burned and needed to relax. My wife did not get burned and she went into the water. I added more sunscreen and we were both swimmings for about an hour. The water was calm and clear. I found Nikki Beach to be relaxing. We stayed there until about 4 p.m. I went to a store near there to buy a swim shirt for the next day this way I would not have to worry about my burns. It was Free in St. Barths. Saved my vacation. My wife and then shopped a little for our kids and my wife bought a bathing suit at the store Banana Moon. The employees were very nice in all the stores. We also went to St. Barths French West Indies.
We head back home at about 5. Swam in the pool for a minute and relaxed. We had dinner reservations at Bagatelle. We up with the other American couple and say on the harbor. It was a beautiful out and the view was great. Only one other table was served while we ate so we had the place literally to ourselves. We had a ravioli app which was phenomenal for just being portions of ravioli. We also got the burrata! For dinner, I had their chicken dish with vegetables. It was tremendous. One of the best things I ate on the island. My wife got the fish special, which she loved. The drinks here were also very good. We ate with the other couple and sat and talked for about 3 hours. Nobody rushed us at all. The waiter was awesome. He told us a lot about the island. He kind of gave us the lowdown such as rents, post-Irma reconstruction, etc...Very good. Maybe my favorite waiter during the trip. After we headed back home.

Day 5: We ate breakfast at Petite. We had a private boat charter to take us to Colombier Beach. It was a three-hour tour. We went to Jicky Marine and met up with Matt and another young British guy I can’t remember his name. They were great. The let me steer the catamaran. We had Maya’s Togo with us for lunch. We had fish skewers, lentil salad, some small sandwiches, and some champaign. The highlight of Maya’s was the chocolate cake. We had other things also just don't remember. We got a lot of great pictures. We snorkeled, saw turtles, stingrays, and two baby sharks. It was a lot of fun. We then swam to the beach and it was also beautiful. Next time I will spend more time at Colombier Beach. The water was calm.

After the boat ride, my wife had a massage at Le Barthelemy. She loved the massage. While she was there, I went to one of the natural pools. I didn’t go to the washing machine which I wanted to, but one of the others. It was a decent hike, hot and saw a lot of goats. I made it to the natural pool after about 15 minutes. The parking spot was by another beach, I believe the Grand Fond.. The natural pool was nice, but a little disappointing. I wanted something I could jump into and that was not it. My concierge said to do this one first before the washing machine. I drove around the island a little bit and then picked up my wife.

We went back to the villa with a baguette for a little snack and then headed over to Eddy’s for dinner with the American couple again. I liked Eddy’s. It was reasonably priced and had different food. It had a different vibe than most of the restaurants we visited. We had some drinks and plantain chips with guacamole. That was excellent except they gave you very little chips to the portion of the guacamole. I had to ask for more, which was fine. The service was good, but not memorable like my previous experiences. My wife had the peppercorn filet, which was very good. I had the pineapple chicken. We ate dessert, enjoyed the company, and felt refreshed. It was a great day.

Day 6: We went to Le Repaire for breakfast. The place was empty and a little disappointing. We got there at about 8:30. We both ordered a croissant but only got one as they ran out. My wife got a cappuccino and they brought two (I don't drink coffee). One for both of us. The server was not as friendly as we had grown accustomed to. The food was ok. I would try it again only because I believe in second chances, but on my next visit to St. Barth’s I will probably skip it until another time as there is still much I want to try. After breakfast, my wife wanted to go to a couple of stores around the area. She went to one store on the second to the store Free in St. Barth’s which was a very nice store. We bought some more clothes.

After we headed down to governors again. Drank some champaign on the beach and enjoyed the view. There were a few people sans clothing, but at this point, we got used to that. One guy, an American guy, was with his wife and another couple. He swam from the boat docked to the beach with nothing on. And then he jogged up and down the beach. There were others without clothes and as I said by this time I was used to it on the beach. The weather was not as great Thursday. It rained hard and briefly in the morning and then after about 40 min at Gouvernor’s it started to pour. We headed back to the car.

We had reservations for lunch at Le Toiny. That was an adventure. It is a beautiful place and I know it was recently redone after the hurricane. The car ride down was an adventure in itself. It was just us and another couple that took the ride from the top down to the beach. The views from the truck ride down were amazing. Simply beautiful. We ate on the beach inside their beach like tent areas. It was very nice and protected us from the drizzle. The whole campus looked very nice. The beach area was ok. It also had a lot of seaweed, but we also just wanted to eat there not hang out. My wife got wine and I got this homemade iced tea that was 16 euros. It came with liquid sugar. It was really good. We got the burrata! This burrata was excellent. Might have been the best. We also got some grilled veggies. My wife got a fish dish and she thought it was good. I got the buttermilk chicken and was disappointed. It tasted rubbery. I should have sent it back, but I ate some to not be rude. We did have dessert. It was three different types of ice cream which was delicious.

After lunch, we went back to St. Jean beach and to Pearl Beach Hotel for drinks. I actually ordered lunch there because I was still kind of hungry after not eating much at Le Toiny. I ordered a Sweet and Sour Chicken with sweet potatoes. it was pretty good. I didn't need much, but it did what it needed to do. The waves at the beach were much rougher at St. Jean. We were spoiled by two days of calm water. We hung out for about 2 hours drinking and swimming and watching people try water sports.

My wife wanted to one of those designer ceramic beach signs and we debated which beach to take home and went with Gouvenors beach. Our concierge gave us the address of the woman who makes them. We went there really quick. We were going to run into Le Select for a quick burger since we had not tried one yet, but the kitchen was not open yet so we missed that on this trip. We hit up a couple of other stores too and then headed back to the villa.

We swam for a few minutes and then got ready for dinner. We had reservations at Le Sereno. I wasn’t sure what to expect because it was a hotel restaurant and I had enjoyed the nonhotel restaurants the best. But Le Sereno was my favorite restaurant start to finish. There were only two other tables dining when showed up at around 8. The restaurant itself was beautiful. We ordered some cocktails and relaxed. I was exhausted. It hit me hard at the restaurant. We got the burrata! It was really good. My wife also got the asparagus appetizer. Both were excellent. The chef also gave us amuse bouche which was wahoo fish with pea soup and something else. I don’t each much fish. This fish might have been the best thing I tasted on this island. I never had wahoo. It was so so so good. It is the best fish I ever had. My wife loved it too and she comes from a fish eating family. I could have ordered more of those. We also got the bruschetta that was the best bruschetta I have had at a restaurant. The service also Le Sereno was first class. Everyone came and checked on us. We both got pasta dishes. I got the truffle pasta with shaved asparagus. It was the best item I ate my entire trip and I ate a lot and I ate a lot of good food. I am still thinking about the taste right now. I want to go back for that dish. My wife loved her pasta also. I believe it was one of the specials. On to dessert. My wife had some type of cake and I had three different types of ice creams on a stick. The best dessert I had on the island. It came on a frozen plate. They were so good. I sent my daughter a picture of the food to make her jealous. We were so full, tired and just done. We went back to the villa to sleep.

Day 7: We went back to Le Bar de L’Obuli for breakfast. My wife got the same omelet as last time, but this time I tried the egg sandwich special and fries. Both were very good. Got their iced tea again. Service was not as good as the first time, but it was fine. We visited a couple more stores, walked around the harbor, and took some pictures because it was our last full day. We drove out to Flammands Beach because we had reservations at La Langouste. We hung out on the beach for about an hour. We were literally the only people on the beach. It was super windy. We could not even go into the water because it was way too rough. We just drank some wine. We had reservations for lunch at 1. I called and moved them up to 12 because we could not be there much longer. The wind was throwing sand in our face. We had like 30 minutes to kill and drove around Flammands area. We discovered the Petite Anse of something. I really don't remember the name, but it was so beautiful. We walked down the stairs and went into the crystal clear water for about 20 minutes. I wish we went here first. It was not crowded at all and was a calming experience. So nice. Highly recommend visiting this little water area.

We went over to La Langouste. Got lost on the way there, but made it. There was one other table there at the time. The place was very nice although dated. But I like that it was dated. We got French Onion Soup as an appetizer. This was the only place on the French island I saw it! It was good. I have had better, but good. My wife got the Dover sole. I got the creole chicken dish and mine was very good. My wife though said the Dover Sole was the best thing she ate on the island. It reminded her of eating as a child the way they cooked it. She cried after many meals because she felt so happy. This was her happiest meal. We had dessert also. I had a lava cake with pistachio ice cream. My wife had profiteroles. She said they were amazing. The lunch was long. We were there for two hours so the service was slow. I was a little jumpy at times, but the food was so good that it was worth it. The other table that was there was there before us and after us.

After lunch, we went back to Gouvenors Beach. It was windy again and only stayed for a little bit, but we wanted to go back one last time. We were going to go back to Saline but were exhausted. Then we were thinking of St. Jean again. But we were exhausted. Went to Maya’s Togo and got cake instead! Brought it back to the villa and enjoyed our last day. We swam and got ready for dinner.

We had reservations at La Isola. This was a very nice restaurant. The waiter was nice. We got the burrata! We also got the Eggplant appetizer. That was great! Top 3 appetizer I ate. So good. I got the filet with peppercorn sauce for dinner. It was really good. My wife got a homemade ravioli. So good. We were so full from lunch, cake, and dinner...we skipped dessert on our last day. Truthfully we were exhausted.

Day 8: We woke up early to pack. Had breakfast at Le Petite. Ate some leftover cake. Villa manager met with us a 9 to take us to the ferry. One last story, Villa Palmiers is so beautiful. I don’t even want to talk about it that much because I literally want that place all to myself. Less publicity is better for me and my vacation;) The woman owns it did a great job with the place. It was actually the highlight of the trip staying there with the views, the pool, and privacy. On the back wall, she has three straw hats that are for decoration I believe. On Monday when we left St. Jean beach it started to rain hard. My wife’s hat that she bought for the trip got ruined and shrunk. We did not think much of this hat the rest of the trip as she had a backup. She liked the one that got ruined best. On Thursday the hat shrunk more so we put it the garbage. We had a very nice cleaning lady. A few minutes before we left we took some last minute pics. My wife noticed the fourth hat on the wall where the decorative hats were. Originally there were 3. It was her hat. It fit in perfectly. We think the housekeeper thought it was something that fell down or something and put it up on the wall. We left it there. We hope to come back there next year and see it again. I better start saving now.

Stray observations:
Valet parking: This was the funniest thing on the island. Tamarin: At Tamarin it was so dark and the parking lot was not full. I pulled in right next to the entrance to the restaurant and parked my car. The valet guy took my key after I parked it. He went into the car and turned it on and off. He got back and gave me a voucher. I went into the restaurant. We walked out after dinner. Gave him my voucher for my car right in front of me. He turned it on and gave me my car key. Simple. Gave him a 5 Euro tip. Bonito: Pulled up, gave him my car. Watched him park five feet in front of me. That was 15 euros just for the parking. Plus the tip. He literally reversed it back to me. Credit to him for showing how the convertible roof worked though. Nikki: Guy parked my car. Towards the end of the day, he found me on the beach gave me the key and said he was going home. 20 dollars plus tip to retrieve my own car. Le Toiny: parked car five feet away from where I pulled up. Le Barthelemy: I was picking wife up from the hotel. I told him I would be back in a few minutes. He told me not to valet it and just park in the roundabout. He wanted my key just in case he needed to move it. Come back...car is gone. Someone valeted my car. They didn't charge me though. Isola: Restaurant was not busy. I valet my car for I don't know even know why at this point. I pulled into the parking lot. 20 euros. He parked a few feet in front of me. Point of the story. Valeting in St. Bart’s pretty easy. Probably worse during the busy season, but it was comical.

Driving and traffic: read lots of complaints about traffic on this forum. What traffic? Waiting for a few minutes is nothing. Try to live in NJ or NY. St. Barth’s was easy.

Smoking: too much. Has America spoiled me with smoke-free facilities? Maybe.

Roosters: I thought they only made noises in the morning?

Mosquitoes: Not as bad as everyone warned.

Drinking water: I love Aqua Panna.

Restaurants for next time: Santa Fe (it was closed). JoJo Burger. Zion. Le Guerite. Probably a few more.

Sorry for the long post. But was looking forward to writing this. Also, I tried to upload more, but it would not let me. The piture with the hats on the wall is the one I talk about in the review. The one all the way to the right is my wife's hat that made it to the wall.


 

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best trip review I have read in many moons.....you actually get St. Barth's. the pics are a little small, perhaps Kevin can resize them. if you had read my review about Le Toiny, you would not have ordered the buttermilk chicken, the absolute worst dish anywhere, I did send mine back, it was not edible.
 
I agree with didler. What a great report. I was smiling while reading it remembering my first visit many years ago and loved y'all discovering the same things.

Well done!
 
Thank you soooo much for sharing your experience. So glad you made the most of your vaca. Best to book for next year so you have something to dream about, eases the pain of departure.
 
Thank you for taking the time to post this log for us. Take a bow. You sure did a lot and there is still much to discover. You will get to enjoy it all over again and then some. Welcome aboard.
 
Super detailed report....a great read! Thank you for sharing with us. Knowing you left a bit of you behind, makes the memories sweeter.
 
I usually export my photos to a program like Google Photos where they are properly sized. You can upload them to this site from there. I don't know the Mac photo program but I imagine it does the same thing.

Phil
 
Thoroughly enjoyed your superb trip report! Glad that you and your wife enjoyed your maiden trip to St. Barth. I’m sure it will be the first of many. Thanks for sharing your perspectives with us all!

Gayle
 
Thank you for sharing! Feel like I’ve been on vacay just reading it. The truffle dishes are my favorite too. We were entertained by a naked jogger a few years ago on a Saline. He must have run 10 miles back and forth. :laughing-cry:
 
Great report. I did not know you could purchase the beach signs? Where did you get one and approximately how much are they? I would love one!
 
Hi! We got the sign which is about 8" b 12" size for about 65Euros...I was hoping to get one with the actual tile but she had run out of those but the artist was there that day in the shop and made another version of it for us....some kind of paper that gets glued onto the front of the wood but a nice memento nonetheless..the small tile would have been closer to 100 euros...
 
I was jpa742001's trip companion...aka his wife...I know it has given him great pleasure to finally be able to post something on this forum as he has become literally obsessed with it. I think he was hoping to bump into someone whilst there! he was upset we missed some kind of meet up that happened I think prior to our arrival..his inner journalist has come through in this review....we really had an amazing trip...has anyone brought their children with them? Ours are age 3 1/2, 11 and 13...not sure what people's experiences have been traveling with children to St. Bart's ...we saw enough children but wondered about folks here on the forum...Please do share with us any other highlights that you think we should consider on our next trip....I'm a bit of a nervous traveller but it was just so beautiful there that I want to return again soon!
 
Welcome aboard Celeste. I got involved with this forum watching Phil become hooked. My first post was in 2008...hard to believe the time spent reading and posting herein. Yet harder to compute the friendships formed and the memories shared.
 
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