Hello - we are heading to St. Bart's for the first time next week, and are eager to check out various beaches and restaurants. We were hoping to head to the beach on Saturday at Gouverneur, followed by lunch at Santa Fe but apparently Santa Fe will only be open for dinner that day. Will Shellona be mobbed at lunch time on a Saturday? I tried to secure a reservation but no one responds. Is it worth the effort/cost if we can even get in? Do you have any other lunch recommendations not too far from Gouverneur? I realize this particular beach is remote... I really appreciate your guidance!
Shellona for lunch on a Saturday in January?
- Thread starter Bostonmom
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PeterLynn
Senior Insider
Agreed. From Gouverneur into Gustavia, almost everything "in town" is closer than Shell Beach, assuming one can find parking. If not, head over to St Jean.
Tiffany
Senior Insider
Shellona can be crowded if there is a cruise ship in that day. The food is good, but like many things in St. Barts, very over-priced. It's a beautiful setting though and that's what you pay for. As an alternative in the same genre, I would consider Nikki Beach in St. Jean. Nikki is crazy on Sundays, but on the normal days, it's a really good restaurant in a gorgeous setting.
nicoleshein
SBH Member
Shellona is beautiful but the beach is rocky with little shells (hence the name). If you don't hear back from Shellona, I think you should plan for lunch in St Jean---its such a lovely beach with gorgeous sand and turquoise water, and you can watch the planes taking off which is very fun. Pearl Beach, Nikki Beach, Sand Bar, Lil Rock.....all are great lunch spots. Definitely bring a towel and take a dip after lunch.
stbartshopper
Senior Insider
You may want to consider Pearl Beach- toes in sand near airport- less expensive the Shellona.
Got it. Any tips on parking in Gustavia? It sounds challenging!
KevinS
Senior Insider
Ask your rental car company about the Blue Disk, which allows 90? minutes of parking in certain areas. No Blue Disk or exceeding the time will get you a ticket.
Parking “wheels up” on the sidewalk is permitted on the end of the harbor, across from the Anglican Church, by the big anchor. You’ll see cars doing it elsewhere, but they risk an expensive ticket.
The municipal pay lot on the harbor charges from 8AM until 8PM, Monday through Saturday. Get a ticket on entry, pay at the kiosk in the middle of the lot when you’re ready to exit. It helps to have a few €1, €2, or €0.50 coins to pay with, or you can pay with a chip-and-pin credit card. Use the paid ticket to exit the lot. The 1st 30 minutes should be free.
There is a pay lot across from the airport, next to Marché U. Parking in the Marché U lot can be a challenge. The 1st 60 minutes are free in the adjacent pay lot.
. . . totally agree. The choice of dining venue on SBH has, as a big component, an underlying "aesthetic" factor. Cass' suggestion of le Grain de Sel, for example, is great -- I like the place, and its food, a lot (as long as you're not next to a table of cigarette smokers . . . which is a growing issue in restaurants). It, however, lacks the glamor of locales such as Shellona and others mentioned here. (A restaurant not already mentioned that you might like is The Beach Club at Le Toiny -- scenic, fun and, I think, good food.)
Dennis
Senior Insider
We fell absolutely in love with the Beach Club on our recent visit. Lisa voted it her No.1 beach hang spot. We went twice in 10 days. She would have gone 5 if I let her.
Annabelle
SBH Member
We like Shellona and will almost certainly do one lunch there when we return in March, but its allure for me has faded somewhat since they removed the dining tables from the beach. Sitting upstairs is fine, but not the same. Doing drinks down on the sand is more fun for us. So maybe do lunch in St. Jean (I cannot wait to try to the new Sand Bar --- we have historically LOVED Eden Rock for lunch, I really can't imagine anything better) and then head into Gustavia for drinks and shopping?
Regarding parking in Gustavia, we really never have an issue. If you're willing to drive around the harbor, you'll most likely find something. I honestly don't even really know the rules about time maximums, but we've never gotten a ticket that I can recall. The only real problem we've ever had was last year on our last night, when we returned to our mini to find the inside glass part of one of our side mirrors gone! Not broken off/the result of an accident -- gone, as in stolen. So odd.
Signed, another mom from Boston
Regarding parking in Gustavia, we really never have an issue. If you're willing to drive around the harbor, you'll most likely find something. I honestly don't even really know the rules about time maximums, but we've never gotten a ticket that I can recall. The only real problem we've ever had was last year on our last night, when we returned to our mini to find the inside glass part of one of our side mirrors gone! Not broken off/the result of an accident -- gone, as in stolen. So odd.
Signed, another mom from Boston
ccg
SBH Insider
Bostonmom - have a great time!!! You really can't go wrong at any of the suggestions above. We had great lunches at Lil Roc (call for reservations they looked a little annoyed when we just showed up) Grain de Sel, Aux Amis at Le Barthelemy (reservations), and Manapany (got a day pass) in December. We did eat at Shellona, besides the feta wrapped in phyllo, it was ok. Nikki's Beach is so much fun any day of the week.
Look forward to reading about your trip.
Charlotte
Look forward to reading about your trip.
Charlotte
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hmilgrom01
SBH Member
If you can't get into shellona - try Pearl Beach hotel on St. Jean. It's an open-air restaurant and you can rent their loungers for 20 euros pp, we had a wonderful beach day and lunch there
Jeanette
Senior Insider
I thought about Shellona's €350/person minimum for the holiday week and decided it's not much different than villa owners doubling and tripling their rental rates AND requiring a two-week rental over the holidays or rental car rates doubling. It's the obscene cost of traveling to SBH over the holidays. I thought it was good that they kept the first level open for people who wanted cocktails and small plates.
Annabelle, Shellona has a gorgeous beach-level outdoor lounge with full bar service and a menu of small plates from the regular menu. Here's a photo I borrowed from their Instagram.
Annabelle, Shellona has a gorgeous beach-level outdoor lounge with full bar service and a menu of small plates from the regular menu. Here's a photo I borrowed from their Instagram.
Jammin' Joy
SBH Member
Bostonmom, thank you for asking such excellent questions and many thanks to the kind forum members for their expansive answers. Most helpful for this first-timer in avoiding duplicate queries. As parking is addressed above here is another restaurant/parking question. We are staying on the beach in L'Orient and it seems that many restaurants are less than a mile away. We would prefer to leave the Mini parked at our lodging and walk if it's safe. Are there sidewalks between L'Orient and St.Jean? Alternatively, is it possible to walk fom one to the other on the beach as opposed to via the road? Thank you all in advance.
Tiffany
Senior Insider
There is a sidewalk all the way from L'Orient to St. Jean, but it's more of a fitness walk because of the hill. For example, I wouldn't want to carry chairs, beach bag, cooler, etc. with me when doing it. It makes for a beautiful morning walk...very scenic views along the way. You can't make this walk on the beach as the beaches are not "connected" per se. There are bakeries and casual dining spots in L'Orient that you can walk to; but for dining in St. Jean, I would opt to drive because the walk can be really hot/sweaty depending on the temps.
