I have told the story before. I was working on Nantucket and Julie Bell gave us a week on St,Barts for installing a stair runner on Nantucket. We rented a Mokie with 3 adults and 4 children. I have lost track of how many times we have returned. The next one is the end of March this year. That first time was in the early 1980's
How did you discover St. Barts?
- Thread starter Hawke
- Start date
. . . and happy that you keep returning! Merci!
le_reve
Senior Insider
My (now) husband and I used to own a rental villa on St. John, USVI and got married on the island in 2004. I was in charge of the wedding, he was in charge of the honeymoon. He picked St Barth because we wanted to stay in the Caribbean from the wedding for ease (ha - that's another story) and he knew I love all things French. I had never heard of St Barth! It was the middle of July, and back then, the island was super sleepy in the summer. We had such a blast learning how to drive a Smartcar - - exploring the island, spending a lot of time at Do Brazil, Pipiri Palace, and Le Select, of course. We stayed at Carl Gustaf and I just fell in love with the island on day one and that feeling never left. It was, and still is, my happy place. There have been a lot of changes over the past 20 years, but I still get that feeling of joy when I get off that plane. The rest is history. 
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amyb
Senior Insider
My (now) husband and I owned a rental villa on St. John, USVI and got married on the island in 2004. I was in charge of the wedding, he was in charge of the honeymoon. He picked St Barth because we wanted to stay in the Caribbean from the wedding for ease (ha - that's another story) and he knew I love all things French. I had never heard of St Barth! It was the middle of July, and back then, the island was super sleepy. We had such a blast learning how to drive a Smartcar - - exploring the island, spending a lot of time at Do Brazil, Pipiri Palace, and Le Select, of course. We stayed at Carl Gustaf and I just fell in love with the island on day one and that feeling never left. It was, and still is, my happy place. There have been a lot of changes over the past 20 years, but I still get that feeling of joy when I get off that plane. The rest is history.
Exactly. Scot got it right!
In 1989 my wife and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary and I'd found this really wonderful jeweler who'd helped me choose a diamond and a setting and made her a ring. (I hadn't been able to afford a decent engagement ring ten years earlier and I'd promised her an engagement ring for our tenth!) Afterwards, on our way out, there was a travel agency next door (you remember travel agencies, don't you?). We went in and I was talking with the agent, who really wasn't that knowledgeable. My wife was looking at brochures and said, "How about this place? St. Barths?" None of the three of us had ever heard of it, and the agent was kind of negative about it ("Don't know about it, don't know anyone who's been there, seems like not much to do, no big hotels.....")
My wife said, "Sounds just right!" El Sereno (before it was Le Sereno) had just built their first three orange villas between the road and the marsh / salt pond and we stayed in one. And that's how we discovered it!
My wife said, "Sounds just right!" El Sereno (before it was Le Sereno) had just built their first three orange villas between the road and the marsh / salt pond and we stayed in one. And that's how we discovered it!
Wonderful, heartfelt story . . . and so glad that you found that detour & trusted your instincts!
Canuck
SBH Insider
11 years ago I happened to see a post online about the top 10 sun/beach destinations. St Barths was number 1 but I had never heard of it. The post was all about the Eden Rock so we stayed there for 4 days before moving on to Anguilla. We have been back every April since. Not at the Eden Rock of course because…well, I’m sure you all know…lol. We have been to no other island destinations since and even though it is rather expensive for us Canadians as soon as we step off the plane at SBH we just feel so at home. It’s wonderful!!
PeterLynn
Senior Insider
With the youngest heading off to college in 2014, we had our first kid free vacation in twenty years. Ran across an article highlighting a boutique hotel in Saint-Martin and was intrigued by the "Frenchness" of everything. The more I researched the island, SBH kept popping up. We did spend three nights overlooking Pinel island but then hopped on SBC at Grand Case for a week in a villa above the Hideaway. Been back every May, except the Covid year. Looking back, we have evolved from racing out every morning to try a different beach to just hanging out with all the friends and acquaintances we've met since. Seventeen weeks and counting!
GMP62
Senior Insider
Sorry - this is what should have posted! So much for going from laptop to iPad
Gary and I were trying to decide where to go in celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary in April 1996. We were talking about visiting Saint Martin. We were both working at AT&T at the time and I was speaking with a co-worker about our options. She had just returned from a cruise where one of the ports of call was Gustavia, St. Barth. She said we should look into that; she'd been impressed by her visit there. Saint Martin was still recovering from major hurricane damage - Luis, I believe, and so we pursued our first St. Barth trip. We had never heard of St. Barth at that point (what a sheltered life...LOL!). Coincidentally, my boss's wife was a travel agent, so we worked together and planned our first trip. We spent a lovely week at Hotel Manapany! Does anyone remember Jackson, the bar tender there? He was awesome. I know he worked at a few other establishments. We dined at Andy's Hideaway, Newborn in Anse des Cayes, and enjoyed the Sunday Brunch the Manapany offered then! Their Italian restaurant was awesome as well. We'll need to revisit the Manapany this April; we've not been back since our first stay. Twenty-nine years later, here we are. Things have certainly changed, but the island is still a magical place for us. We've made some lovely friends along the way, for which we are grateful. Vive Saint-Barth!!
Gary and I were trying to decide where to go in celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary in April 1996. We were talking about visiting Saint Martin. We were both working at AT&T at the time and I was speaking with a co-worker about our options. She had just returned from a cruise where one of the ports of call was Gustavia, St. Barth. She said we should look into that; she'd been impressed by her visit there. Saint Martin was still recovering from major hurricane damage - Luis, I believe, and so we pursued our first St. Barth trip. We had never heard of St. Barth at that point (what a sheltered life...LOL!). Coincidentally, my boss's wife was a travel agent, so we worked together and planned our first trip. We spent a lovely week at Hotel Manapany! Does anyone remember Jackson, the bar tender there? He was awesome. I know he worked at a few other establishments. We dined at Andy's Hideaway, Newborn in Anse des Cayes, and enjoyed the Sunday Brunch the Manapany offered then! Their Italian restaurant was awesome as well. We'll need to revisit the Manapany this April; we've not been back since our first stay. Twenty-nine years later, here we are. Things have certainly changed, but the island is still a magical place for us. We've made some lovely friends along the way, for which we are grateful. Vive Saint-Barth!!
shihadehs
Senior Insider
1986…we were on an award business trip to St. Croix a year earlier and had met a lovely young couple with an adorable baby at the airport in San Juan who said they were heading to St. Barts. Had never heard of St. Barts before. We were very impressed by this young couple. Following year we had another awards trip to Carribean and decided let’s try St. Barts while we are there. Stayed at Manapany their opening year. That was it for us. Been in a villa every year since.
Jackson is still around . . . at the “beach” bar of Le Christopher Hotel, I believe (it’s where I last saw him) — always a great guy, with a terrific memory! The island still is magical . . . you’re so right! I’m looking forward to your trip report.Sorry - this is what should have posted! So much for going from laptop to iPad
Gary and I were trying to decide where to go in celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary in April 1996. We were talking about visiting Saint Martin. We were both working at AT&T at the time and I was speaking with a co-worker about our options. She had just returned from a cruise where one of the ports of call was Gustavia, St. Barth. She said we should look into that; she'd been impressed by her visit there. Saint Martin was still recovering from major hurricane damage - Luis, I believe, and so we pursued our first St. Barth trip. We had never heard of St. Barth at that point (what a sheltered life...LOL!). Coincidentally, my boss's wife was a travel agent, so we worked together and planned our first trip. We spent a lovely week at Hotel Manapany! Does anyone remember Jackson, the bar tender there? He was awesome. I know he worked at a few other establishments. We dined at Andy's Hideaway, Newborn in Anse des Cayes, and enjoyed the Sunday Brunch the Manapany offered then! Their Italian restaurant was awesome as well. We'll need to revisit the Manapany this April; we've not been back since our first stay. Twenty-nine years later, here we are. Things have certainly changed, but the island is still a magical place for us. We've made some lovely friends along the way, for which we are grateful. Vive Saint-Barth!!
Beachcomber
SBH Insider
I was living part time on Anguilla for a project I was doing in the early 1990’s a new air service started to St Barts so I thought I would check it out on a day trip. The plane landed from the ocean side and as we were landing there was a group of several lovely French ladies holding a drink in one hand and waving at the plane with the other on the beach at the end of the runway. I was hooked on SBH before the plane even touched down! It became a regular thing to do and I started coming for as long as I could whenever time allowed. Several years later I was in the Match grocery store near the airport and as I was browsing the cheese section when I saw what is undoubtedly the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I slid along the display case to get a better look and when I got fairly close she looked straight at me and our eyes locked for an instant. I froze like an 8th grader and didn’t dare try to say something in French and embarrass myself. After recovering my composure, slightly, I went looking for her only to see her going out the exit door. I thought about her many times over the next several years and regretted not trying to say something, anything. Five years later I was at a dinner party in Greenwich, CT where I had never met the hostess. I looked across the table at her and instantly recognized her. I asked her if she had ever been to St Barts and she said “Yes, 27 times!” I told her about the chance meeting and then she realized who I was. She said she was looking all over the island for me that week but I was back in Anguilla. We got together 3 month later and have been happily married ever since.
Fabulous happy ending!
wow...that is a great story..
My wife and I were honeymooning on SXM...it was ok...hotel was ok...it was the best I could do at the time...and I knew SXM wasn't it...but we were in love and I promised her better some day....I was a poor kid just starting Wall Street...heard about this one day catamaran trip to a nearby island, St. Barths...we took the trip..came over for the day...it broke down on the way back and we had to be towed back to SXM...but the shops, the language, the vibe...the French women (sorry, my wife allows me to read the menu as long I don't order)...instant love....it was1989....came back for first trip just the two of us in 1990...stayed at Guanahani....first night dinner at Marigot Beach Club restaurant.. lunch at Lafayette Club, ...so chic... Bahamas....subsequent years at Andy's Hideway (family tradition, 1st night)..., actually had a friend walk out one night because his bimbo wife thought it was too low brow...they.re divorced now....the Wall House...first son born 1994...we bring him...second son, 2006...we bring him...family there every March for vacation...every time we deviated and might try someplace new like St. Thomas...disappointed...I would always come back ...a very important part of my family and my life for the last 35 years...probably been there 25+ times...btw, met legends Phil and Amy at Santa Fe during lunch one day...super nice...after going to Gouvenors' Beach...SB is like my hot, French mistress that my wife of 36 years puts up with...
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GMP62
Senior Insider
What a wonderful story! Kismet at its’ finest! Love it.
When I was turning 40 in 2004, I was looking for somewhere warm to go for a January birthday, and a work friend suggested St Barths, "Its like Paris with palm trees!" she exclaimed. Sold, though I had no idea what we were getting into. We had to fly to PHL and then SJU then SXM and then SBH, it was a long travel to get to SBH then. We rented a sort of down-on-its-luck villa at the tip of Colombier with unbelievable 300 degree views. The property was divided and glammed up after that. We went to beaches, walked around Gustavia which was not nearly as fancy with LVMH stores as it is now. We ate at Wall House, Sapotiller, Esprit de Saline (what it used to be before better current iteration), Maya's, the way old Francois Plantation, and le Repaire (the only place still there). We were a group of four and not making a lot of money and it was totally possible to spend a week on SBH - though it was still expensive by our wallets. The roads were awful and small and we drove around in a ratty, rusted Jimny with a broken roof and thought it was the most fabulous thing ever. Can you imagine a rental car like that now? LOL. There were lots of villas in all price points then, and it made it easier for people without endless money to visit, and the villas were colorful and boho chic - there was not endless beige with pops of gray or a single yellow throw pillow. It's an overused word, but there was a bohemian flavor to the island, and we fell in love. We have come back every year since then, even after the horrible hurricane, even during covid. We haven't missed a year, although one year we couldn't come in the winter so went to Turks and Caicos (Covid times) and it was fine, but not the same at all. It was also a lot more gay then - it was one of the only places in the Caribbean that you didn't/don't have to worry about your personal safety. Saline used to be a mini gay beach on the right, that's all basically gone now, but still we love it and feel at home on SBH. The first years we came, people would scoff at a chain resturant (Nikki Beach being the only one then), funny how that's changed. I remember splurging on a pair of Prada flipflops from Human Steps (when it had men's stuff) and felt so fancy. LOL. There were all kinds of local shops in Gustavia, Pasha was out on a road near Pointe Milou, the Garconnerie for fab men's shirts, Jose Felix was a local designer. It was a place we would shop - not so much anymore. Everything is for people with more income than I have, Bulgari isn't in my budget. LOL. I remember the old signs around the island and Cartier had a signpost at every intersection with an arrow pointing you roughly in the direction of Gustavia, we always found that funny. Now, the number of villas at our price point is reduced to just a few, but we are happy with our secret spot in Marigot that no one seems to like and have been staying there nearly 10 years. Its plain and too simple by modern standards, I suppose, but it has color and separate buildings old style, and a few steps to the beach and it's charming and divine. We spend a lot of time just floating in Marigot Bay. We don't go to many of the big name places anymore, and the last few years we've discovered the solitude of Pt Cul de Sac beach. Very few go there and there is just wide open space without tons of houses and no loud bars. (St Jean beach is absolutely ruined these days, IMO. I dislike it there and only go in protest.) There were no flashing lights in restos, no need to make every dinner a club with flares, no live music in every dinner (I hate that, I know I'm in the minority but I don't want a floor show, I want a good meal). It was quieter and simpler and more friendly. That being said, I can't imagine going anywhere else, tho I dislike the mentality that "old SBH is there, you just have to look for it" - if people have to hunt for it, it's not "there." Luckily, we have been going so long, we know where the old SBH is, and embrace it. We are returning in February for a month (our budget has changed, LOL), and I can't wait. Thanks for giving me a walk thru old times, we are lucky to be able to come.
Very nice history . . . brings back many similar memories for me. I continue to feel, nonetheless, that the old St. Barth, still there, is not always readily found. You’re fortunate to “know where the old SBH is.”
