L’isoletta…approaching $10 per slice

Something has to give
A high price, no doubt . . . but not surprising in view of across-the-board high costs on SBH. For one thing, L'Isoletta is prime, prime real estate. I don't know the rent, but it has to be quite high. In addition, the expense of employees -- especially because some of them, certainly, must be provided costly housing at the employer's expense. Food costs also are inflating, as they are around the world.

The difficult state of economics for restaurants on St. Barths is made clear, moreover, in (a) the closing this season of three prominent dining venues -- La Kala, Ocean Club, and l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and (b) escalating prices in all restaurants . . . not to mention some pretty shocking increases in rates for accommodations and for services.

"Something has to give" . . . I'd like to think that there's an inflection point coming in this rising curve, but I don't see it. Instead, I see the profile of visitors increasingly seeking -- and being willing to pay for -- bigger, newer, more extravagant & expensive villas . . . competing for private chefs . . . and tolerating the high cost of, and sometimes abusive, St. Tropez-isation in the restaurant scene. Herman Wouk and Jimmy Buffett got it in "Don't Stop the Carnival!"

Personal security, of course, will be a determining factor in continuing the party -- without it, the balloon will deflate (maybe burst).
 
A high price, no doubt . . . but not surprising in view of across-the-board high costs on SBH. For one thing, L'Isoletta is prime, prime real estate. I don't know the rent, but it has to be quite high. In addition, the expense of employees -- especially because some of them, certainly, must be provided costly housing at the employer's expense. Food costs also are inflating, as they are around the world.

The difficult state of economics for restaurants on St. Barths is made clear, moreover, in (a) the closing this season of three prominent dining venues -- La Kala, Ocean Club, and l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and (b) escalating prices in all restaurants . . . not to mention some pretty shocking increases in rates for accommodations and for services.

"Something has to give" . . . I'd like to think that there's an inflection point coming in this rising curve, but I don't see it. Instead, I see the profile of visitors increasingly seeking -- and being willing to pay for -- bigger, newer, more extravagant & expensive villas . . . competing for private chefs . . . and tolerating the high cost of, and sometimes abusive, St. Tropez-isation in the restaurant scene. Herman Wouk and Jimmy Buffett got it in "Don't Stop the Carnival!"

Personal security, of course, will be a determining factor in continuing the party -- without it, the balloon will deflate (maybe burst).
Your point about security is well taken for many reasons. Having been around the Caribbean since the late 70s like a number of our members, I can say that there is no island that has felt as safe and secure as SBH has up to this point, not counting the early days where I did not even consider safety as a factor. I rejected Turks this year for the safety factor, although many friends swear by it. ( I am unfamiliar with Anguilla, but I am guessing it is like SBH in that regard; not a problem in general.) I am not sure why those restaurants closed but I am guessing either location and/or management had a lot to do with it because the prices were on a par with other fancy restaurants that are not closing there. ( St-Tropez restaurant prices seemed similar or more than SBH but there are a lot more choices there and the housing is obviously more plentiful there. ) I do agree, hotel prices are equaling other large city or Côte d’ Azur or Amalfi hotels, and Amalfi is worse every year, too.

The only reason I mention these rather obvious observations is that there are only so many luxury places to go and most luxury travelers will spend what it takes to go where they want. The big HOWEVER is if people start to feel unsafe. This happened to many people who used to have lovely long weekends in L.A., having no worries about whether you would get ripped off/shot, etc. We never even consider L.A. as a getaway option anymore and if SBH goes down that road, without the local law enforcement getting real about the situation, NOT coming back is an easy call. If they are smart, they will preempt now what goes on because changing a reputation is much harder later, once people get wind of the concern. Stopping the big villas, stopping the Corporate restaurants and beach clubs, etc. may be a problem to be solved by the local government but that will be the least of their concerns if people are afraid to come to what was everybody’s favorite paradise. And we will all be the poorer if that ends up being the case.
 
Regarding Anguilla, we have owned a condo on Anguilla for over 20 years and Anguilla used to be also very safe, but sadly that has changed a lot over the past few years, starting with the aftermath of Irma. There have been more and more gun-related acts of violence, robberies (some even in broad daylight) and killings, mostly gang/drug related. The blame used to be pointed at people coming over from St Martin to commit these crimes, but the past few years the evidence has shown the contrary.

So far there have not been many crimes as related to tourists, but the feeling on the island is that it is only a matter of time. And, as mentioned above, this has been impacting tourism as a whole, as once tourists begin to feel unsafe, they WILL go elsewhere. It is a real issue on Anguilla right now that they are at a crossroads, and I hope they can do something to rectify the trend before it is too late.

Things also seem to be going in the wrong direction here on SBH, and swift remedies must be implemented before things get out of hand.
 
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