One last time to St Barts

[evermill]

Not a frequent poster here but thought I should share this and it’s overdue by a couple weeks. We’ve been going to the island for 20 years regularly probably total of 25+ times. We have witnessed the Tomahawk ribeye, insta, tok infusions of the last few years and pretty much decided we need to look for another island. We enjoyed peaceful St Barts with people trying to not get noticed.

So we decided to take a long weekend just to make sure…

Then Rosita told us Le Jardins had last minute cancellation, so we decided to go ahead and stay 9 days. Then we sat at Eddie’s on night 1, then we went to Saline, then to le Papillon Ivre, then governuer, and JoJo and Le Grain du Sel for the slowest, most beautiful service and delicious meal and vanilla rum for lunch and back to Saline until the sun started to fade. Then we figured we’d ask Rosita if we could squeeze one extra day in and she graciously accommodated and helped us extend with TopLoc. More fantastic pastries from the bakeries, Les Bananiers, Langouste and a really fun dinner at Cantina after we walked from La Guerite after they showed us the $700 Tomahawk Ribeye or $300 lobster special…

Then it was time to finally leave and we didn’t want to, so after saying farewell to Rosita, returning the car and waiting for the flight, the winds changed, the flight was canceled and all were canceled…for 4 days. Yes we were one of the people marooned on St Barts. Top Loc rerented our mini cooper to us and Rosita welcomed us back while we figured a new plan. Since we could not leave the island, the inverse was true for people trying to arrive so miraculously - Le Jardins became available a few more nights for us. Carole helped us with some laundry and long story short, we finally left St Barts 14 days after we arrived for what we planned to be a short trip.

And now we can’t wait to go back. There is nothing like St Barts, the food, the wine, the pace of things, the beaches, the vanilla rum, the views from every angle…sublime. And perhaps most importantly, there is no Rosita on other islands so everyone plays for second place.

 

[cec1]

Not a frequent poster here but thought I should share this and it’s overdue by a couple weeks. We’ve been going to the island for 20 years regularly probably total of 25+ times. We have witnessed the Tomahawk ribeye, insta, tok infusions of the last few years and pretty much decided we need to look for another island. We enjoyed peaceful St Barts with people trying to not get noticed.

So we decided to take a long weekend just to make sure…

Then Rosita told us Le Jardins had last minute cancellation, so we decided to go ahead and stay 9 days. Then we sat at Eddie’s on night 1, then we went to Saline, then to le Papillon Ivre, then governuer, and JoJo and Le Grain du Sel for the slowest, most beautiful service and delicious meal and vanilla rum for lunch and back to Saline until the sun started to fade. Then we figured we’d ask Rosita if we could squeeze one extra day in and she graciously accommodated and helped us extend with TopLoc. More fantastic pastries from the bakeries, Les Bananiers, Langouste and a really fun dinner at Cantina after we walked from La Guerite after they showed us the $700 Tomahawk Ribeye or $300 lobster special…

Then it was time to finally leave and we didn’t want to, so after saying farewell to Rosita, returning the car and waiting for the flight, the winds changed, the flight was canceled and all were canceled…for 4 days. Yes we were one of the people marooned on St Barts. Top Loc rerented our mini cooper to us and Rosita welcomed us back while we figured a new plan. Since we could not leave the island, the inverse was true for people trying to arrive so miraculously - Le Jardins became available a few more nights for us. Carole helped us with some laundry and long story short, we finally left St Barts 14 days after we arrived for what we planned to be a short trip.

And now we can’t wait to go back. There is nothing like St Barts, the food, the wine, the pace of things, the beaches, the vanilla rum, the views from every angle…sublime. And perhaps most importantly, there is no Rosita on other islands so everyone plays for second place.M

Marvelous "trip report" and thanks to Rosita's renowned hospitality. It's a happy conclusion to read that you want to return!

 

[cassidain]

glad you decided to ne pas jeter l'éponge concerning saint-barth.
it's 36 years and counting for us, and contrary to many recently expressed opinions, we continue to find lots of charm à la française on the island.
we're not offended that some tropéziennes influences have crept in or that we encounter an occasional thump-thump-thump.
what we are offended by are all the reports of tip solicitations though.

 

[Cwater]

Not a frequent poster here but thought I should share this and it’s overdue by a couple weeks. We’ve been going to the island for 20 years regularly probably total of 25+ times. We have witnessed the Tomahawk ribeye, insta, tok infusions of the last few years and pretty much decided we need to look for another island. We enjoyed peaceful St Barts with people trying to not get noticed.

So we decided to take a long weekend just to make sure…

Then Rosita told us Le Jardins had last minute cancellation, so we decided to go ahead and stay 9 days. Then we sat at Eddie’s on night 1, then we went to Saline, then to le Papillon Ivre, then governuer, and JoJo and Le Grain du Sel for the slowest, most beautiful service and delicious meal and vanilla rum for lunch and back to Saline until the sun started to fade. Then we figured we’d ask Rosita if we could squeeze one extra day in and she graciously accommodated and helped us extend with TopLoc. More fantastic pastries from the bakeries, Les Bananiers, Langouste and a really fun dinner at Cantina after we walked from La Guerite after they showed us the $700 Tomahawk Ribeye or $300 lobster special…

Then it was time to finally leave and we didn’t want to, so after saying farewell to Rosita, returning the car and waiting for the flight, the winds changed, the flight was canceled and all were canceled…for 4 days. Yes we were one of the people marooned on St Barts. Top Loc rerented our mini cooper to us and Rosita welcomed us back while we figured a new plan. Since we could not leave the island, the inverse was true for people trying to arrive so miraculously - Le Jardins became available a few more nights for us. Carole helped us with some laundry and long story short, we finally left St Barts 14 days after we arrived for what we planned to be a short trip.

And now we can’t wait to go back. There is nothing like St Barts, the food, the wine, the pace of things, the beaches, the vanilla rum, the views from every angle…sublime. And perhaps most importantly, there is no Rosita on other islands so everyone plays for second place.

Wonderful

 

[le_reve]

Love this story - - it proves that you can still find the heart of SBH if you just look for it. And, I can't imagine another place I'd rather be marooned.

 

[krand1]

I so dreaded reading this report after seeing the title but what a wonderful pleasant surprise. Maybe for some of us, digging deeper into St Barths is what is needed and is actually fun to do. As we have grown older and our pace has slowed we have enjoyed discovering more of the hidden gems in terms of restaurant choices. We have our old, more splashier favorites of course, but generally now seek more of the local, lesser known locales. St Barths is still our number one place to vacation despite all the changes not for the better. It's so nice to read that you have not given up after all but have "rediscovered" all the beauty and uniqueness that just can't be replicated anywhere else in the Caribbean. That's just what I think.

 

[Beachcomber]

Love this story - - it proves that you can still find the heart of SBH if you just look for it. And, I can't imagine another place I'd rather be marooned.

Very true. On our last trip we stayed in Grand Fond. We never really paid much attention to that side of the island before but we wanted to avoid traffic as much as possible. We had an incredible view of the ocean and the first night there I heard the waves crashing on the beach. My wife does not like things that crawl of fly but we had a mosquito net over the bed so I asked her if we could try sleeping with the bedroom doors open. It was lovely and added another dimension to our trip. When we got back home that first night I asked Google to play the sounds of the ocean and now we do that quite frequently to remind us of SBH.

 

[davesmom]

Great story! Welcome to the “2024 Club Marooned”…so glad you found a way to stay! I doubt that this story could have been written anywhere else with the kindness of Rosita and others. It just shows that what we loved for 20 years still exists: people ‘make’ the places, and we all ‘grow up’ together. What a great story you will always have.

 

[Leon]

Great story! Welcome to the “2024 Club Marooned”…so glad you found a way to stay! I doubt that this story could have been written anywhere else with the kindness of Rosita and others. It just shows that what we loved for 20 years still exists: people ‘make’ the places, and we all ‘grow up’ together. What a great story you will always have.

I am curious (for practical reasons) how travel insurance (with travel delay coverage) would treat the expenses caused by this type of no-flying event. So, the question is whether any member of "2024 Club Marooned” used or tried to use their Travel Insurance to cover the expenses related to their additional accommodations or missed flights, etc.

 

[cassidain]

Intriguing question !

 

[lvbookworm]

What a beautiful story, indeed. “Life” has kept us from visiting for the past year+, and although I’ve been reading these posts “from afar” I’ve been wondering what St Barths holds for us going forward. Your heart-felt experience has shown that even though times have changed and expectations/experiences on island have changed, there is so much love to be had on this island. Thank you for sharing your time. We’ve been hoping to plan a visit soon and now, more than ever, we’re looking forward to making this plan a reality!

 

[amyb]

What a beautiful story, indeed. “Life” has kept us from visiting for the past year+, and although I’ve been reading these posts “from afar” I’ve been wondering what St Barths holds for us going forward. Your heart-felt experience has shown that even though times have changed and expectations/experiences on island have changed, there is so much love to be had on this island. Thank you for sharing your time. We’ve been hoping to plan a visit soon and now, more than ever, we’re looking forward to making this plan a reality!

My hope is that your wishes come true.

 

[evermill]

I am curious (for practical reasons) how travel insurance (with travel delay coverage) would treat the expenses caused by this type of no-flying event. So, the question is whether any member of "2024 Club Marooned” used or tried to use their Travel Insurance to cover the expenses related to their additional accommodations or missed flights, etc.

It is an interesting question. We didn't try as we primarily get it for medical/evac and car rental coverage. We could have gotten a helicopter out the next day or gotten the ferry on Thursday (we have never once taken the Ferry as my wife doesn't do well on them), so not sure if they would argue that alternative transport was available. The benefit for travel delay is small enough that I'm probably not going to hassle with it.

 

[cassidain]

the emergency medical plan that we buy (coup de chapeau à ModDennis) provides up to $500/day/person of trip delay coverage. So $1,000/day for Mme Cassidain et moi. Trawick Safe Travels Outbound. Not sure about obligation for arranging an alternative mode of transportation such as ferry or helicopter . . . neither of which would connect with flight home from SJU.

 

[davesmom]

I am curious (for practical reasons) how travel insurance (with travel delay coverage) would treat the expenses caused by this type of no-flying event. So, the question is whether any member of "2024 Club Marooned” used or tried to use their Travel Insurance to cover the expenses related to their additional accommodations or missed flights, etc.

I am looking into this; we have a year long Allianz policy and I have the paperwork for the extra expenses of the helicopter and letters from Winair that the flight was canceled, as well as a phone transcript of their call the morning that our Winair plane was to depart, (all with the help of our Le Guanahani concierges and Premium IV. ) I don’t have a lot of hope we would be covered but I will report back.

 

[cassidain]

the Allianz policies seem to have a $200/person/day trip delay benefit with a $600/person overall limit. Wouldn't cover one night at the Guanahani I don't suppose

 

[etx]

I am looking into this; we have a year long Allianz policy and I have the paperwork for the extra expenses of the helicopter and letters from Winair that the flight was canceled, as well as a phone transcript of their call the morning that our Winair plane was to depart, (all with the help of our Le Guanahani concierges and Premium IV. ) I don’t have a lot of hope we would be covered but I will report back.

I am curious to hear what they say as well. My thought would be that they would reimburse you the amount it would cost for the least expensive option to leave the island, which would be the ferry I’m assuming, but I will hope for the best for y’all. Insurance companies love to not pay for things across any and all industries. Amazing how many times I have to call and speak to someone to get a routine scan approved for a patient when it is clearly guideline-indicated.

 

[davesmom]

You are so right; I am not holding my breath that I will get anything back. Unfortunately the Ferry would not work with 6 bags and the connection time necessary to travel to the airport from the Ferry. But I am sure the insurance companies would not be the least interested in my "baggage problem"...I still have to figure out how to get credit from Winair for the flight they canceled..

 

[Leon]

the emergency medical plan that we buy (coup de chapeau à ModDennis) provides up to $500/day/person of trip delay coverage. So $1,000/day for Mme Cassidain et moi. Trawick Safe Travels Outbound. Not sure about obligation for arranging an alternative mode of transportation such as ferry or helicopter . . . neither of which would connect with flight home from SJU.

Yes, Cass, it is the plan we started to buy because of COVID, so it is the coverage that I am wondering about being applicable in the case of "no wind".

 

[cassidain]

Yes, Cass, it is the plan we started to buy because of COVID, so it is the coverage that I am wondering about being applicable in the case of "no wind".

Sounds like "no wind" no take-off is reason enough to me