Thanks to you all for your helpful posts! We are heading to St Bart's for the first time next week - very last minute decision to book our honeymoon

[gen]

First visit - a few questions

Thanks to you all for your helpful posts! We are heading to St Bart's for the first time next week - very last minute decision to book our honeymoon there, and we are sooo excited (we just booked today!). Thanks to your recommendations, we opted for a villa in Colombier instead of a hotel and decided to stay longer than the original planned 4 days... yippee!
I just have a few questions to prepare...

1) We definitely want to eat at the Wall House at least once. How far in advance must we make a res if we want to eat there on a friday night? Should we make the res now?
Any other must eats?

2) What to wear? What not to wear? From the reading I have been doing, it sounds like pack light... is there anything that we absolutely should not wear or is casual ok (with the exception of going out to dinner)

3) where to go for morning coffee and pastries?

4) what kind of car - is a samarui ok to navigate the hills?

Looking forward to The Match, Saline, The Wall House, Nikki Beach and all of the other wonderful and fabulous recommendations I have read on this forum... if you have any other recs it would be greatly appreciated.
G

PS IV and Mike - you are a riot!

 

[Mikey]

Re: First visit - a few questions

Hey G...congratulations and best wishes. You picked the right spot and you'll have a time you'll never forget.

The Wall House--Use the link on this website to reach their website...and make your res NOW to be sure to get the night and time you want. Better safe than sorry...especially if you don't have that many nights. As for "must eats", everyone in this "community" of poster's has their own particular favorites...and you don't have enough time to get to every place you might like to (so you'll have to come back)...but our "must eat" places are Le Sapotillier, Maya's (in spite of some recent postings, it is a must. Randy and Maya are wonderful and I have always found the food to be good to very good), La Mandala (great atmosphere and view...good fusion cuisine), Le Gaiac at Le Toiny for that special evening, L'Espirit de Saline (again, atmospheric, near the beach but, IMHO it was better in its first season), La Langouste (lobster...the way it was meant to be. The best seafood since New Born closed). For lunches, follow your nose, relax, do what ya wanna do...but you should go to Hotel St. Barth/Ile de France and eat on the terrace, Le Rivage (sur la plage) and, speaking of La Plage, try La Plage in Tom Beach Hotel. Lunch or dinner or just hangin' out at Andy's should also be on the list...along with a Marius burger at Le Select...but, alas, you'll have to come back to do all that. You will also probably want to pack some bread, wine, water, cheese...or anything you pick up at Rotisserie or Maya's to go for one afternoon on the beach...by yourselves.

What to wear?--You're right..pack VERY light and you'll still probably bring too much. Casual is fine EVERYWHERE...but someplaces you will find it more appropriate to be casually elegant (no white slacks, speedos in restaurants, etc...see recent threads).

Morning Coffee--Le Petit Columbe in Columbier

The Samurai--My "ride" of choice. In-elegant, ubiquitous, utiltarian and uncomfortable...and I love driving it, top off (as opposed to topless) rain or shine. It is perfect for the hills and tight turns. Drive carefully!!! The life you save may be mine!!!

 

[wew71]

Re: First visit - a few questions

We spent our honeymoon on SBH in September and it was perfect.

1) WH -Closed during our trip, but I am sure others will know.

2)Casual is ok, bathing suits at the beach and pool only. Linen is a good call. I did not see a tie or sportcoat anywhere.

3)There is a great boulangerie , Le Petit Columbe, on the left as you head into Colombier from St.Jean. I went almost every morning for croissants, pastries, sandwiches and espresso. Heaven!

4)I love little cars and my husband indulged me with a Smart. They only have about 60 hp and we had no trouble navigating the hills. Samurais are everywhere; you'll be fine with one. Driving on SBH is great fun.

We preferred L'Oasis over the Match, but we were there for a couple of weeks and the area around the Match was a mess due to the now-completed airport construction.

Have a great honeymoon!

 

[BillK]

Re: First visit - a few questions

You've got plenty to get started, the rest will be "yours to discover" (sorry it's our province's motto). But really finding your own "romantic spots" and exploring on your own is part of the romance of the island. You can't go wrong. Your lucky you found it on your honeymoon it took us until our 10th anniversary - but we've been back every year since. All the best. I'm sure MikeR and IV will have a different approach.

 

[MIke R]

Re: First visit - a few questions

dress casual.... formal dress is not what the un americanized Caribbean is about...as Mikey said Petit Colombe for breakfast treats...car??...anything you can get..Susuki's are the staple here....rpmantic places???....thats subjective....find it on your own so it can be your version and not someone elses.....believe me...its all around you....you'll find it...enjoy

 

[steve]

Re: First visit - a few questions

Make sure that you visit Colombier beach. It is a 20 minute walk. Don't go down to the beach from Colombier but take the road that goes past Flammands beach all the way to the end and hike in from there. The hike is basically flat but the path is narrow. Flip flops are appropriate.
For a delicious inexpensive meal the recently reopened New Born in Anse de Cayes with Franckie being back from Paris is fantastic. We just returned and I thought it was the best meal we had on the island. Our two trips to the Wall House equalled it though and Denis and Franck are charming hosts.
Steve

 

[Island Visitor]

Re: First visit - a few questions

You question: What to wear? What not to wear? From the reading I have been doing, it sounds like pack light... is there anything that we absolutely should not wear or is casual ok (with the exception of going out to dinner)

Long answer:

We like to bat this topic around a bit and there is much written. But let me summarize it thusly:

Europeans in general are not as slovenly as Americans. To a European, casual might mean light, cool, chic, elegent, sexy, hip or trendy (with them setting the trend). It usually does not mean goth, grunge, dirty, raggedy, tattered, well-worn, etc.

As such, many/most of the people you see on the island will be in casual attire. You will see few/no coat and tie outfits and only official people, as a rule, even wear a tie.

For women, the dress can range from the charmingly modest and traditional full cotton dress and head wear of the ladies of Corossol to Paris-chic for the ladies who just came in on Air France. Silk, cotton, linen, sundresses, shorts, spaghetti-strap tops, strapless, even occasional sheer are all seen. What you wont see is cutoff jeans, mickey mouse t-shirts, baggies, or similar things. This is a generality, of course, but I am talking about what you will see in restaurants. A perennial favorite of the ladies tending the shops on the island is a light fabric dress with spaghetti straps that is often form fitting on the top and is sometimes worn with a bra, sometimes without. While we can debate the reasons for this attire from here till the server melts down, let us acknowledge one fact about the caribbean - it's hot year-round. Ergo, chic and suave cool fashions are the order of the day.

For men, slacks are never required although they do outnumber shorts in the absolute top end places such as Le Gaiac. As a general rule, avoid the Seventies Tennis Shorts length shorts (also know as the NBA circa 1980 shorts) that barely come below a gentleman's, er, well, you know. Instead, opt for something approaching bermuda length, approximately knee length or so. Linen is fine, as is nice cotton. I dont see much denim in the restaurants. An open collar shirt of the style that a gentleman would wear to play a round of golf at a better private club is perfect for ALL occasions. A "Michael Jordan" style "dress t shirt" is also nice and often worn. "Muscle shirts" and tank tops for men are seen at strictly beach establishments such as Nikki and Le Plage, as well as Select. Otherwise, they aren't the best for dining. Sandals work everywhere and for those not wanting to be so informal, "boat shoes" without socks always look good.

On the beaches (and I only add this because everytime we put nekkidity in a thread, it doubles the hits - LOL) what you see will depend on where you are. On Gouverneur and Saline, topless for women will run from 35 - 100% depending on the time and day. Topless for men will run from 100 - 75% depending on how many Cruise Ship Stollers are out. Bottomless for men will run from 10 - 40% and for women from 0 - 25%. These are very general rules but seem to be a good guide from my experience.

There are really several keys to attire in St Barts:

1. Be casual but dont be sloppy

2. Be chic and cool. Be "sexy" but keep it just short of "sleezy". What is the difference? Perhaps the US Supreme Court was most precisely vague when they said (concering porn) "I know it when I see it". If it looks like something a beautiful Parisian might wear and be "chic" in, go for it. If it looks like something that might show up on a Foo Foo Fashion Runway but never in real life, back away from it.

3. Don't bust The Fashion Envelope. Pick cool and light outfits, colors are fine as are whites. Try to avoid the Clark Griswold Imperitive of "looking the part". I can promise you that you will not see matching "family berets" with everyone's names on them.

In short, neat, attractive, high quality, light resort wear is the word of the day.

have fun!

 

[JEK]

IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

Kara,
I think this IV masterpiece belongs in your Trip Planning Essentials area. You might want to wait for a few edits from MikeR before you start your HTML editor however.

 

[tim]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

I wouldn't wait for edits from anybody, even MikeR, on this masterpiece from IV. As my carpenter friends would say, "Nail it."

BTW, I know all the rest of the posters on this site probably come pretty cheap, but I can't help but wonder how much MikeR and IV are earning to entertain and enlighten the masses? LOL(I think I liked the expression better when I mistakenly thought it meant "Lots of Love.") And before you start blasting away, I know we all owe Bob and Kara a debt of gratitude for letting us play in their yard free of charge, and I will hereby say again, Thank you.

 

[sbdreamin]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

It's funny, several times a week, I end my night by..checking sleeping kids, filling the dog water bowl, setting up the coffee maker,
and saying to my husband..I gotta read you this funny thread on sbonline
from Miker and IV...

 

[MIke R]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

no edit.....as usual IV said it better then anyone can....

Tim..its a labor of love...no earnings at all...it makes a boring day of work at the computer fly by...because I'm so burnt out on tourism and therefore not the friendliest face you will see when you come into the shop ( unless you re cute and I can flirt to make a sale ), in the interest of better business and more sales, I've been delegated to the mundane "behind the scenes " work i.e. computer stuff.... and my work in school is more of the same.... so if I wasnt in here stirring the pot I'd probably be doing something stupid like day trading or looking at porn..LOL....so this works just fine thank you very much....

the way I see it...the dynamics have developed into this....IV and I are like a two parents...he is the nurturing, supportive mother..I am the no nonsense, call it what it is, disciplinarian father.....anyway I'm glad my rambling thoughts put to text entertain some of you, in some way, be it positive or negative....hopefully the others have learned to just ignore me....its no big deal for me to keep it all going....

 

[JEK]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

IV and I are like a two parents...he is the nurturing, supportive mother..I am the no nonsense, call it what it is, disciplinarian father

Oh I get it. Venus and Mars <<grin>>

 

[MIke R]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

LOL..yeah..or good cop/bad cop...something like that....

 

[BillK]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

. . .dumb and dumber? (sorry it was just too tempting)

 

[MIke R]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

LOL..its ok..I've got thick skin...and dont care much what people think anyway

 

[Island Visitor]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

the way I see it...the dynamics have developed into this....IV and I are like a two parents...he is the nurturing, supportive mother..I am the no nonsense, call it what it is, disciplinarian father

LOL. The poor children ARE in trouble. If I ever grow up, I seriously doubt I would rank alongside the great Nurturing Mothers of our memories. You know, folks like June Cleaver (who knew how to treat Beaver) or Olivia (Liv or Livvy) Walton who apparently knew how to keep her hubby warm when he wasn't chopping wood (he's a lumberjack and he's okay).

If I am Mommy Dearest to The Poor Little Dears in this site, then I fear for the next generation. My parenting skills rank somewhere between those of Nigel Powers (father of Austin) and Austin himself (father of who knows whom).

 

[gen]

Re: IV MSG FOR THE AGES -DRESS FOR SUCCESS SBH STYLE

Hey, thanks all for your advice and comments. They are truly helpful and well regarded. We cannot wait to leave next week - we are looking forward to it definitely! Dress-wise, I will leave my mickey mouse ears and fanny pack from 8th grade at home!
Gen