From: gkn@ucsd.edu (Gerard K. Newman)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: St. Barthelemy
Summary: Not inexpensive.
Keywords: St. Barth, FWI
Date: 12 Jan 93 22:24:03 GMT
Article-I.D.: network.1ivge3INNft7
Organization: TGV, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: ucsd.edu

In article <1993Jan12.191804.20375@mdd.comm.mot.com> rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com (Doug Rudoff) writes:
>
>Has anyone been to St. Barthelemy? It's a French island in the
>Caribbean near St. Martin.
>
>Any information would be useful.
>
>I have some friends who were there last year who thought it was great.
>Relatively inexpensive and uncrowded. However, my friends just moved
>to England so I can't ask them any questions since I don't know how to
>get hold of them.
>
>I believe their visit was arranged by a company called Villa St. Bart,
>located somewhere in Florida. I couldn't get an 800 number for them.
>They may have advertised in the New York Times Magazine; I might have
>to go to the library to find back issues.

My wife and I have been several times.  I would not characterize St. Barth
as inexpensive;  dinner easily runs to $125/two (with wine in some places,
more in others).  It's uncrowded during the off season (summer and fall),
and apparently turns into a super chic spot during the high season.

We've gone in late fall twice and loved it;  we have friends who spend
a couple of weeks in November there every year, and told us that this
year the amount of construction on the island had increased dramatically.

What follows is a message I sent to someone else about St. Barth from
about a year ago;  the information in it is a bit dated (we last went
in September of 1991), but is still useful.

The new hotel mentioned below is the Carl Gustaf, which is open, and is
right at $1000 (yes, 1.0e3) a night.  Egad.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random thoughts on travel to St. Barthelemy:

First, from the west coast, count on doing it in two days.  The problem
is that the airport on St. Barth is daylight only (you'll see why when
you land!).  Air St. Barth (OJ) and Air Guadeloupe fly there from San
Juan, St. Thomas and St. Martin (and probably other places).  Also, as
we've learned from two visits there that it's a good idea to schedule
a stopover in either St. Martin or San Juan on the way back, as the
airline schedules from St. Barth aren't the most accurate in the world.
On our last trip we wound up being stranded in San Juan since our
flight from St. Barth didn't take off until after our connecting flight
had left San Juan...  You can probably make the trip in one day from
the east coast.  You'll need a passport to enter St. Barth.  Reconfirm
your outbound flight when you arrive (SIBARTH will do this for you
as well).

The roads on St. Barth took us by surprise when we went there the first
time;  they're not what you'd call the best.  They're quite narrow,
bumpy in many places, and unpaved in quite a few.  You can rent a couple
of different kinds of vehicles:  a mini Moke, a Gurgel, and Suzuki
jeeps.  I understand that the mini Mokes don't have enough power to
get up some of the hills;  we've always rented a Gurgel and have
never been stuck.  Reserve a car in advance -- makes it a bit easier.
There are two gas stations on the island (both Shell) -- one across
from the airport, and the other in Marigot.  Both are closed on sunday.

Food is very expensive on the island ($100+ for dinner for 2, with
wine).  However, most of the restaurants are very good to exceptional.
Cuisine is predictably French.  A couple of my favorites are Les
Castelets, atop Morne Lurin;  Hostellerie des 3 Forces, in Vitet,
Vincent Adam in St. Jean, Le Rivage at the St. Barth Beach Hotel,
and Le Relais in Petit Cul de Sac.  I understand that Le Toque
Lyonnaise is excellent, but it's been closed both times we've been
on the island.  Most places would like you to make reservations.

There are a couple of decent grocery stores near the airport (Le Gourmet),
plus a wonderful bakery in St. Jean.  There's also a Sodexa supermarket
in St. Jean.

There is an excellent wine cellar at La Cave in Marigot;  well worth
a visit if you care about French wine.  They also have Cognac, pate,
and cigars.  It will help to speak french there, as Madame doesn't
speak much english.

The deal is to rent a villa, or a condo with a kitchenette on the
island.  A few places handle real estate there, but by far the largest
is SIBARTH, run by Brooke and Roger Lacour.  Their US Representative is
WIMCO, in Newport, RI.  800.932.3222 / 401.849.8012.  Get a copy of the
Vendome Guide from them, look at the pictures/price list, and then call
WIMCO and talk to them.  The representatives at WIMCO have been in most
of the properties and can tell you things about them that the pictures
do not.   Our favorite area of the island is Mont Jean/Pt. Milou.  St.
Jean tends to be a bit crowded (well, by St. Barth standards, anyway),
as does Marigot.   Gustavia is the capital city, and is where most of
the shopping is.

There are also regular hotels on the island:  the Guanahani, near Grand
Cul de Sac;  The Manapany, near Anse de Cayes;  the Francois Plantation,
in Columbier (if you subscribe to _Travel and Leisure_, this is the place
with the pool with the dais in the center of it that appeared in one of
their issues from last year); and Les Castelets, on Morne Lurin.  All are
expensive ($200+/night).  There's a new hotel going up above the harbor in
Gustavia whose name escapes me at the moment;  it looks like it will be nice
(and therefore expensive).  There's the St. Barth Beach Hotel on Grand Cul
de Sac, which is less expensive.  The same folks also rent stuff at La
Residence St. Barth.  We stayed there the first year they were open, and they
weren't too bad. We went with WIMCO on the second trip, and stayed at the
Seahorse Hotel, which had a small kitchenette and was Ok.  Next trip we're
going to rent a villa in the Mont Jean or Pt. Milou area;   we may rent a 2
bedroom villa if we can find another couple to split the cost with.  Villa
rentals run from $1000/week to $8000/week, with most of them falling in the
$1300-$1800 range for a 1 bedroom villa with private pool during the low
season (summer).

Bugs are a bit of a problem;  bring insect repellant.   Credit cards
aren't accepted many places on the island, but the number of places
accepting them is increasing.  Currency on the island is nominally
the French Franc, though the number of places accepting US Dollars
is similarly increasing.  We've always just brought French Franc
traveler's checks.  You'll need a bit of cash (about $30/couple) for
an airport departure tax.   The culture on the island is laid-back
French.  They have a casual attitude towards bathing attire;  there
are two nominal clothing optional beaches (Grand Saline and Gouverneur),
with the rest of the island being topless.  Columbier beach is also
very nice.  However, the attire (or lack of it) is only appropriate for
the beach.  Elsewhere you can get by with shorts and a shirt, a Pareau,
etc.   I usually bring only one pair of long slacks with me (no tie) and
Vicky brings a nice summer dress for dinner at Les Castelets.  The rest
of the time we survive in polo shirts, shorts, and sandals.

Stephen Birnbaum's Caribbean travel guide is actually pretty accurate;
it's worth investing in a copy.  Also, there are at least two issues of
_Travel and Leisure_ (one of them from 1989, the "This Could Be You"
Caribbean issue, and one from 1991, from the Caribbean issue, I believe
as well).

The island kind of grows on you;  we definitely love the place, and hope
it doesn't get overdeveloped.  There are signs this may happen;  there
are also a couple of places on the island which could stand some litter
control [this isn't a tourist issue, though].  Cruise ships sometimes
stop in Gustavia, but I think most of the people don't make it beyond
there.


-- 
Gerard K. Newman,  TGV, Inc.  603 Mission St.  Santa Cruz, CA  95060
gkn@tgv.com | 619.591.4717 (voice+fax) | 800.TGV.3440 | 408.427.4366
Newsgroups: rec.travel