One of the pleasant surprises about St. Barts and the luxury properties on the Island (although when thinking about it.. it should not really be a surprise since it is an Island of France), is how good the food is. Cheval Blanc was not an exception, as the breakfast buffet was filled with an ample selection fresh bread, fruits, dairy products, and other assorted items. We were also provided with a selection of hot beverages and fresh juices. Here is a little sample of what was available to us at breakfast (dinner follows below):

While enjoying breakfast, we were happy to be joined by their resident cat who quickly identified us as cat lovers and took full advantage of our generosity.

The food at breakfast was quite good and we really enjoyed having a leisurely breakfast while overlooking the ocean. One recommendation that we I would make is that you arrive earlier in the breakfast service. This way you can almost guarntee a seat with a view of the ocean, but also guarantee that there will be an ample selection of food available. It was a buffet style, and the later in the service that you arrive the increased liklihood that some items will be replenished. The service by the staff was good, and they seemed to take care in not hovering and in allowing us to enjoy our breakfast without interruption.

We made reservations for dinner in-person at their main restaurant in theearly afternoon of our second day for later that night, and were quite looking forward to it throughout the day. Dinner got off to a little of a rocky start as they could not find the reservation and this seemed to cause a minor crisis with many mini-meetings among multiple staff members. Luckily, they were able to locate the resevation (turns out the quick note taken by the satff in the afternoon had never made it into the book, but the note was eventually located) and we were given a fantastic table with a great view.

Cheval Blanc did not disappoint, the food was absoultely delicious and we thouroughly enjoyed our dining experience as we looked over the night view of the beach and ocean from our table. Everything was done to perfection and the staff were very friendly, courteous and able to answer any questions that we had. When staying at Cheval Blanc, make sure to take advantage of this fantastic restaurant.

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Cheval Blanc has a total of 40 rooms on its' property which really allows for them to provide their guests with a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Out of these 40 rooms, 12 are Garden Bungalows that are nestled nicely next to the mountain and, as the name suggests, surrounded by gorgeous gardens. These bungalows are also a little removed from the main building which also provides for great privacy and a very quiet experience. With the bungalows measuring  678 sq ft (63 sqm), they are able to provide enough space for a beautiful bedroom and an opulent bathroom. You truly feel that you are in your own private home on the island.

Other room categories include: Garden Room, Tropical Suite, Hillside Bungalow, Beach Room, Beach Junior Suite, 1 Bedroom Suite, 2 Bedroom Fisherman Cottage, 2 Bedroom Suite in the Garden, 2 Bedroom Suite on the Beach, Flamands Villa (some pictures below at the end of this post), and the 2 Bedroom Hillside Villa. Click here to learn more on these different room options.

Here is a photo tour of our Garden Bungalow:

The bathroom was also fully equipped with wonderful products that were a sheer experience of luxury:

One of the areas that I really enjoyed was the private terrace that overlooked a lush green garden area. It was the perfect place to relax and enjoy the drink and food that were in our room when we arrived:

Returning to the Garden Bungalow was also something special as the grounds throughout Cheval Blanc are lit perfectly to showcase this wonderful area at night:

And, of course, the added bonus of returning to your room at night is having your room prepared for the night:

We cannot say enough on how much we enjoyed the Garden Bungalow! It was simply fabulous, and provided us with extreme comfort and luxury, while also offering a quiet and spacious suite that truly felt like it was our own.

Of course there are also other rooms/suites available (as mentioned above) depending upon your needs and desires. We are not able to provide pictures of the all, but here are a couple of the Flamands Villa that provides an ocean view:

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While in St. Barts we had the immense pleasure of staying at Cheval Blanc, situated on beautiful Flamands Bay. This gorgeous and luxurious resort is truly a slice of paradise as the location provides a natural intimacy, while the elegant styling of the resort coupled with the personalized and professional service of its' staff make you feel as if you have found your own private piece of the island.

The property only has 40 wonderfully appointed rooms, ranging from secluded Garden Rooms all the way to 3-bedroom Villas (I will provide a more detailed breakdown on the room types available in my blog on our room), this limited number of rooms provides you with a guaranteed of having the relaxing and luxurious experience you are dreaming of on St. Barts. The entire property - from the Gardens located on the main section of the property, to the main buildings, the pool, and even the beach area - is so wonderfully appointed down to the finest details. Cheval Blanc has also done a marvelous job in combining the calming colours of their brand with the natural colours of the island, that you can't help but feel relaxed as you absorb the finest elements that the sun, beach, and property have to offer.

Here is a visual tour around the property, including the gardens and the beach on Flamands Bay (oh, and a little wildlife - and not so wild life at the end...).

We start with the entrance, with the reception and concierge areas at the top of the stairs:

As you walk through the center of the main building, you are mesmerized by the beauty of the property and the natural wonders of St. Barts in the background:

Aside from the beautiful and welcoming ocean, Cheval Blanc also boasts some stunning gardens throughout its' property:

And now for the wildlife...

When we were leaving our room in the morning, we were greeted by a family wild goats:

As with most tropical destinations, these little guys were common sights scampering around:

...and the not-so-wildlife, their resident property cat... Easter!

The property at Cheval Blanc is stunning and definitely an experience that we would recommend to any of our clients seeking a luxurious island paradise getaway. The rooms are just as remarkable, and our room in the Garden Bungalow will be featured in my next blog post.

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One of the special things in regards to St. Bart's being in the French West Indies, is that you get to be in an exotic Caribbean island and still enjoy European, especially French of course, flavours while dining. The two main Eden Rock restaurants that we experienced were "Sand Bar" for breakfast and "On the Rocks" for dinner.

Let's start with breakfast (dinner at On the Rocks is below following the breakfast information). Sand Bar is a beach side restaurant and provides the guests at Eden Rock the ability to dine here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast here as we were given the option to enjoy a large buffet with a wide selection of food choices, while also being able to order a la carte for specific dishes. I need to mention that the service in Sand Bar was excellent. Every member of the staff that interacted with us from the moment we walked in was friendly, professional and quick to respond to any of our needs; while also anticipating a couple ahead of time as well.

The food offered in the buffet overall was very good. The selection of bread, meats, cheeses, fruits, and juices were extensive and all were very fresh. On the hot side there was a wide selection of your buffet standards such as scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and potatoes. Here is a visual experience of the buffet breakfast.

Of course, they have a full selection of coffee and tea choice from you to order as well. We really enjoyed our Cappuccino as we gazed out over the beach and planned our post-breakfast day.

The Eggs Benedict below was ordered off of the a la carte menu, and not part of the buffet.

Dinner at On the Rocks at Eden Rock is an experience to say the least. Situated at the top of the rock, the restaurant not only features fantastic cuisine designed by Jean-Georges VonGerichten (who has led Michelin starred kitchens), but a breathtaking view of St. Jean Bay at night as well. The experience at dinner is a treat for your senses from the relaxing sounds of the ocean below, the mesmerizing sights of the lights along the bay, the complimenting aromas of the meals being prepared with the ocean air, and most definitely... the amazing taste of each course served by the expert, knowledgeable and professional staff.

The restaurant is so popular on the island, that we would recommend that you make a reservation at the time of booking your stay at Eden Rock in order to ensure that you have the chance to experience this must visit restaurant on St. Bart's. On the Rocks is closed during the day and opens for Cocktails at 6pm and for Dinner starting at 7pm.

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Eden Rock provides a wide variety of different accommodations for you to choose from - about 13 in total.  The wide variety of choices available to you are listed with some details at the end of this blog. However, if you would like to check them out now, scroll down or click here.

Our room was one of the 4 rooms available in their Rock Classics category. As you can guess, these rooms are situated on the iconic rock of Eden Rock and provide spectacular views of the ocean that can be enjoyed from a private terrace. The rooms at Eden Rock are individually named, rather than having room numbers, our particular room was named "Corail", which is french for Coral. This is important as your room name is used to reserve/save your space at the beach and when in the restaurants - much like you would with your room number at other properties.

Here are some pictures of our room, I am actually going to start with the view from our terrace that can actually be enjoyed when sitting on the bed:

This is looking from the terrace into the room. You can see the king sized bed through the doors.

The room itself, was a little small, but for the 2 of us it provided enough space to relax and unwind after our day in the sun. And, let's face it - you're not in St. Barts to sit around your room. If you are looking for a little more space, Eden Rock has many other categories to select from.

Waiting for us in our room, as part of the amenities that we received, was a wonderful bottle of champagne along with some welcome fruits:

The room also had ample closet space, a safe, a miniifridge stocked with the usual suspects of beverages, and free tea :

The bag you see on the shelf in the closet is provided to you as a beach bag, and is free for you to take home after your stay. A great thought by Eden Rock as we have continued to use it since we left:

The bathroom was very well laid out with the sunken shower to the left - with a wonderful window that opened and provided a view of the ocean, the vanity and sink in the middle and the toilet to the right.

The amenities in the bathroom include a travel cosmetics bag that some essentials:

The real treat in regards to their amenities are the body lotion, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner that are made on the island. You can also purchase them at the shop at Eden Rock.

Probably the best part of the room however, was the private terrace. This was the perfect space to sit and enjoy the views of the oceans, the ships, and just generally letting the tranquility of Eden Rock and St. Bart's wash over you.

Overall, we loved our room at Eden Rock and would not hesitate to recommend this category to any of our clients. Those with larger families would likely be better situated in a larger room, but as mentioned, this is not a problem at Eden Rock as they have categories to satisfy any number of guests you may be traveling with.

Here is a quick list of the accommodations available to you at Eden Rock. Picking one might be a challenge:

Garden Cottages that are set back from the beach and are close to the restaurant and beach

Rock Classics that provide spectacular ocean-view rooms with private terraces

Beach House Frangipani providing 3 bedrooms situated right on the beach offering a swimming pool and jacuzzi as well as a full kitchen

Premium Suites that are split level suites with a large bedroom and sitting area as well a spa pool by the ocean

Heavenly Beach House offered in 1 and 2 bedroom split level houses on the beach with ocean views, a Jacuzzi and kitchen

Villa Nina lying on about 7,000 sq. ft. with 2 bedrooms, both a swimming and spa pool, full kitchen and dining area and much more...

Diamond Suites offering a spacious 1 bedroom suite at the foot of the rock right at the waters edge and boats a huge bathroom with a sunken bath as well as a double cascade shower

Villa Rockstar with 4 bedrooms and 2 cabins this 16,000 sq. ft. villa offers everything you could imagine from a screening room. private office, private gym, pool table, two pools, cars and a garage, and so much more...

Legacy Suite De Haenen with 1 bedroom and panoramic views of the ocean and large covered terrace on 3 sides of the rock.

Beach Rooms are 1 bedrooms located in the split-level Plantation Houses with terraces looking over the beach

Legacy Rooms are unique 1 bedrooms that can be joined with other Legacy rooms to create a family cottage type of environment as they share an external staircase.

Legacy Suite Garbo a recollection of old Hollywood can be found here with the main feature being the most dramatic bed with an 8 foot tall leather headboard. And yes, Greta Garbo did stay here.

Legacy Suite Howard Hughes with 3 terraces and a 360° view of the bay, this 1 bedroom suite has 2 copper clad bathrooms with a kitchenette and dining area.

For full details on these spectacular accommodation categories, click HERE.

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In my last post, I featured pictures of the gorgeous property that surrounds Le Sereno. If you missed it, you can find it here. Let's face it though, when you are travelling to a Caribbean destination, especially a lush island such as St. Barts, the property and the surrounding beach are important, but you know that you really want your room to be a relaxing, comforting and luxurious haven to return to after a long day of fun in the sun. Le Sereno does not disappoint. Their rooms feature a beautiful combination of fine wood with crisp white walls with furniture designed by Christian Liaigre with bout 80% of their rooms featuring views of the ocean. In total there are only 36 suites and 3 villas at Le Sereno which, by default, makes you feel that you are in an exclusive resort where you are truly catered with a personal touch by the staff.

Grande Suite Plage Sud

We stayed in their most popular category of rooms, Grande Suite Plage Sud. This beachfront suite had gorgeous ocean views and it very easy to see why this category is their most popular, and also why they decided to invest heavily in the Grand Suite Plage Sud and have this category make up about two-thirds of all their rooms at Le Sereno.

Let me get right to the best feature of this room - THE BED! Wow, was it ever comfortable and it honestly provided the best sleeps I have had in a property in a very long time.

As you can see in the pictures above, it is a four-post bed with mosquito netting that is untied by the turn-down service every night. There are mosquitoes in St. Barts, but honestly, they were no more annoying than the ones here in North America. The mattress was just the right firmness and the sheets were crisp and clean every night. Just a fantastic bed.

The rest of the main room was very well laid out, including a plush white sitting chair, a good sized couch (I feel that this could have been a little more comfortable) with coffee table, and a desk. Here is the main room:

At the far end of our room there was a large sliding door that o[pened up to a private patio with an expansive view of the ocean and two beach lounge chairs. This was the perfect spot to relax in private while taking in the sun.

The bathroom in the Grande Suite Plage Sud is extremely spacious and the layout is wonderful. You have a large soaker tub with a separated shower stall. The floor is a dark wood that allows any water that makes it to the floor to be easily drained. The amenities in the bathroom are De Luxe Ginger by Ex Voto Paris. Here is a look at the bathroom:

One added little bonus for us, which is offered to our Virtuoso clients was the welcome bottle of champagne that was waiting for us in our room upon our arrival:

Overall, the Grande Suite Plage Sud proved to be the perfect accommodations, with the large size of the main room, bathroom, and private ocean view deck, this room at no time had us wishing for anything extra. It was all here. We would definitely recommend this room when staying at Le Sereno.

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We were very fortunate to experience the exceptional resort of Eden Rock while in St. Barts. The magnificent property is nestled in the bay of Saint-Jean, and as it's name suggests, the property is situated upon a rocky point which provides stunning visuals and allows the hotel to take full advantage of it's terrain providing its' guests with a unique accommodation experience. In my next blog, I will review the room in which we stayed, but in this entry I want to focus on the exterior of this beautiful island escape.

Eden Rock was one of the first hotels to be built on St. Barts back in the early 1950's by Rémy de Haenen who had purchased this rocky area for only a few hundred dollars. His vision for this property, and the island of St. Barts is greatly responsible the must-visit destination it is today. Eden Rock quickly attracted A-list Hollywood stars in the 50's, including Greta Garbo and Robert Mitchum. Today the hotel boasts 34 individual accommodations situated on the rock, along the beach and in the garden; each decorated in the styling of Jane Matthews. Everywhere you turn at Eden Rock there is a visual treat and when you add this to the clear warm waters of the Bay, the pristine beach, and exceptional service from the staff, you are truly in a luxury paradise.

A couple of the special touches that Eden Rock provides for its' guests include to availability of rental Mini's in order to explore the island, your room name etched onto a rock (of course) to reserve your beach space:

I am confident that anyone staying at Eden Rock will not only feel the relaxation and luxury that is synonymous with this property, but they will also find something special to make their time here unique. Whether it's making the most the warm clear waters of the bay (stand up paddle-boards, snorkeling gear, rafts and kayaks that re available for guests), dining in one of the fabulous restaurants, or shopping in one of the nearby shops of St. Jean - there is something for everyone. For us, it was the amazing site of the planes landing and taking off at nearby Gustaf III Airport as the end of the runway is just down the beach. This allows for stunning close up views of the planes, some coming so close, you feel you could touch them. Don't worry about the noise though, the planes are not that frequent and are small island hoppers. They also don't fly after dark:

To learn more about Eden Rock in St. Barts, click HERE.

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Once we had collected our bags and cleared the very short line at customs (there were only 8 people on our flight), we were excited to get to the first luxury resort that we would be staying at during this trip, Le Sereno. One of the perks of this property is there free transfer from the airport to their property. Although there was a minor hiccup in getting picked up and needing to have someone call the driver for us, an issue more caused by the “Caribbean time” experienced with the flight schedule than with Le Sereno itself, we were very happy with the level of service provided by the driver and the clean and cool environment of the vehicle… air-conditioning was very much appreciated in the 30°C+ heat and lack of air-conditioning on the small island hopper flight over to the island.

We arrived at Le Sereno in no time as almost everywhere on a 25 sq. kilometer island is relatively close . The atmosphere at Le Sereno, mainly due to it’s location but also due to the fact that we were there in low season, was peaceful and made for relaxing. The neighbourhood immediately around the property is somewhat secluded from the rest of the island as it sits in a small cove on the east side of the island.

Le Sereno was designed by well-known Parisian designer Christian Liaigre, and the elegance and lushness of the property strikes you as soon as you step foot into the reception area. This is truly an island resort as the reception area is open on both sides and walking into the room you are immediately drawn to the view as the reception sits above the property providing a wonderful eyeful of the relaxation that awaits…

The reception staff were friendly and made us feel immediately as treasured guests. After checking in, they provided a small tour of the property including the pool, beach area, water activity equipment (free to use), gym area, spa, and restaurant:

Oh, did I mention that Le Sereno also has a resident cat? Meet "Cookie" who roams the property as if surveying her kingdom. She is very friendly and loves to visit with the guests...

Check out what my special amenities my clients receive HERE!

My next blog will feature our room, as well as some of the other rooms available at Le Sereno.

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In June of 2016 we travelled to the French West Indies and visited the Island of Saint-Barthélemy, or St. Barths as the French refer to it, or St. Barts as it is commonly called in English. I found that this gets a little confusing depending on who you are talking to. The predominant language on the island is French, however not once did we encounter a person that could not speak English. Regardless, it’s a beautiful and lush Caribbean Island and we spent 8 glorious days and 7 blissful nights there; staying at some of the most luxurious resorts the Island has to offer.

My next entries will have my experience at these resorts along with pictures of our accommodations, their property, food, etc. But first, a little background on St. Barts (I’m just going to go with that version of the name…). Here, I want to provide you with general information on the Island itself. If you are a history buff and want the geopolitical and historical background and all that, and trust me I love history, there are plenty of places for you to go…

Quick Facts on St. Barts

Location and Size:

St. Barts is a small island located in the Caribbean Sea. It is approximately 25 square kilometers, 9.7 square miles, in size and has a population of just over 9,000 people.

You can see it here in this map:

Can’t find it? Ok, how about this one:

You should be able to see it here:

The island that you see just above and a little to the left is St. Maarten.

Getting there:

To get to St. Barts, you typically will fly into Princess Juliana International Airport located in Philipsburg on St. Maarten, which is on the Dutch side of the island; the other side belonging to the French.

We took a direct flight out of JFK in New York which was a little over 4 hours, but numerous cities around the world also provide direct flights into St. Maarten.

The Airport in St. Maarten (SXM) is notorious for planes landing just a few meters away from a public beach. Here is a quick clip I made while landing (through a dirty window with my iPhone… cinematic gem, it is not):

From St. Maarten, you then have the choice to take a short island hopping flight from SXM to Gustaf III Airport (SBH) on St. Barts, or you can take a ferry service if small planes aren’t your thing. The ferry takes approximately 30 minutes if you leave from the ferry port at Oyster Pond which is on the East side of the island closer to St. Barts. The other port is located on the North (Northwest?) side of the island and the trip is about 1 hour. That’s all I can really tell you about the ferry service, as we flew to St. Barts.

Flying to St. Barts from St. Maarten

We took a flight with WinAir which provides many daily flights to and from St. Barts from St. Maarten with the total flight time being around 15 minutes. Now, I should mention that this was my first experience to hear the phrase “Caribbean time” during this trip, and certainly was not my last!  A rough translation of this phrase in this instance would be “Don’t worry about time schedules, we’ll get you there eventually.” Our flight was not even close to leaving on time, and in fact flights to St. Barts that were scheduled after our flight actually left before we even boarded our plane.

As far as I was able to ascertain, they have enough planes to overbook their flights and then make arrangements for the passengers that they didn’t have room for on the original flight. I can’t really be sure about this, because every time I asked for an update, I was told it was ok and that it was Caribbean time and that I should “stand over there” while being directed through pointing to a non-specific area in the airport. The funny part is that I found this all very amusing as did the perplexed gaggle of my fellow passengers who collectively decided to just go with it. I think part of it is just an effect of being in the Caribbean and just feeling the relaxed atmosphere wash over as well as the polite and calm manner in which the staff, although not great at providing details, spoke to you.

Once we were finally instructed that our flight was boarding, we were led to an airport shuttle bus the drove us to our plane. Let me say, I love flying. I mean from the moment that I arrive at an airport to the moment we land, I love it. On this occasion, however, I was a little apprehensive as I had never been a small island hopper plane before and was not totally sure of what to expect. Add to that Gustaf III Airport (SBH) on St. Barts is one of the most difficult airports to land at due to the runway lying between the foot of a steep embankment on one end and the ocean on the other, my excitement for the actual flight was battling my flight or fight response (no pun intended). Here are some pictures of the plane and as well as a brief video of our landing at St. Barts.

As the plane approaches the runway, it seemed that the pilot needed to drop the plane vertically by cutting the power a little and then increase the power once again to keep forward momentum… or so it seemed to me…

My anxiety was completed unwarranted, this flight was spectacular and the views of the crystal clear ocean, the numerous islands dotting the water along our way, and the professional crew made the flight an experience to remember.

We had finally arrived in St. Barts and were looking forward to exploring not only the island but three Luxury Virtuoso resorts at which we would be staying.

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