Anyone who has by no means been to St. Barts has a view on its ethos. “It’s all about money,” “It’s way too social,” or “Oh no, it’s not for me,’ they say. Regulars don’t do much to contradict these assumptions—this is our secret place, and we want to keep it that way. It’s true: getting here can sometimes feel like a Sisyphean task—the airport shuts at sundown, so if you miss your connection you have to overnight in Antigua or St. Maarten. And it’s a magnet for the wealthy, notably between Christmas and New Year, when billionaires parade their super-yachts in the port of the capital, Gustavia. Passers-by—like ornithologists spotting a rare bird—pass the time identifying which boat belongs to whom (such as Bernie Arnault’s Symphony or David Geffen’s Rising Sun). It all adds to the allure of this citronella-scented adventure playground, which curiously, despite the glitz, manages not to feel vulgar or ostentatious.
When it comes to hotels, St. Barts is home to some of the best in the Caribbean—sleek boutique stays where sustainability and luxury intertwine effortlessly. For our top picks, the below are the ultimate places to stay in St. Barts.
How we select the perfect inns in St. Barts
Every lodge on this listing has been chosen independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveler journalist who is aware of the vacation spot and has visited that property. When selecting inns, our editors think about properties throughout value factors that supply an genuine and insider expertise of a vacation spot, retaining design, location, service, and sustainability credentials high of thoughts.
It doesn’t get any extra idyllic than Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa’s crescent-shaped, talcum-powder seashore. The intimate lodge has simply 44 rooms and suites and is discovered on the shores of Grand Cul de Sac, on the north-east of the island. Impeccably designed interiors channel a high-end French aesthetic—sharp traces are softened with cream linen sofas, crafted tables and hand-crafted ceramics. In quick, it’s impossibly elegant. Some suites have their very own swimming pools, others have scrumptious outside showers, and there’s all the time a glimpse of the turquoise ocean from each nook. There’s a cinematic infinity pool and a breezy al-fresco restaurant—Amis St Barts—overseen by Michelin-recognized chef Jéremy Czaplicki. Its ceiling sculpture of handblown glass fish in the colours of the ocean could distract you from the ingenious menu of coconut-crusted eggplant, crab bisque with banana coulis, and yellowfin tuna served with marinated watermelon—however not for lengthy. Meanwhile, at Le Spa at Le Barthélemy, it’s a match made in oceanic heaven with La Mer facials and physique remedies. For sundowners, head to the rooftop bar, Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot (often called WTF), for chill-out tunes and a Flamingo cocktail. A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the lodge has one eye on sustainability and affords coral restoration and zero-waste cooking lessons for friends. —Angelina Villa
The newly reopened Rosewood Le Guanahani is positioned alongside an 18-acre peninsula overlooking Marigot Bay, the so-called different facet of the island. The resort feels significantly extra secluded than a few of its opponents due to this, with every of its 66 cottages (all with personal entrances; many suites have personal swimming pools) enveloped by lazily drooping palm timber and different native fauna. Another perk of its location alongside this quiet northeast-coast peninsula? The countless breeze wafting throughout the beachside infinity pool and into Beach House St. Barth, an ethereal eatery that feels extra like a classy good friend’s dwelling in the Mediterranean or French Riviera than a resort restaurant in the Caribbean. Another main upside of Le Guanahani just lately changing into a Rosewood property is the arrival of the model’s Sense Spa, which is simply as upscale and opulent as you’d count on. Upon arrival, you are handed a refreshing towel and cup of chilled kombucha earlier than being introduced with an array of signature, house-blended oils to select from—little touches that elevated the expertise proper from the beginning. Treatment rooms really feel personal however are nonetheless stuffed with pure gentle, executed up in smooth shades of cream and wooden, and merchandise embrace French-Japanese model EviDens de Beauté and pure skincare model Soleil Toujour. —Lale Arikoglu
Those who knew and beloved Le Carl Gustaf the primary time round may have much more motive to fall for it now that the Barrière group has taken it over. The lodge firm—recognized for taking historic properties and dismissing the mud to disclose their splendor—has made certain to maintain the spirit of Le Carl, because it’s recognized, stylish and simple. The uncooked wooden and petite terraces nonetheless make it really feel like a superb French seashore home, but the lodge’s reimagined method to the setting provides it a Twenty first-century edge. Paris design agency Gilles and Boissier jazzed up the 21 rooms with lotions, stone, linen, and a profusion of palms separating outdoors areas with curtains of greenery. Suites have been reconfigured to catch sea breezes, offering pure air-con. A fleet of electrical bikes brings friends down the hill the place the lodge stands like a lookout over the city and shoreline to close by Shell Beach. The seashore occurs to be the proper place to spend the day with a picnic ready by the lodge that feels appropriately easy and stylish on probably the most subtle isle in the Caribbean—very similar to Le Carl itself. —Dan Koday
The namesake hillside resort set above Toiny Bay provides “wild” an sudden new that means with regards to sceney St. Barts: On the shrubby southeastern level of the island, this unfussy haven is the place an in-the-know social set head to search out serenity. The star amenity right here is the personal seashore, accessible by way of a three-minute Defender journey down switchbacking roads Le Toiny’s stretch of sentimental sand is taken into account the only personal lodge seashore on all of St. Barts. Plus, a number of the oldest conventional English-style cottages on the island, relationship again to the 1700s, could be discovered beside the seashore membership (one is at the moment used as remedy areas for the spa). The suites and villas have been redesigned in 2024 to create ethereal dwelling areas that draw your eye outward to the leafy open-air environment and azure water views simply past your personal pool deck. —Shannon McMahon
Unique on an island well-known for profligate extra, Parisian Anne Jousse, proprietor of a portfolio of small hotels in France, together with the groundbreaking Bel Ami in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, sought to introduce greater than a modicum of eco-responsibility to St Barts. The glamorous hotelier had fallen for Manapany, a once-upon-a-time stylish spot on its sleepy north shore, on household journeys. She purchased the place in 2016 and initiated a top-to-toe reconstruction of its 4.2-acre beachfront on Anse des Cayes. Two years and one main hurricane later, it was reborn. Water is heated by photo voltaic panels, no chemical substances are used in cleansing or upkeep, towels are made from woven bamboo, and solely electrical automobiles are permitted past check-in. Yet Jousse’s endeavor isn’t missing in a lick of luxe. All 43 sea-view rooms and villas—eight instantly on the sand, others a mighty however rewarding 80 steps above and with huge terraces—are gracefully embellished by Parisian inside designer François Champsaur, with partitions painted peppery pink, turmeric orange, mint inexperienced, or ultramarine blue. Impossibly enticing workers serve artfully crafted rhum agricoles over barefoot suppers, and a Dr. Hauschka-supplied beachside spa has raised the wellness recreation in St Barts. With its design ethos and ecological focus, Manapany represents the subsequent wave of Caribbean inns. —David Jefferys
Eden Rock is a uncommon Caribbean fowl: an excessively trendy however frisky hub that bubbles with elegant verve. After the long-time homeowners Jane and David Matthews launched into an intensive rebuild, this north-coast landmark—managed by the Oetker Collection (Le Bristol Paris)—is healthier than ever. Everything is finished with appeal and sleight of hand. There’s a recent grown-up bar house created by designer Martin Brudnizki (who was additionally behind the brand new Annabel’s in London), the place idiosyncratic touches—glasses in the shapes of animals and greens—and resident DJ Tito may have you clock-watching for cocktail hour. Other additions embrace multi-level rooms and the spa, constructed on the rock itself (the place the restaurant was), and a seashore bar dotted with lipstick-red parasols. Where there have been as soon as three eating places there’s now one, riffing on mid-century glamor with a ramped-up, sustainably minded menu devised by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It even excels at breakfast: the yogurt with caramelized pistachios and grapefruit is so good, it ought to be ordered every day. Many bedrooms overlook Baie de St Jean, and the person design and quirky artwork give the sensation of kicking again in a personal villa. Here’s an island lodge that’s dizzyingly enjoyable and completely spoiling, and nonetheless the beating coronary heart of the island’s social scene. —Vassi Chamberlain
As one in all solely two family-owned hotels on St. Barths, the Christopher captures the unique spirit of the island, when it was recognized extra for its barefoot class and fewer for its buzzy worldwide scene. Since 2009, the lodge has been owned by the Terrassoux household, who’ve made vital investments in the property, together with the addition of 4 oceanfront villas. The design-forward homeowners are deeply concerned in the main points of the lodge, from decor decisions to the Hermés-inspired pops of orange all through the property. Service is flawless and anticipatory—inside a day or two, workers tackle lodge friends by identify, remembering espresso and cocktail preferences throughout meals. And because of a partnership with three Michelin-starred chef Christopher Coutanceau, on the helm of each Christopher Coutanceau and La Plage de Chris, the lodge’s meals is a number of the finest on the island. —Katie Riley
Over the previous two years, the Caribbean island of St. Barts has bounced again from Hurricane Irma, however the restoration required far more than a coat of recent white paint on the verandas. Take the previous Isle de France, now Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France, a part of LVMH’s Cheval Blanc steady and all the time the essence of St. Barts, for instance. Part of its post-Irma improve was the acquisition of the lodge subsequent door, Hotel Taïwana, so the property now sprawls alongside Flamands Beach with oceanfront and backyard rooms in addition to penthouse-style suites, all original by the cautious arms of French designer Jacques Grange in linen and teak, blush-pink and ikat. This re-imagination is a masterpiece in scene setting that you simply received’t discover wherever else past the seashores of the French Riviera. —V.C.
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Found on the northeast coast of St Barts, Le Sereno was one other casualty of Hurricane Irma’s wrath again in 2017. After the storm, the lodge—which first opened in 1972—was utterly refurbished with a recent aesthetic, new spa, and a revamped signature restaurant. An intimate house with simply 39 suites and three sprawling villas, the lodge’s white-on-white really feel provides a nod to the previous property’s authentic pared-back look overseen by Parisian designer Christian Liaigre. From teak shutters to polished limestone flooring, hand-woven stools to floaty linen drapes, that is the last word in refined coastal stylish, with sustainable wooden and pure stone used all through the property. The natural textures and muted colours are the proper antidotes to the zingy Caribbean hues outdoors. Located by itself secluded cove, the lodge’s secret is that each room faces the palm-lined seashore—so if the beautiful bedding (made close to Le Sereno’s sister lodge, Il Sereno in Lake Como) doesn’t lull you off to sleep, then the rhythmic lapping of the waves will. For extra nodding-off, head to the newly expanded spa which options the island’s solely beachfront spa pavilion. Treatments are by Valmont, with some therapies, such because the Harmony in Sereno therapeutic massage, created only for the lodge by the Swiss magnificence model. Bringing much more European flavors is chef Davide Mosca who heads up the lodge’s open-air Al Mare restaurant. It comes alive at aperitivo hour, because the solar goes down over the beautiful Grand Cul-de-Sac seashore. Later, you’ll tuck right into a bowl of Linguine alle Vongole whereas your toes sink into the sand. —A.V.
Gyp Sea Beach Houses, St BarthsJeanne Le Menn/Courtesy Gyp Sea Hotel
Gyp Sea Hotel
Gyp Sea Hotel just isn’t a lot a brand new opening however somewhat a rebranding by the famend Sibuet hoteliers. The Sibuet lodge group—launched 30 years in the past by Jocelyne and Jean-Louis Sibuet—has develop into synonymous for its assortment of immaculately-designed inns discovered throughout France, from Megève to Saint Tropez. The lodge—now enigmatically referred to as Gyp Sea Hotel—sees the couple’s son and daughter, Nicolas and Marie, overseeing the transformation. While the appeal of the previous lodge stays, it’s out with the previous and in with a brand new bohemian spirit, with Gyp Sea now expanded to not solely a boutique lodge and a hip seashore membership but in addition a brand new set of jaunty seashore cottages. Overlooking the Bay of Flamands, a keep on the lodge means balmy nights spent in one of many 22 suites, bungalows, or villas, that are painted in cheery bougainvillea pink, sky blue, and sunshine yellow shades. Interiors are stuffed with rattan furnishings, bleached wooden floors, and shell-encrusted particulars. Antique bamboo armchairs are brightened with colourful palm-print cushions; canopied four-poster beds are laid with high-quality linens and a few rooms have wonderful outside tubs. Days could be spent by the emerald-toned pool, below the shade of banana timber and big palms. Nearby is the seashore membership on the Plage du Pélican, the place you possibly can bathe in the nice and cozy sea and eat grilled lobster, avocado salad, and rum-roasted pineapple. For absolute seclusion, guide one of many new seashore homes that are bursting with daring textiles, native artwork, and hand-carved furnishings. —A.V.
Additional reporting by Michelle Jana Chan. A model of this text initially appeared inCondé Nast Traveller.
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