Unsinkable in ST. BARTS
Top 21 Destinations St. Barts was shaping up to have a landmark 2017. New hotels were opening up left and right, giving long-established favorites like EdenRock (oetkercollection.com) and Isle de France (chevalblanc.com) some friendly competition. The St. Barth Gourmet Festival was preparing for another impressive year, with an all-star chef lineup that would be presided over by Paris’s Eric Frechon. And next-generation restaurants like Guy Martin’s AuxAmis and Saint-Tropez offshoot Shellona (shellonabeach.com) were breathing new life into the island’s culinary scene. Then Irma happened. The Category 5 hurricane made landfall on the French Caribbean isle last September, wreaking havoc on its most beloved haunts and hideaways.
But St. Barts is banking on a victorious comeback in 2018. With most shops and restaurants already open for business and many of the top villa rentals currently taking reservations, the island’s glitzy nautical events—including March’s Bucket Regatta (bucketregatta.com) and April’s Les Voiles de Saint Barth (lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com) — will go on as planned. Colombier newcomer Villa Marie Saint-Barth (saint -barth.villamarie.fr) and Hotel Christoper St. Barth (hotelchristopher.com) will reopen their doors in time for both events. More progress will come this summer, when Grand Cul-de-Sac’s Le Guanahani (leguanahani.com) will unveil an upgraded look. The biggest openings, however, will come at the end of the year, when Hotel Le Toiny (letoiny.com) relaunches with eight new villas (each with its own private pool) and the hilltop Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf (hotelsbarriere.com) makes its highly anticipated debut with an outpost of France’s Le Fouquet’s restaurant and a Biologique Recherche spa. In true St. Barts style, every opening is sure to be a fashionable fête. —Jackie caradonio