Elite Traveler Spring 2020

elite traveler SPRING 2020 97

From left Grande Saline Beach; the Gustavia harbor; aerial shot of the island

I’mhaving a very late lunch at Shellona—Hôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf’s beachside restaurant on Shell Beach—on Christmas Eve, and it’s positively buzzing. The festive holiday period, St Barths’ signature season, is officially underway, and the island has the crowds to prove it. Guests, who undoubtedly made reservations months in advance, are seated wall to wall; ice buckets with bottles of rosé and white wine are at every table; and the delightful aroma of the restaurant’s Mediterranean dishes, carried by tanned waiters wearing white, wafts through the elegant indoor-outdoor restaurant. Shell Beach is the place to be for sunset. The fiery orange sun sets slowly behind the rocky cliffs, casting a striking glow on the beach. Several superyachts are anchored right offshore, and the sound of the lapping waves is eclipsed by upbeat house music inside the restaurant. Birkin-toting women air-kiss old friends, while men in crisp, white shirts puff on cigars and clink glasses. This can only mean one thing: St Barths is officially back. To imply that people abandoned St Barths would be silly. After all, it’s one of the crown jewels of the Caribbean islands, and a playground for the rich and famous. It is brimming with designer boutiques; dozens of paradisiacal beaches; crystal-clear, swimmable water; and a French way of life that gives it that certain je ne sais quoi . The nine-square-mile island has a verdant landscape with red-roofed homes dotting the hillsides, and there are undulating mountains, craggy coastlines, precipitous cliffs, natural pools and abundant tropical flora and fauna. It’s been called the St Moritz of the Caribbean for its natural beauty and ritzy scene. I have vacationed on the island during festive season for nearly two decades and seen firsthand its exceptional growth from the best-kept secret in the Caribbean to the ultimate winter escape for the world’s elite, and a required stop on the party circuit. Though it’s always been an exclusive destination, it has changed over the years: Surf boutiques have been replaced by the likes of Prada, Hermès and Bulgari, and world- renowned clubs have taken over local beach bars. The island has indeed tailored itself to its affluent guests, yet it somehowmaintains a laid-back charmwhere locals (mostly French expats) and visitors both enjoy the finer things St Barths offers. St Barths is two things at once: A lush, island paradise filled with natural wonder and fascinating locals,

and a splashy scene where you can dine next to Leonardo DiCaprio and Roman Abramovich. You can relax with your family at a private villa, or pop magnums of champagne at one of the island’s many beach clubs — and if you want, maybe a bit of both. After Category 5 Hurricane Irma devastated the island in September 2017, St Barths suffered a wave of destruction it hadn’t felt since Hurricane Luis in 1995. Hotels, including Eden Rock and Le Guanahani, were hit hard and closed; locals’ homes were destroyed; and the harbor was flooded. Thankfully, no lives were lost in the hurricane, and the community rallied, committed to restoring the island and coming back stronger than ever, and it also took a hard look at what the island could improve without compromising its soul. In 2017, even the most dedicated visitors took the season off, allowing the island to get back on its feet. By 2018, St Barths die-hards (myself included) were eager to get back and help revive the island, renting villas instead of booking hotels, as many were still under construction. With Eden Rock’s grand return and a newfound excitement for the island’s future, the 2019 festive season marked the official return of the island—St Barths-aholics were happy their island was restored, and newcomers were eager to discover the hype. After the hurricane passed, the government and many international investors who own land on the island were quick to rebuild, some even bringing in their own construction crews to repair the devastation as quickly as possible. BrunoMagras, president of the island since 2007, attributes the speedy rebuild to the locals’ can-do mentality. “The population feels very concerned when we are hit like that,” Magras said to me inside his official office in Gustavia’s government building, where four superyachts loomed just 30 ft from his large windows. “As long as the local government provides support, everyone works hard to get back on track. That’s an important way of living. We aren’t waiting on anyone to come and help; we knowwe must help ourselves.” From a tourism perspective, St Barths’ long-standing visitors were extremely concerned by the damage sustained at Eden Rock, one of the Caribbean’s most iconic hotels, and the hotel that made St Barths what it is today. It all began in the 1940s when Dutch aviator Rémy de Haenen was the first person to land a plane on the island. After falling in

Photos Tourisme de Saint Barthelemy