1/19/2015 Cheval Blanc St­Barth Isle de France |  Hotel review (Condé Nast Traveller)

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/hotels/cheval­blanc­st­barths 1/5

12 ISSUES FOR £24 + FREE ACCESS to iPad & iPhone editions!Subscribe

EXCLUSIVE REVIEW: CHEVAL BLANC ST­BARTH ISLE DE FRANCE

The top hotel on St Barth's is beach-fit after an intriguingmakeover

I A LW A Y S T H A N K the good fortune that took me toSt Barth's one Christmas 12 years ago, when a friendinvited my family to stay. We've been back every yearsince, and when I'm away I hanker for it like a lovesickteenager.

That first year I fell in love with the beauty of StBarth's, a perfectly sized, immaculate and hilly islandwhere there are no Barbados Versailles-like follies or

Mustique Taj Mahals. It's French territory, so gendarmes walk the streets wearing kepihats, the supermarkets sell Vacherin and fond de veau and the restaurants (Maya's,Bonito and L'Esprit Saline are the holy trinity) are better than in the South of France.In Gustavia (the main harbour where everyone takes a walk at six o'clock each eveningto check out the super-yachts, have a cocktail in the Carré d'Or square and see who'sarrived), the Hermès, Cartier and Louis Vuitton boutiques are always packed, but it'sthe kooky shops that I love so much - Calypso for beautiful boho kaftans, or Poupettefor pretty dresses and hessian clutches. The beaches, where everyone is topless, areperfection, unspoilt by restaurants, shops or ridiculous lunchtime discos. Even Dianevon Furstenberg and Stephanie Seymour lie on towels on the sand, their drinks inplastic coolers. There is a Nikki Beach, but it's a sorry little spot where the uninitiatedgo on their f irst trip.

The biggest attraction is the people, an extraordinary mix not shy to show their

w o r ds by V A S S I C H A M B E R L A I N

The hotel entrance on Flamands beach

N E E L E S H W A RH E R M I T A G E

neeleshwarhermitage.com

Paradise Resort & Hotel in

Kerala Luxury beachfront

cottages

Tweet 33

Log In

Read more on H O T E L S IS L A N D S

S T B A R T S

Topic

Location

Find your per fect tr ip . . .

Destinations ▼

Types Of Trip ▼

Award Winners

Q&A

Magazine

Secret Deals

1/19/2015 Cheval Blanc St­Barth Isle de France |  Hotel review (Condé Nast Traveller)

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/hotels/cheval­blanc­st­barths 2/5

plumage, rich and not so rich, beautiful and interesting-looking, extravagant, creativebut most of all excited and hungry for life. It makes me laugh when people tell methey've heard the social side of St Barth's is too hectic, l ike St Tropez. The truth isthere's a lot going on, but it's all very chilled and last-minute, with no pretension.

That first year a friend of a friend invited us to a party hosted by Russell Simmons, theco-founder of Def Jam records. Puff Daddy was there, and Anthony Kiedis of the RedHot Chili Peppers and Mary J Blige. The DJ played hip hop and R'n'B; we didn't daredance but we felt young and happy. There was a tropical storm as we left, but we keptthe top down on the Jeep and sang in the rain all the way home. Another time wewent to a party on Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's 415ft yacht Octopus, where JonBon Jovi sang.

As in all the best places, there is a grand old lady who has the social scene clutched toher bosom. The Côte d'Azur has the Hôtel du Cap; here it's the Cheval Blanc St-BarthIsle de France. Until last year she was just called the St-Barth Isle de France, but sherecently married into the LVMH family which owns the Cheval Blanc hotel trio (Courchevel and the Maldives are the other two), a union that many old-timers, despitethe newcomer's excellent pedigree, were nervous about.

I had never actually stayed (I'd had sleepovers in friends' bungalows and room servicemore nights than I can remember) but because I know many who have, she felt like anold friend. I've spent many days hanging out drinking rum punches on the beach,spying Jay-Z and Beyoncé in the restaurant, Marc Jacobs canoodling with a newboyfriend and Ryan Seacrest turning the music up while the staff weren't looking. Thelow-built hotel sits on the perfect arc of Flamands beach, where a few bill ionaires alsolive in discreet houses along the sand. They leave their villas at lunchtime and head forthe hotel, strolling down the beach five-abreast with their important guests likepenguins migrating to the next ice floe.

At first glance, nothing has changed, particularly thehotel's heart and soul, the staff . They were always young,charming and professional, only now they're dressed incute seersucker uniforms - from Damien on the beach toCristelle the manager. The decor (whitewashed Frenchcountry furniture and pretty fabrics) has been upgradedwith touches of the palest salmon-pink on everythingfrom glasses to beach towels. It's a lovely shade that wasmeticulously researched and has been used withrestraint, l ighting everything up like a young girl'sbedroom.

There are rooms and suites on the beach and bungalowsin the garden at the back. All have huge, modernbathrooms, and the beds are fluffy and cosy like the kindyou find in a ski resort. Every night a treat was deliveredto our room - an infusion of garden flowers, a beachbag and flip-flops, a pareo embroidered with my name. Itsounds ridiculously luxurious, and it is; but there's

1/19/2015 Cheval Blanc St­Barth Isle de France |  Hotel review (Condé Nast Traveller)

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/hotels/cheval­blanc­st­barths 3/5

The world's best hotels from coast to country, chosen by theeditors of Condé Nast Traveller

F R I 1 6 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

 

Topic: H O T E L S

Credi t : Pi e rre Carreau

A niçoise salad with fresh tunasomething very décontracté about it, l ike a person whohas been rich for a very long time and no longer needs

to show off about it.

I visited just before Thanksgiving, when the exacting New York crowd was starting toarrive, and you could see everyone breathe a sigh of relief . All was as it had been, oreven a little bit better. The food in the two restaurants (La Case de l'Isle in the mainpart of the hotel by the pool, and La Cabane de l'Isle on the beach) has always beenexcellent, and the perfect balance remains unchanged. There is stil l the same mix ofgazpacho, salmon tartare, the best frites in the world (no exaggeration) and solemeunière. It's a feat of restraint on the part of LVMH to have understood how goodthe product they inherited already was. The old lady of St Barth's has had a little workdone, but she still reigns supreme.

Carrier (+44 161 492 1354; www.carrier.co.uk) offers seven nights at Cheval Blanc St-Barth

Isle de France from £2,355 per person, based on two sharing a Garden Room, including

breakfast, return World Traveller flights with British Airways from Gatwick to Antigua,

onward flights with Tradewind to St Barth's and transfers

This feature first appeared in Condé Nast Traveller February 2015

P u bl i s h e d 1 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

Facebook social plugin

Also post on Facebook  

Posting as Tradewind Aviation ▾ Comment

Add a comment...

G O L D S T A N D A R D H O T E L S 2 0 1 5

1/19/2015 Cheval Blanc St­Barth Isle de France |  Hotel review (Condé Nast Traveller)

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/hotels/cheval­blanc­st­barths 4/5

The Testament of Youth star shares his favourite places to stay,from Paris to Pembrokeshire

T H U 1 5 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

An exclusive first look at Saint Barthélemy's reimagined Cheval BlancSt-Barth Isle de France, a beach hotel that was recently married intothe LVMH family

M O N 1 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

Got a hankering to play castaway? We pick the most knockouthideaways on the wide-blue horizon

T H U 8 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

We test out our sea legs in St Barth's on one of the world’s mostthrilling yacht races

T H U 2 3 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4

S H O W M O R E

Topic: I S L A N D S

S H O W M O R E

Location: S T B A R T S

U K S I T E S

W I RE D I N T E RN A T I O N A L

I N F O RM A T I O N

D O M I N I C W E S T ' S F A V O U R I T E H O T E L S

E X C L U S I V E R E V I E W : C H E V A L B L A N C S T - B A R T HI S L E D E F R A N C E

W H E R E T O S T A Y I N T H E S O U T H P A C I F I C

F O L L O W T H E S M A R T C R E W

1/19/2015 Cheval Blanc St­Barth Isle de France |  Hotel review (Condé Nast Traveller)

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/hotels/cheval­blanc­st­barths 5/5

© Condé Nast UK 2015