Your St Barts -Villa Rental in St Barths, Saint Barthélémy

Ligne St Barth skin care products are very dear to my heart, because they are natural, they are made in St Barts (you pass the tiny atelier on your way to Salines beach), and whenever I put some of these products on my body, it just smells like St Barts.

When I am in St Barts, I use Ligne St Barth's Aloe Vera Gel lotion every day. We actually have aloe vera growing in our garden. A friend of mine, who grew up in the West Indies and who is a doctor, showed me how to cut aloe vera plants and use their core to soothe sun burn.

Well, I use this aloe vera gel twice a day: once in the morning after shaving and once in the afternoon afer my coming-back-from-the-beach shower. It heals the skin, it is very fresh on your face, and it just smells nice (a subtle smell).

Try other Ligne ST BARTH products on Amazon.com 

St Barts Celebrities: Seen in the New York Post's Page Six, a quick mention of St Barts

WHERE do the party professionals, the nightclub owners, spend their summer vacations? It was Europe this year. Gramercy Park Hotel's Nur Khan and Pink Elephant's Rocco Ancarolla kicked it up in Croatia. Mark Baker of Lotus and Noah Tepperberg of Marquee were spotted in St. Tropez. Jason Strauss of Tao Las Vegas partied in Sardinia. And Goldbar's Jayma Cardoso sailed along the coasts of Italy and Greece. Staying closer to home, Mike Satsky of Stereo chose St. Barts, and Richie Akiva of Butter went to Brazil.

Now, what is really interesting is choosing St Barts as a summer destination. A few years ago, some people would have never thought of St Barts beyond the crazy December-January months.

As a regular to the island in August, I can see the trend changing: more and more Americans are coming in July and August. First, you get to enjoy St Barts without the December 31 crazyness (but hey, it is all right by me if you go to St Barts just for me, believe me). Anyway, some people want to enjoy the island, its beaches, and its restaurants without having to endure traffic jam in overpacked Gustavia.

Another reason to come in August is that the water is warmer. Not that it is cold on the winter, mind you, this is the Caribbean after all. But it is slightly warmer. And the nights are definitiveluy warmer. In December, you way want to wear in the evening a little cashmere thing aroung your shoulders, while drinving back to your villa from the night club. Not so in the summer.

Finally, hotel and villa rental prices are lower in August. If you have a familly, it is a great way to spend time in a big St Barts villa, without having to pay the extreme December prices. And most fashion stores offer deep discounts and sales. Yes, it is ok to go on vacation to St Barts and buy stuff on sale ;-).

On Sunday, September 23, took place the Soualiga International Surf Ski Challenge, a 23-km sports event between the island of St Barts and St Martin. Barry Lewin of South Africa was the winner.

There are quite a few international and local sports events taking place around the island, all around the year (e.g St Barts Bucket, Lorient - St Barth, etc.). The Soualiga challenge is pretty new, but is is growing in popularity.

Here are a few links about this year's event:

- Summary of the race

- The race as told by the winner, Barry Lewin

- The race as told by the organiser

Soualiga Winner, Barry Lewin, leaving the St Barts shores (Photo credit)

St Barts Celebrities: Here is an article from the Toronto Sun, where Mariah Cary talks about her body trainer that she flies from St Barts to New York.

Mariah Carey recently spoke about her body and how she keeps in shape.

"I don't feel like you have to be a size zero. We should all just embrace who we are physically," the singer was quoted as saying by People magazine.

"I'm not supposed to be a stick figure girl. It's just not me."

And how does she maintain her hot bod?

"My secret is bleak diets," she said. But that's not all: "I have a wonderful trainer whose name is Patricia, she lives in St Barts, poor girl. People say, 'Only you would fly someone from St Barts to New York to workout.' "

Just in case you wonder, St Barts has several beautiful gyms, as well as qualified personal trainers. They are used at working with all types of clienteles. I will make sure to comment on St Barts gyms later in my entries. (We have a nice private gym in our St Barts villa, so I am quite interested in this topic).

St Barts villas news: When it comes to choosing a place where to stay in St Barts, renting a villa is quite often the best option. Obviously, as the co-owner of a villa, I am totally biased  ;-).

Seriously speaking, here are a few reasons why you may opt to stay in a villa and not a hotel:

- A wide choice: 75% of the guests staying in Saint Barthélémy do so in a villa, because the choice ranges from cutsey tiny creole houses ("une case") to 6-bedroom villas up in the hills.

- Hotels are top notch, but are not big: many hotels are among the best in the Caribbeans. They value privacy and are kept small by drastic municipal laws, in order to protect the island's charm. Budget hotels are few and are actually fewer and fewer as some have recently closed down. So, there are not that many hotel rooms to fight around.

- Villas can be a great way to save money: if you are coming with 2 other couples, renting a villa is a fun and cheaper option. For much less money than a hotel, you enjoy a private house with bigger rooms and most often your own pool.

- Renting a villa is easy. I'll come back to this later, but just know that villa rentals has been an industry in St Barts for 20 years now, so everything has been streamlined to help guests book a house quick and easy.

- Service: most villas have maids who will make your beds and clean the house. Yet, I agree that service is not the same in a rented villa as it can be at Le Toiny, Le Guanahani or at L'Eden Rock. You will have to make your martinis on your own.