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

St Barts Island :: Airport Landing

There's no doubt, when you're flying in to St Barts island, the landing is a tricky one.  The landing strip is short, and ends in the water, and on the approach, you hover precariously close to a hillside area; in fact, many people stand there and take pictures of the planes as they come in.

This YouTube user has posted a video of a flight simulator, landing in St Barts.  It is incredibly accurate; the plane is identical to the small planes that are used on the flight. 

The software he's using is called Flight Simulator 2004 with FlyTampa Scenery and can be found here.  Modern technology never ceases to amaze me.

YouTube user NuYawka (New-Yorker for all of you who are not familiar with the accent) recently took a trip to the island and visited many a St Bart Beach I'm sure.  However, he seems quite fond of Saline Beach, and he posted this great video about the slightly treacherous walk approaching the beach.

I discussed this before in a previous post, and you'll see in the video why I recommended that you not wear high heels or flip-flops when making the trek to the beach.  In reality, it is about an 8-minute hike to the beach, but his video captures about 2 1/2 minutes……you'll see how, even after you do all that walking, when you get to the crest of the hill and start heading down, you still can only see a very small part of the beach.  It is not until you make your way to the bottom, that you can actually get a full view of the entire shoreline.  At the end of the video, he also makes a comment about not using a video camera on Saline Beach, as it is a clothing optional beach, which is totally true, but I had never really thought of it that way. 

If you go to his website, you can see a video diary of their trip to St Barts - get a perspective from an everyday vacationer as opposed to someone that lives here part-time. 

Celebrities like St Barts, St Barts like fashion, St Barts has breat beaches …. so it is only natural that quite a few famous ads have been shot in St Barts.

Here, you will have a long glimpse of renowned female models such as Gisele Bundchen and Alessandra Ambrosio being photographed in St Barts. The shooting was made for Victoria's Secret Swim 2007 collection.

In the video, you can see the girls getting ready for the shooting, being shot, and then looking at the pics.

The main location used in the video is the natural pools of Grand Fond. These pools are surrounded by rocks, have transparent water, and are linked to the sea. It is a 15-minute walk from the Grand Fond road. I admire the models, because I know that the hike to the pools is sometimes hazardous, along the cliff. And there are some sea urchins in the bottom of the pools, so I  wonder whether the girls were wearing sandals in the water.

Other places in the video are: the pool of Le Sereno hotel, Gouverneur Beach, Saline Beach, and Gustavia.

Video: Victoria's Secret models in St Barts

St Barts Hotel :: Le Toiny ~ Arial View

Although the island of St Barts is small, this St Barts hotel seems to have found 38 acres of complete and total seclusion.  The Le Toiny offers 15 villa suites, each with its their own private pool and Plantation style furnishings.  The decor is such that is blends wonderfully with its natural surroundings, making the guests feel right at home. Teak chaise lounges with thick, comfy cushions sit upon beautiful hardwood floors; fall into your giant four-poster mahogany bed covered in crisp Frette linens. 

Le Toiny is located in the Toiny area of the island, and sets among only a handful of local houses.  Perched on the slope of Morne Vitet, it overlooks a beautiful cove of the Caribbean and is where "French savoir-faire meets West Indies casual, in a perfect blending of uncomplicated relaxation."

Here is a great video that showcases the beautiful Le Toiny:

                   St Barts Hotel :: Dining at Le Toiny

I often visit the Le Toiny for the Sunday brunch because it's the best on the island. The managers are very nice, service is traditional French style, yet not stiff.  If you decide to lunch there, make sure to sit by the blue pool in the shape of a crescent.  Le Toiny is part of the Relais & Châteaux, a posh French Association of Chic Independent Hotels.

Everyone should experience the Le Toiny, even if it is just once.  The luxury and service you will experience will be like nothing you could ever imagine.  Come experience St Barts at its finest; experience it the Le Toiny way.

The port of Gustavia never ceases to amaze me.  For all the quaint charm of St. Barts, the size of the boats that come and sit in this port are absolutely stunning.  It almost seems impossible for boats this large to sit in a port as tiny as Gustavia. Watch the video and see for yourself; St. Barts is truly an island for those that enjoy the truly luxurious in life.

Flights to St Barts: wherever you are coming from, if you are taking a plane, you will have to experience the impressive landing on St Barts' tiny airport strip.

Everybody knows about THE landing. Your friends have told you about it. You know that you will have to go through it. Actually, it is not that scary.

The chic thing to do is too seem blasé by the whole experience. For instance, I usually pretend that I am reading a book when onboard a plane to St Barts. But believe me, I do check out whether the pilot is flying the usual way.

Pliots need a special permit in order to land in St Barts. Why? Because the landing strip is very short, stuck between a hill and a beach. Your plane will come over a hill, on top of which there is a roundabout, with cars a few dozens of feet below you. Gawkers are taking pictures of your plane landing, so keep smiling. Then, the plane has to dive swiftly onto the landing strip, and then brake as fast as possible, otherwise you will arrive into the sea. Hold on to that Vuitton handbag, ma chérie.

If there is absolutely no wind, you will be landing from the opposite way, i.e. from the beach toward the hill. It is a much less impressive.

St Barts landing, from inside a plane