French West Indies
St. Barths
An island of twenty-one square kilometres that triples its population in one night.
The house reading
There is no ticket for midnight in St. Barths. There is only being there.
At midnight the fireworks rise from Fort Oscar over Gustavia and every boat in the harbour sounds its horn at once. No stage, no central party, no single list. The whole island becomes the event, and whoever is inside was already inside for days.
The harbour is the centre of everything. At New Year more than a hundred and seventy boats gather in Gustavia, and berths cannot be reserved: boats queue, and anyone moored must be back by five in the afternoon to keep the spot. It is a small rule that decides the night for a lot of people.
Ashore, villas run a ten to fourteen night minimum over the period and rates five to ten times the rest of the year. Anyone wanting a yacht or a berth needs to move twelve to eighteen months ahead. It is not a question of price, it is a question of queue.
Quando
26 December to 2 January
Onde
Gustavia and the island beaches
Chegada
A flight from St. Maarten, about fifteen minutes
Para quem
Anyone who wants the Caribbean at its fullest
The nights that decide the week.
The week follows a known sequence, and midnight is its highest point.
26 to 29 DecemberThe arrival
- The harbour filling up
The boats arrive and the harbour changes face by the day. It is when tables get booked and you find out who is on the island.
30 de dezembroA véspera
- Dinner and the beaches
The best night for a table in Gustavia, before everything becomes impossible. By day, the further beaches are still calm.
31 de dezembroA virada
- Fireworks from Fort Oscar
At midnight, fireworks over the harbour and the boats’ horns in unison. Dinner before, a party after, and choosing to watch from the water or from land changes the night entirely.
1 and 2 JanuaryThe emptying out
- The island breathing
The boats start to leave and the beaches have room again. For many people, these are the two best days of the trip.
The ground
The island, beach by beach.
As praias
- Shell Beach, ten minutes on foot from Gustavia
- Gouverneur, the most beautiful and the emptiest
- Saline, wide and without facilities, deliberately
- Colombier, reachable only on foot or by boat
- Flamands and St. Jean, with the hotels and the lunches
Island life
- Gustavia, the harbour, the shops and the tables
- Long lunches at the beach clubs
- Dinner late, always with a reservation
- A boat by the day to the islands around
- The parties announced by word of mouth
What the season shows in St. Barths.
Reference figures for the period, observed over recent seasons. Berths cannot be reserved, and anyone moored must return by five in the afternoon to keep one.
St. Barths
The harbour, the boats and the Caribbean light.
Full service, charged separately
The house is the start. The week is the service.
In St. Barths the team solves what the island does not: expensive and limited provisioning, tables that close before Christmas, and the movement between land and boat all week.
The house
- Daily housekeeping and laundry
- A house manager throughout the stay
- The kitchen stocked before you arrive
- Flowers and the table set on the 30th and 31st
- Maintenance and support on call
The table
- A private chef at midnight, if you would rather dine at home
- Market and cellar chosen with you
- Butler and waiting staff
- A barman and staff for the night
- Tables in Gustavia and at the beach clubs
Around it
- Driver and car throughout the stay
- The flight from St. Maarten, transfers and tender
- Discreet security, where it makes sense
- A nanny and support for anyone travelling with children
- A boat by the day and access to the parties of the week
One person coordinates all of it, and answers you directly.
The service is contracted and charged separately from the house rate. You choose what is in and what is out, and we propose the right size in writing, item by item, before anything is confirmed.
At midnight, every boat in the harbour sounds its horn at once. Nobody forgets it.
Get in touchOr compare with Trancoso e Punta del Este.