One of my favorite things about planning a trip to St. Barts is deciding how to get there. While many destinations have us worrying about long lines at customs, St. Barts always invites us to imagine hopping a sea plane, catching a ride on a luxury yacht, or boarding the little puddle jumper that nose dives into the tiny island, coming to an abrupt stop just a few feet shy of the ocean.  Although there is nothing quite as romantic as sailing into St. Barts, I generally opt for the plane because it provides the fastest way to connect from St. Maarten – only about ten or fifteen minutes in the air.  I admit, however, to always having a few ginger candies in my purse for the trip.  On my most recent visit to the island this January, I was the only passenger on the little Win-Air plane. Once I stopped looking around for other people, I relaxed and looked at the view instead.  A million shades of blue and green; it was perfect.  If you live in the States, you can’t get to the island directly, at least not on a commercial airline.  But in the case of St. Barts, that fact only adds to its cache and mystique.
A minute or two after landing, throwing off the bowline, or splashing down in your seaplane; you realize that even if you could change things, you wouldn’t.  There is something special about St. Barts; there always has been.  Getting there shouldn’t be prosaic and mundane.  St. Barts is like no other island in the world, and it knows it.  The romantic in me would be disappointed if St. Barts didn’t play just a little bit hard to get.

While St. Barts allows you to leave the world behind, it doesn’t ask you to forego too many worldly pleasures.  Nowhere is this more evident than at Le Sereno.  With only three villas and thirty-four suites along its secluded cove, Le Sereno is truly a place to get away from it all, while having access to your favorite creature comforts.  For me, these consisted of a coconut treatment at the spa, and the restaurant’s bouillabaisse – which is seriously good.  The coconut treatment was wonderfully fragrant and reminded me of my favorite suntan lotion; it left me feeling like a quintessential island girl.  As for the bouillabaisse, the credit goes to the hotel’s new Chef, Jean Louis Brocardi, who was brought on in November of 2012.  He has been a wonderful addiction to Le Sereno’s Restaurant des Pêcheurs.  You also can’t beat the ocean views, and all of the villas have them.  The room where I stayed was wonderfully spare and elegant, and I loved the way the open space allowed the breezes to come and go without any fuss. The minute you walk through the bright red doors in reception, you know you are in for something a little bit French, a little bit Caribbean, and altogether wonderful.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to find people and places that make us feel relaxed, no matter how busy or stressed we are.  At Le Toiny, I found both.  I loved how utterly private and secluded my villa felt.  I had my own personal plunge pool and a four-poster bed so enormous that I needed a step stool to climb up into at night!  And as a reward for the climb, there were colorful macarons waiting for me on my pillow each night.  While I am on the subject of macarons, the food at Le Toiny is another of its serious draws. The resort features the island’s only grand chef, Stéphane Mazièrin, making a stop at Le Gaïac a must.  When you go, make sure to try the spaghetti with Parmesan and truffles. The pasta is tossed tableside in an enormous hollowed out wheel of Parmesan cheese, and the taste and presentation are unbelievable.  At Le Toiny, something as simple and homey as spaghetti becomes an experience worth writing home about.