Condé Nast Traveller - What’s happening on St Barth’s
January 2016

ACTION STATIONS

Le Guanahani
Texan owner David Bonderman has spent $40million renovating this hotel in a wonderful northern-peninsula location with beaches on both sides: sea-facing Marigot Bay and Grand Cul-de-Sac, a reef-protected lagoon. Miami-based designer Luis Pons has revamped the pretty clapboard cottages on the lagoon side with a fresh, pared-back colonial look; those on the bay have been repainted in jaunty turquoise, yellow and lavender. Favourites include the two-bedroom Serenity Suite on the hill with a sunken bathtub, and the loft-style Wellness Suite with private access to the Clarins spa. New executive chef Nicola De Marchi (ex Badrutt's Palace in St Moritz) is making the most of fresh fish - mahi-mahi, wahoo and fino - and the daytime restaurant Indigo has gone toes-in-the-sand. This is still the best hotel on the island for watersports, from stand-up paddle-boarding to deep-sea fishing and kitesurfing (especially from December to June during the alizé wind). There's a new wellness detox programme with meditation classes and spa treatments, plus all sorts of kids' stuff, including catch-and-cook fishing, fun French lessons and eco-awareness hikes.

SERENE SMOOTHY

Hotel Taiwana
There used to be a slightly off-putting swagger to this hotel, which once too often claimed its £35 lentil salad was the world's most expensive. Now they've kept the salad but slashed the price, and everything else feels a lot more accessible and laid-back too. The savvy trio of French, British and American owners means the guests, who often seem to know each other, are a congenial lot and don't necessarily wear the St Barth's uniform of Ralph Lauren shirts and Vilebrequin trunks. The hotel itself has had a decluttering redesign by Parisian architect Cyprien Bru, who has refreshed the rooms with neutral linens, bleached woods and continuous room-to-balcony decking, with the odd flash of red to pep things up. The suites - more like super-slick apartments - have between one and four bedrooms, many with plunge pools or Jacuzzis, and almost all with sensational views of Flamands Bay, surely one of the island's best. Distractions include an offshoot of Poupette St Barth, the cutest boutique in town, contemporary art and photography from Space gallery, and the Tayo concept store selling Mara Hoffman dresses and Aurélie Bidermann jewellery. There's still no spa but the gym has a new detox cocktail list including the Bloody Fresh (a Bloody Mary made with the ripest tomatoes).

REFRESHED CLASSIC

Eden Rock
Just when we thought this place couldn't get any better, owners David and Jane Matthews have gone and done it again. They may not solely manage the gig anymore - they're now partners with the seriously selective Oetker Collection - but they're hardly holding back. This time the place has had more of a rejig than one of the regular refurbs and suddenly it all makes perfect sense. The reception has moved from the top of the rock to ground level, where it always should have been, leaving a sensational space for the new Christopher Columbus Suite, with 360-degree views and plenty of Carrara marble, set to rival the hotel's £11,000- a-night Villa Rockstar. The beach bar where Serge Gainsbourg songs play has been given a facelift and the much-adored lunchtime restaurant Sand Bar is now open for casual suppers of crispy salmon sushi and black-truffle pizzas. Jean-Georges Vongerichten's On the Rocks restaurant has also had a boost with the arrival of chef Eric Desbordes and sommelier Marco Pelletier, both from Le Bristol Paris (another Oetker outpost). Expect sautéed lobster in a fenugreek broth, seared scallops with pumpkin seeds and roast chicken with slow-cooked crayfish. And if your heart is set on privacy but you long for a dash of Eden Rock's polish, they also have a collection of villas on the island, all with a 24-hour concierge service and entrance to the hotel's restaurants and beach.

SWING GRACE

Hotel Le Toiny
Charlie and Mandie Vere Nicoll, former owners of St-Barth Isle de France (sold for a mint to LVMH), couldn't sit still so they bought another property on the island. And a good thing too: St Barth's needs some British eccentricity. Charlie is the local vicar (I kid you not) who can often be seen quaffing Champagne a few hours after holding mass. ('Why not?' he says, 'Church and hotels are both hospitality.') For years Le Toiny has been known as the hotel furthest from town; perhaps not the greatest of accolades, but a total overhaul will turn it into something special. By 2017 there will be 23 rooms (up from 15) in the 24-hectare grounds and interiors doyenne Bee Osborn, who designed Isle de France for the couple, is using natural materials - figured sycamore, petrified wood and bleached teak - with a touch of glamour; the four-metre bar will be crafted from oyster shells, marble, mother-of-pearl and mirror. Best of all will be the sandy beach (unusual for this rocky side of the island) with loungers and hammocks set in natural landscaping. There are plans to build walking trails on the distant headland, which is a protected area, and American singer-songwriter and keen surfer Jimmy Buffett, Charlie's mate, has vowed to launch a Toiny Cup surf competition here.

One to watch: Maisons and Hotels Sibuet is taking over the former Hotel François Plantation to open VILLA MARIE, a clutch of 22 cottages above Flamands Bay, in November 2016, a sister property to the group's exquisite hotel in St Tropez. And everyone is talking about the new wellness retreat, LE BARTHÉLEMY, set to launch this year on Grand Cul-de-Sac with Crème de la Mer treatments, a spa bar and interiors by the brilliant Sybille de Margerie, who designed the Mandarin Oriental in Paris and Cheval Blanc Courchevel.