A star spot in the Caribbean: How to join the ultra-smart Saint Barts set

The thing to know about St Barts,' an old Carib­bean hand told me as we sat in a beachfront restaurant, 'is that it attracts rich people ... very rich people ... you know, Simon Cowell and David Letterman, media men with a few hundred million ... and then really, really rich people. St Barts is where they go on holiday.'
And it's true. At Maya's restaurant on New Year's Eve, waterfront tables can be worth billions. For a small island that not so long ago was among the poorest in the Caribbean, that's quite a change. So how did a tiny, dry and neglected outcrop become the favoured winter home to the stars?

Shore thing: St Jean is the liveliest of the island's beaches and is great for people-watching

First, it's small and hard to get to, which means it was never overrun by mass tourism. Early visitors included the Rockefellers, who came for the isolation and beauty. Which is another feature. St Barts has excellent beaches and surpris­ingly pretty scenery. Further, it is French. The body beautiful stroll along St Jean beach in a mere nuance of a bathing suit, or ride by on a scooter, windswept with all that stylish nonchalance.
St Barts is also completely free of security fears - the celebs feel so safe that they barely have body­ guards. You really do bump into Sting in the supermarket and Paul McCart­ney on the beach. Or, in my case, you end up sleeping in Kate Moss's villa. Although, I'll admit, it was a couple of weeks after she was on the island (just before Christmas).
Christmas and New Year are the busy times for the stars. Last year Denzel Washington, Victoria Silvstedt and Bjorn Borg were to be seen. Jon Bon Jovi was out and about, as were JayZ and Beyoncé, model Stephanie Seymour and actress Naomi Watts.

Bootyful people: Beyoncé emerges from the surf

Puff Daddy could be heard late into the night. Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich's New Year party is legendary. The Kings of Leon played last year and the year before it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers - they enjoyed the island so much that drummer Chad Smith came back for another holiday.
Oddly, although hotels such as Eden Rock, Isle de France and Le Sereno are world­ famous, most visitors stay in a villa because of the additional privacy. There are hundreds for rent, some extremely spectacular and yet surprisingly affordable, starting at less than £1,000 a week.
As I explore, it all begins to fit. People are quite active on St Barts (unlike in some Caribbean islands, where they hardly leave their hotel), so a villa makes sense. Here they drive off to the beach, two or three in a day sometimes. St Jean is the live­liest.
People stroll up and down - was that Sir Norman Foster? - watching the aircraft taking off (the island is so small that the airport abuts it) and then pause for lunch at Eden Rock's Sand Bar. This and next-­door Nikki Beach are two places where people dress up for lunch. But there are low-­key beaches too. Three of the best - Saline and Gouverneur on the south coast and Colombier, which is generally visited by boat - have no development at all.
St Barts has the Caribbean's best shopping by a country mile, so towards evening all cars point to Gustavia, the pint-­size capital and port where the mega-­yachts stand shoulder to shoulder and people promenade. Was that Nicole Farhi? Hundreds of well-­known brands are there, plus some of St Barts' own, such as Patti and Poupette.

 

Gradually the crowd thinks of din­ner. There are more than 100 restau­rants on this island just six miles long. In Gustavia, Bonito is flavour of the moment, and tables on the veranda have a view of the harbour and all its yachts - check, that was definitely Simon Cowell. The Beef Bar of Monaco and Mexico has opened up this season and nearby Isola also buzzes until midnight.
The natural thing to want in the Caribbean is a villa on the beach, but there are relatively few right on the sand. The best are in Flamands, a beach in the north, where the six­ bedroom Villa Sand Club has pride of place. But in such a steep island, there is plenty of drama in the location. French musician Johnny Halliday's house, Villa Jade, is an extraordinary confection of oriental styles, perched high on a hillside with a superb view out to the Atlan­tic.

Buoyant economy: Mega-yachts belonging to the rich and famous moored in Gustavia harbour on St Barts

And for those who want to party, look no further than Villa Wickie, which has six bedrooms and a sun­ set view just a short walk from the bars and clubs in Gustavia itself.
Strangely, service in most villas is not that extensive - the island simply doesn't have the space to offer the butlers and housekeepers you would expect in, say, Barbados - but of course masseuses, babysitters and chefs will come to your villa. And concierge companies are there to help you with anything from a res­ taurant reservation to a wedding. There's no doubt St Barts is an extravagant place. Stories abound, of a £23,000 Louis Vuitton hammock, of string quartets being flown in from the States to play to just four people, and of special dog cushions in the restaurants.
Yes, if you see a dog in St Barts, it won't be a mangy street animal. It's much more likely to be a pampered lap dog being taken out to dinner.

Getting there

There are more than 400 villas for rent on St Barts. Villa rental companies include St Barth Properties (stbarth.com) and Sibarth (sibarth.com), both long-established companies. Eden Rock Property Company is based at the hotel of the name and has about 40 hand-picked villas (edenrockvillarental.com).
A UK-based villa company that specialises in St Barts is Premium Island Vacations (01962 842 891, premiumislandvacations.com). Rental prices start at about £800 per week. Tour operators to St Barts include Caribtours (caribtours.co.uk), Elegant Resorts (elegantresorts.co.uk) and Holidays Please (holidaysplease.co.uk) Air France (airfrance.co.uk) offers flights via Paris to St Maarten (from here it is just ten minutes to St Barts by plane, or you can take a ferry). Return fares start at £646. For further information, visit saintbarth-tourisme.com.