I walk through the airport’s cool, frosted glass doors. Salt-tinged air warms my face. Out here, the party’s in full swing. People gather with glasses in hand. Bottles of Chassagne-Montrachet chill in buckets of ice at their feet. Bursts of laughter radiate from the well-heeled crowd as a rainbow assortment of Minis and Mokes whizzes behind them. It feels like happy hour on a breezy NYC rooftop, not airport arrivals.
I scan the crowd. Our villa manager is easy to spot. He’s wearing tell-tale Eden Rock red. Fred greets us as if we’re old friends. ‘Are you ready?’ he asks with a cheeky grin. It’s unclear what he means by ‘ready.’ But whatever it is, we unanimously agree that we are.
Eden Rock St. Barths—allons-y!
Eden Rock is Rooted in 1950s Glamour
Let’s back up a few decades to set the scene. In the early 1950s, French aviator and adventurer Rémy de Haenen built a hotel on a rocky promontory overlooking a secluded turquoise bay in St. Barths. Rémy dreamed his hotel would become a destination for the rich and famous. It didn’t take long for him to get his wish. Greta Garbo, Howard Hughes, and other celebrities soon christened red-roofed Eden Rock their Caribbean hideaway.
In 1995, Jane and David Matthews purchased Eden Rock from de Haenen. As the story goes, the Matthews (aka Pippa Middleton’s in-laws) sailed to the island and became immediately smitten. Furthering Rémy’s flair for all things fabulous, the Matthews added clifftop cottages and palatial suites, catapulting Eden Rock St. Barths into one of the world’s leading hotels.
Two decades later, the Matthews partnered with Oetker Collection to manage the property, further elevating its already high standards of luxury. Today, one could just as quickly spot a rockstar or an NFL quarterback sitting beside an aging politician or a teenage influencer.
Not a rock star? ‘So what?’ There’s room (and rooms) in St. Barths for all. But the glamour of this chic French island comes at a price—especially if the Eden Rock Hotel or one of its 150 private villas are involved.
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The Arrival
En route to our hilltop home away from home, a prop plane passes overhead. And by overhead, I mean I can practically touch it. We navigate a small roundabout where people gather with iPhones shooting video—a popular island activity. In the near distance, the Eden Rock Hotel comes into view. A departing plane is so close to the water it nearly takes the floppy hat off a sunbather.
There are many hotels on St. Barths with dramatic views. But only at Eden Rock can one watch charter planes arrive and depart from the comfort of a cushy sunlounger. Anywhere else, a hotel this close to the runway would be a dealbreaker vacation-wise. Leave it to the French to flip the script. The thrilling take-offs and landings are part of the island’s joie de vivre.
At 2,100 feet long, the runway on St. Barths is one of the world’s shortest, so only small planes can land. Therefore, most people (aside from those who fly private) connect through a neighboring island, usually St. Maarten or Puerto Rico.
To put an exclamation point on this long narrative about a short runway, fine-art photographer Gray Malin chose this very subject for his famous à la plage series. ‘The Arrival’ is one of his best-selling prints, no doubt adorning living room walls from Paris to LA.
The Eden Rock Bubble
It’s easy to get caught up in the Eden Rock bubble. Everyone in it looks so glamorous. Women wear gem-toned Missoni kaftans with oversized woven hats. Men don crisp white linen shirts, pastel-colored shorts, and Italian espadrilles. Their sunkissed kids trail behind them on their way to the Sand Bar for truffle-topped pizzas. It’s island eye candy all around.
The Eden Rock bubble has its own boutique. Did you forget that cute boho dress you planned to wear to Bagatelle? It’s Zimmermann’s crochet wrap to the rescue. Suddenly desperate for a tote that mirrors the bay’s exact shade of blue? Goyard’s Turquoise St. Louis bag with matching beach towel has you covered.
Blue, white, and red may be sewn into the island’s fabric, but the labels are decidedly Off White and Orlebar Brown.
Eden Rock St. Barths, The Hotel
In September 2017, the Eden Rock Hotel suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Irma. By 2019, it had reopened its welcoming red doors to guests eager to reclaim paradise. Eden Rock returned to its former glory with 37 rooms, a Jean-George Vongerichten restaurant, a new world-class spa, and an attentive and absurdly attractive staff of over 200 strong.
Other hotel highlights include the British-Colonial-style Rémy Bar, on-beach spa treatments, professional sunscreen attendants (not a typo), and a roving frosé trolley. Because mon dieu!—at these rates, no one should have to leave their sunlounger for a glass of Whispering Angel.
Incredibly, all 37 rooms and suites at Eden Rock are individually curated. Jane Matthews lovingly designed them, showcasing local and international artwork at every turn. Some rooms are on the beach, and others are on its famous rocks. All are spectacular.
Inspired by a schooner, the Captain’s Room has brass portholes, maritime leather seats, and a private pool. Spencer’s Room is perched on the face of the rock and pays homage to Africa with eclectic carved wooden masks, woven rugs, and a regal four-poster bed. Then there’s the Pippa, the Garbo, and the Howard Hughes. How to choose? A champagne problem, indeed.
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Villa Like a Rockstar
There isn’t a superlative that hasn’t been used to describe the Eden Rock Hotel. This puts me at a loss for words to describe their most extravagant villa. At 17,000 square feet, Villa Rockstar is called ‘a two hundred million dollar yacht on land.’ Between us, that isn’t much of a selling point. I’d rent a yacht if I wanted to be on a yacht. But who am I to question the marketing team of one of the leading hotels in the world?
Villa Rockstar has everything you could ever need and just as many things you don’t. The six-bedroom villa’s secluded location lies behind 10-foot walls on St. Jean’s beach. One of the many oversized bathrooms is circular and tiled in (wait for it) white gold. Rockstar has a dedicated chef and butler service around the clock, a 20-meter heated pool, and a jacuzzi. According to the website, Villa Rockstar also has a ‘basement full of surprises.’
Other amenities include daily breakfast delivery, a fully-equipped techno-gym, a multi-car-filled garage, a private business office, and a custom-designed Italian kitchen. While I don’t know who is driving, cooking, working, or exercising when they visit Villa Rockstar, I would trade it all for breakfast delivery. The brioche at Eden Rock is no joke.
The website also ensures guests that ‘privacy and discretion’ are Villa Rockstar’s watch words. Is that the same thing as safe words? Safe words aren’t just for the bedroom anymore. Does this have anything to do with the surprises in the basement? Grab eleven of your closest friends and party like a rockstar at Villa Rockstar. When you discover what’s hidden in the basement, please share.
Villa Neo and Eden Rock’s 148 Other Villas
Villa Rockstar notwithstanding, Eden Rock has private villas across the island for (nearly) all budgets. Eden Rock conveniently divides its villa portfolio among four categories: Classic, Deluxe, Prestige, and Ultraluxe. If you think classic is code for inexpensive, you’d be incorrect. Nothing is inexpensive on St. Barths. Instead, think of classic as code for least expensive. And even then, prepare for sticker shock.
Neo is a six-bedroom supermodern ultraluxe villa. It has glass staircases, glass walls, and glass sculptures. The pool spans the length of the villa and towers high above St. Jean’s beach. Neo’s outside space is sprawling with double-bed sunloungers and wide umbrellas.
Some bathrooms have deep soaking tubs (alas, none tiled in white gold) and spacious balconies. The kitchen is not ornamental. Our chef, Eric, whips up fabulous French meals there every day. That we’re spoiled is evident.
Breakfast is a daily delight—and more decadent with each passing morning. Airy crépes on Monday, Belgian waffles with berries on Tuesday, fluffy frittatas on Wednesday… you get the idea. That every meal Eric creates comes with baguettes, brioches, and croissants does nothing to help our waistlines. We waddle to the Eden Rock boutique to buy bigger kaftans.
After a week of fantastic in-villa meals, Eric tells us he’s never seen a group consume so much bread. We pat our bellies proudly and take it as a compliment—though I’m pretty sure it isn’t.
Dining Beyond the Bubble
With all the French carbohydrates one could desire, you may question why we’d ever leave the bubble villa. St. Barths has a world-class dining scene, which always includes incredible people-watching in chic settings with DJs and live music. So get out, we do, and it’s worth it.
Three standout meals are Sella, Bagatelle, and Nikki Beach. Each restaurant incorporates a party element to accompany the food and wine. At Sella, Jerusalem-born, Michelin-starred chef Assaf Granit serves Middle Eastern cuisine in an amber-infused, low-lit waterfront setting. The DJ’s hypnotic Arabic music fuses intricate melodies and rhythmic patterns with charred meats and vegetables. We all love it.
Bagatelle starts typically enough—with a convivial dinner party vibe. But by the time the appetizers arrived, the DJ had ratcheted up the music so loud that I couldn’t hear my husband. As the entrées appeared, guests and servers started dancing.
Then, models began weaving around the dancers in cute boho dresses. Champagne corks spiral through the air. John Legend is singing Happy Birthday. Bagatelle is not a restaurant; it’s a bar mitzvah.
Just Another Sunday at Nikki Beach
Nikki Beach deserves a post of its own. And maybe one day, when strapped for content, I’ll write it. Until then, believe me when I say a trip to St. Barths without Sunday brunch at Nikki Beach is a big mistake.
Sundays at Nikki Beach are legendary in St. Barths. It’s a Caribbean darty (to use my least favorite word but most favorite concept). The great thing about a daytime party is that you can have fun whether you are 8, 18, or 88. And at Nikki Beach, ‘fun’ could mean a sparkler-topped bottle of Veuve Clicquot, a hot French saxophonist dancing on your table, or a gladiator towing a sorority girl around on a chariot. On our Sunday, fun included all of the above.
Colorful sushi boats filled with seared ahi tuna, red caviar-topped salmon, and pink ebi sail around the room. As the music tempo increases, the crowd rises to the occasion (literally and figuratively). People kick off their shoes and dance like no one is watching. Although, of course, everyone is. We order a bottle of Dom and go for it. Nikki Beach is the place to splurge on the most splurge-worthy island in the Caribbean.
“Are You Ready?”
I think back to Fred’s cheeky grin seven days ago. I’m sure he knew we’d need a vacation to recover from our vacation. I’m sure he knew we’d have baguette withdrawal, suffer from severe sleep deficit, and have hearing loss in one, if not both, ears. After so many years tending to guests’ needs in the Eden Rock bubble, he’s seen it all. No wonder he was smiling.
At the airport, newly arriving guests exit as I enter the frosted glass doors. Salt-tinged air warms their faces. I take one last glance behind me. I see signature Eden Rock red shirts and bottles of ice-cold Chablis. Glasses clink. Laughter fills the air. A rainbow assortment of Minis and Mokes whizzes by on the street.
In St. Barth’s, the party never ends.
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