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Hotel LeVillage St Jean is a low key, family-run hotel set right in St Jean, the liveliest area of St Barths. It sits on the hillside above the town, a series of pretty stone and wooden cottages ranged over multiple levels and linked by stone-laid paths through profuse tropical gardens. Its handful of hotel rooms and many self-catering cottages – all recently decorated in bright and bold tropical colours – are set around a central reception, small shop, pool terrace and restaurant, Le Cesar, giving it an informal atmosphere with its own sense of community. And although it is right at the heart of St Jean, with its excellent beach and all its activity, the hotel is very slightly removed from it, so you can retreat to the calm and quiet of your own balcony with a (superb) view of the bay. LeVillage St Jean is well priced for St Barths, friendly and good for families.
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KEY FEATURES
| Small, family oriented St Barths/St Barts resort with rooms and self-catering cottages set in pretty tropical gardens, with air-conditioning and ceiling fans, private balconies, direct dial phones, flat screen cable TV and equipment for children. Le Cesar restaurant (open for breakfast and dinner), bar and lounge with plasma screen TV. Library. Bocce (boules) pitch. Well-Being Cottage with gym. Pool and Jaccuzzi. Internet café 7.30am-11pm and free WiFi service to guests. On-property spa & beauty treatments. Yoga and Stretch classes available. Village and shops close by, St Jean beach three minutes. |
STYLE
| Decoration modern tropical - a splash of bright primary colours – on more traditional Caribbean design, tiled floors, teak (and antique) furniture and glass louvers |
CLIENT PROFILE
| Families, independent couples wanting a base near the centre of St Barths |
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LeVillage is set just outside and above St Jean. You approach on the road that leads up from opposite Nikki Beach and as the activity of the beach recedes behind you so the atmosphere begins to calm. By the time you reach your room and have settled onto your balcony, the activity has busyness of the island has evaporated entirely, transformed into a series of superb views. It is a lovely position from which to admire the bay.
First though, you will pass by reception, where the style of the small and friendly hotel is already visible. Inside, over a pillared porch, you come to the Reception desk and office, which is dressed in natural stone, wood and bright and bold colours.
You will also by the heart of the hotel – when you feel like some company. This is across the path, slightly down the hill from the reception, in the restaurant and bar, Le Cesar. You enter the room directly into the main sitting area, where there are sofas and cushions in rich red and mustard colour turned towards a huge screen on the walls. This lounge area is an internet café with terminals, and it also has Wi-Fi, so you can log on with your own laptop too. At the far end of the sitting area is the bar. Below that you will find the dining room. It uses the best of the natural design, with walls of rough-hewn stone and wood on which there are bright and bold drapes.
Also diagonally opposite the reception, above the restaurant and bar, is the pool, which is set on its own tile and deck terrace. It has an infinity edge with a very pretty view over the bay. A whirlpool is set to one side. From the deck you will see the roofs of the many cottages set into the hillside around you. They are reached by stone-laid paths that pass through the extreme and profuse tropical growth. As you walk to your room you will see the walls, built with hand-hewn stones, and you will come to sense of the love invested in the place, which was built in the 1960s and 70s by the same family that owns and runs LeVillage today. Some of the cottages are stone, some render and others have an upper storey of wood.
But for all the familiar and traditional aspects of the hotel, LeVillage has been modernized recently and the rooms, which are deliberately and elegantly simple, have a very pleasant, modern feel. The familiar bright an bold colour scheme is continued into the hotel rooms and cottages - yellow, orange and red, sky blue, azure and aquamarine. They have air-conditioning as well as ceiling fans and French windows – which have glass-slatted louvers (apparently at the suggestion of Greta Garbo, a former visitor). And of course, in the best Caribbean tradition, they also have a large balcony from which to take in the view of the bay.
There are just four regular ‘hotel’-style rooms at LeVillage, located opposite the dining room just below from the reception, and they also have an excellent view of the bay. However, the majority of the accommodation is self-catering (in the long-standing tradition of St Barths of independent living as opposed to catered, hotel-style accommodation). Therefore the cottages have their own kitchens and living space in addition to one or two bedrooms. Children’s equipment such as high chairs and cots is available to guests.
There is a very personal character to LeVillage. The same family love and care that was invested in building the small resort forty years ago continues today in the management. It is fairly independent in atmosphere, because guests do look after themselves (and of course there are so many restaurants around the island so people go out), but there is also a distinct sense of community, particularly because it is popular with families. Finally, LeVillage is a very friendly and well-priced spot in a generally expensive island, in which people feel very much at home. And of course return year after year. |
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Beach & Swimming
Hotel LeVillage is set on the hillside just above St Jean beach, a superb curve of sand and the liveliest beach on St Barths. The swimming is excellent in the bay, which is protected by an offshore reef. And it looks fantastic (particularly from above) as it coloured an extraordinary power of blue. At the ‘town’ end there is space to base yourself on the sand, as well as a couple of beach bars (Nikki Beach, La Plage and Eden Rock) where you can retreat for lunch. But the beach also extends around towards the airport, which makes an excellent walk along the sand, with the added fun of watching the planes take off and land (careful, they might take your hat off). The other nearest beach is Anse des Grandes Salines, over the hill behind the hotel. It has a completely different feel to it because there is no development on it at all.
There is a nice swimming pool at the hotel, just across from the reception and up some steps to a terrace. It is L-shaped, and has an infinity edge which gives a lovely view over the bay. A whirlpool is built into the deck to one side and there are loungers on the surrounding deck. |
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Sports & Recreation
Spa treatments are available in your room by appointment with the resort’s massage therapist, who comes from Salines. Board games are available at the reception.
Otherwise, most of the sporting activities available to guests in St Barths (and there is plenty to do on the island) are off the property. Windsurfing and kitesurfing take place in Grand Cul de Sac and other watersports (scuba, sailing, day trips) are available through companies based in Gustavia. They are easily arranged through the reception.
Tennis is available in Petit Cul de Sac. Horse-riding, with trail rides through St Barths’ surprisingly remote and rough terrain, can be arranged through St Barth Equitation above Flammands in the north-west.
Stop press: a Well-Being Cottage with fitness room, beauty and massage salon, and a Bocce (boules) pitch were added during summer 2007. |
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Staff
There is daily maid service to your room or cottage. LeVillage is family concern and is owned and run by the Charneaus, who have lived in St Barths for many generations. It was built in the 1960s and 70s by Andre Charneau and is now managed by Catherine, his daughter and son Bertrand. Another member of staff that you are likely to meet is Solène. |
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The Rooms
There are two different sorts of rooms at LeVillage. There are four hotel rooms, which are set in a block just below the reception overlooking the bay. The majority of the 27 rooms at the small resort however, are set in cottages. These are free-standing, mostly set on a stone base and with a wooden or a render upper and of course a balcony to look out onto the salt-pond and the bay. There are one- and two-bedroom cottage with a kitchen and a living area. The rooms are all decorated in bright fabrics and painted in bright colours which gives them a very vibrant atmosphere. The furniture is stylishly made in wood. |
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Dining
Le Cesar is a Mediterranean restaurant which is open for breakfast and dinner. It serves fresh fish and Mediterranean specialities (with a Caribbean and lobster barbeque every Friday) in a dining room with wooden and natural stone walls. The dining room is split-level, separated from the bar by a diaphanous drapes in the same bold colours as the rooms.
You may well be out during the day. There are lots of take-away restaurants (this being St Barths you can even take out gourmet food), which will prepare anything from a picnic for the beach to a dinner for two. There are many other places to eat in St Jean itself, just a few minutes’ walk down the hill. Try Zanzibarth and Andy’s Hideaway for some fun. For a more formal meal go to one of the other hotels, or into Gustavia. |
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Useful Hints
If you wish to order some food to be left in your cottage for your arrival then do contact the LeVillage in advance. |
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Practical Facts
Annual Closure Dates: Le Cesar restaurant will close 31 August to 15 October 2008
Dress Code: Informal by day and elegantly casual for the evenings
Facilities: Swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Le Cesar restaurant (breakfast & dinner) bar, lounge with plasma screen TV. Internet café with WiFi. Well-Being Cottage with air-conditioned Fitness Room and a Beauty Cabin for massage/beauty treatments. Bocce (boules) pitch. Changing room with shower for late departures
Complimentary: Board games. Bocce (boules) Pitch. WiFi services in the internet café
Other Services: Reception can arrange watersports and activities. Private yoga and stretching classes available on request. Room service for breakfast. Daily maid service
Children: Welcome. Highchairs and cots are available
Weddings: One of you will need to be resident for over a month to marry on St Barths. The hotel can organise any kind of wedding according to budget, and will provide a wedding planner.
Accommodation: 24 rooms & cottages and 3 villas
Room Types: All accommodations have air-conditioning, balcony or patio, direct dial telephone, safe, hair dryer, and en suite bathroom with shower. 4 x Hotel Rooms overlook the bay and have a flat screen cable TV, either a king-size bed or two twins, ceiling fan and a mini fridge. Standard Cottages have views of Saint Jean Bay, a covered terrace with dining area and adjoining kitchenette. Gardens are ground level with a patio and twin beds (king on request) and Terraces are upper level with a sundeck, either a queen or king-size bed and ceiling fan. Deluxe Cottages are more spacious, have a large terrace with dining area and fully equipped kitchen, radio/CD player, hammock and bedroom with king-size bed. Gardens are on ground level with ocean view and a patio with lounge chairs and the Garden Suites have an additional living area with day bed off the bedroom (sliding wall panels for privacy). Terraces are upper level with a sundeck, views of Saint-Jean Bay and a ceiling fan and the Terrace Suites have an additional living area with day bed off the bedroom (sliding wall panels for privacy). The Jacuzzi Suite is in a separate cottage with a wrap-around terrace with outdoor Jacuzzi, shower and kitchenette, and a living room with TV, VCR and radio/CD player. 2-Bedroom Cottages have a large terrace with dining area and fully equipped kitchen, radio/CD player, and a hammock. The upper level is similar to the Deluxe Cottage Terrace Suite with a living area with sofa bed off the bedroom which has a king-size bed. The 2nd bedroom is downstairs with two twin beds, a dressing-room, large bathroom and a patio. La Case is a one bedroom stand-alone cottage suite with elevated views of Saint Jean Bay. It has a wrap-around wooden decked veranda with sun loungers, hammock, covered dining terrace with adjoining kitchen with bar counter, a living room with mezzanine access, and a bedroom with two twins.
Credit Cards: Visa and MasterCard only |
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Rates
| | 16 Apr-14 Dec 2008 | 08 Jan-15 Apr 2009 | | | CP | CP | | Hotel Room 1-2 persons | 130 | 220 | | Standard Cottage 1-2 persons Garden Terrace | 170 215 | 260 330 | | Deluxe Cottage 1-2 persons Garden Garden Suite Terrace Terrace Suite Jacuzzi Suite | 250 280 310 335 310 | 370 400 460 495 450 | | La Case 1-2 persons | 350 | 540 | | 2 Bedroom Cottage 1-4 persons | 400 | 620 | | Extra person | 50 | 70 | | Children 0-4 yrs | 30 | 35 | All rates are quoted in Euros €, per room, per night, including CP = continental breakfast and Service Charge. All rates are subject to 5% Government Tax. Rates are subject to change without notice A 3 night deposit (5 nights for February bookings) is required to secure all reservations. A loss of deposit will be incurred for no-shows and for cancellations within 45 days of arrival (within 60 days for February bookings), for cancellations prior to 45 days of arrival (60 days for February bookings) an administration fee of €100 will be charged (€150 for February bookings). |
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How to book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with Hotel LeVillage St Jean in St Barths, or if you wish to telephone them, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number. |
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Locality
It is a two-minute walk down into St Jean, which is the liveliest village on St Barths outside Gustavia. There are several parades of shops (clothes, specialty food and wine), and a number of restaurants and bars. On the shoreline is the famous Nikki Beach and the Sand Bar at the Eden Rock Hotel. Drive a couple of minutes west and there are more shops opposite the airport including a large supermarket.
St Barths is really quite small, so everywhere is within a short drive. Gustavia, just over the hill from the airport, has a string of excellent bars around the waterfront and a number of good bars and restaurants around its narrow streets. |
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Meet & Greet
Most visitors to St Barths rent a car and so they drive themselves (all of two minutes) from the airport. However, if you do not drive then LeVillage is happy to collect you. If you arrive by boat in Gustavia then the car hire companies will deliver, or you should catch a taxi to St Jean. |
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Getting Around
Taxis are quite hard to come by in St Barths, and so be aware that if you have a dinner reservation in a restaurant around the island you may have to reserve a cab a couple of days in advance.
All in all it is easiest to hire a car, which will enable you to visit the beaches by day and to go out in the evenings. On St Barths we recommend Europcar and Gumbs Car Rental. Both companies have outlets at the airport if you wish to pick up your car on arrival, but they will also deliver to the hotel. Please be aware that at the height of the season, particularly over Christmas and New Year, it is very hard to get hold of a car and so it is necessary to book it at least a month in advance. |
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