Hôtel Le Toiny

In Depth

Hôtel Le Toiny is secluded at the eastern end of St Barths, a string of villas on a hillside in an undeveloped part of the island (which elsewhere is very developed of course), looking out to the southwest. It might come as a surprise that a leading St Barths hotel like Le Toiny is not on the beach, but they make a virtue of the fact by offering some of the most discreet and elegant seclusion in the islands.

The hotel was built in 1992 with architecture by local French architect Claude Pitoors and heavily influenced by the old plantation houses of the French Caribbean, designed to catch the natural light and breezes. In 2008 the hotel underwent a multi-million dollar renovation.

On arrival in St Barths you will be collected from the airport and brought to the hotel, pausing briefly at the main house to register before retreating to your suite. Repeat guests even dispense with this and head straight to their cottage. And once there you don’t need to leave if you don’t want to. Breakfast is brought to your room and all other meals can be delivered through room service. Some guests communicate with the front desk entirely by email. A former manager of Le Toiny once noted, that there were guests that he personally never got to meet.

The suites at Le Toiny are of course large and elegant and very comfortable to live in for a week. They make conscious use of traditional French Caribbean features, setting them in a modern context. The floors are polished oak and there are pickled pine ‘tray’ ceilings. They are furnished with reproduction tropical antiques made mostly of mahogany – planter’s chairs and large four-poster beds, draped with muslin nets, which are copied from a traditional Martiniquan design. The decoration is understated, with flower motif fabrics from Provence, France. As with the hotel, the impression is never overplayed.

The suites are actually cottages in their own right, which also take some inspiration from the old French Caribbean, with clapboard walls and double pitched tin roofs painted in pale green. They are glass fronted (though they can be closed with full-length shutters) and the roof, supported on wooden pillars, reaches out to shade the terra cotta terrace at the front. Here you will find a small private pool (20ft by 10ft), with teak sun loungers and some wooden garden furniture. The views, looking southwest, are superb, and carry over the islands of Nevis, St Kitts and St Eustatius, which stand like grey hulks on the horizon.

For all the classic Caribbean refinement, the suites are of course extremely well equipped, with flat screen TVs, DVDs and a modern music system. They each have a kitchenette, more for the staff to warm your meal than for you to cook, although there is the wherewithal for you to prepare breakfast if you want. The bathrooms are also large and you will find embroidered bathrobes and custom-made toiletries.

If some guests are barely to be seen during their stay at the hotel, there is still a gravitational centre to Le Toiny, in the main building. This contains Le Gaïac, the restaurant, and the main pool, and is set close to the entrance of the hotel. It is built in the same elegant and classic Caribbean style as the rest of the resort. There is a small entrance lobby with a reception desk, an elegant boutique with an extensive range of luxury items from Ligne St Barth cosmetics to cashmere scarves – and next to it the wood-panelled La Case Lounge Bar, which looks out over the dining room, where the tables are set both inside and out on the covered veranda. The view carries outside over the main swimming pool, a low-let half moon curve with an infinity edge looking out to sea, and to the lights of the distant islands.

There are also two very attractive ‘case punch’ either side of the pool – one next to it and the other on the level below, giving onto the curved terrace with the sun-loungers. They are open-sided drawing rooms, in the same clapboard with pretty tin roof, and they are furnished with brightly striped bench seats and prints on a sailing theme, ideal for a pre-dinner drink if you would prefer to be outside rather than in the bar itself.

If you are driving around the island you might almost pass Le Toiny by without noticing it, but as one of the Caribbean’s few Relais et Châteaux, once you do enter the place you know that you are guaranteed peace, privacy and calm and of course fine cuisine.

The review for Hotel Le Toiny was updated in January 2012 by Jane Anderson.  

Beach & Swimming

Each of the suites at Le Toiny has its own private pool (private enough for you to bathe nude if you wish) measuring 20ft by 10ft. The main pool is approximately 30 feet across by 15.

The beach at Le Toiny, a couple of hundred feet below the resort, does not always have all that much sand. It can be nice to walk down there, but it is not a typical dream Caribbean beach and the water is often choppy with currents. It is however good for experienced surfers. If you want to spend the day on the beach you should probably go along the southern coast to Grand Anse des Salines or along the north coast road to St Jean, where you will find a couple of beach bars. Le Toiny is also happy to provide you with beach towels and a picnic if you would like one.

Sports & Recreation

Spa treatments are available in the Serenity Spa Cottage, which also has a lovely view of the sea (though you can chose to have treatments in your room of course). Ligne de St Barth products are used. One treatment puts a Caribbean spin on the traditional hot stone massage, using smooth shells filled with hot oil in place of the stones. The spa also offers gentlemen a traditional wet shave seated comfortably in a planters’ chair and English products from Geo. F. Trumper.

There is a gym on property at Le Toiny, with a fantastic view of the sea. There are treadmills, a bike, an elliptical machine and free weights. Personal trainers can be brought in. Pilates and yoga sessions are available too, in the gym, in your suite or on the beach.

Most of the watersports take place at the other end of the island, where the sea and waves are a little gentler, except surfing (which takes place on the delightfully named Washing Machine Beach next door to Le Toiny) and wind- and kitesurfing, which are available at Grand Cul de Sac nearby. Sports that can easily be arranged through the Front Desk include tennis, scuba, deep sea fishing and even horse riding.

Staff

The staff at Le Toiny is mainly (metropolitan) French and like the rest of St Barths (but unlike the Caribbean in general), they are at your elbow when you need them but never there when you don't want them to be. For all its elegance and edge of formality, and its exclusiveness, once you are in Le Toiny it is fairly low key.

The chef is Stéphane Mazières who worked in Michelin-starred Restaurant Leï Mouscardins in St. Tropez, before arriving in St Barths in 2006. Born in the French Alps, chef Mazières is no stranger to Le Toiny, having previously been chef de partie in 2001 and later sous chef.

The joint managers of the hotel are Guy and Dagmar Lombard, who originate from France and Germany and have been at Le Toiny since early 2008. Prior to joining Le Toiny they managed Kasbah Tamadot, Sir Richard Branson's exclusive hotel on the foothills of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

The Rooms

The rooms at Le Toiny are very large (particularly by St Barths' standards) and well equipped. They have a kitchenette and a mini bar, one or two plasma TVs with DVD, CD player, iPod docking station, IPod music library, three telephones and WiFi. Egyptian cotton linens (350 thread count) are used for the beds and there are bathrobes and slippers for your use.

The bathrooms, tiled in white, have huge showers, tubs and double vanities. Generous toiletries are by L'Occitane.

Dining

Le Gaïac is probably the finest restaurant on St Barths, an island that is already known for its dining. Named after a native tree (which appears as the hotel logo, embroidered on the towels and bathrobes), it is set in the main house, with a view over the pool to the sea horizon beyond. Like the hotel, Le Gaïac has a well ordered, even slightly formal air.

You can get a drink at the bar before dinner, or use one of the two 'cases punch' the outdoor drawing rooms on the terrace. While the bar is wood panelled, the restaurant itself has a lighter colour scheme, using the same light clapboard as the suites themselves. The dining room is completely open fronted (though it can be closed off with glass doors when it is windy) and you can dine on the terrace under the veranda roof. In the evenings Le Gaïac is set with white tablecloths and candles.

The cuisine uses the best of St Barths excellent sources of supply, with ingredients flown in fresh from France and Florida via St Maarten. The chef, Stéphane Mazières was awarded 2012 Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux, (the only one in the Caribbean) and offers a long menu of innovative French cuisine infused with local flavours is served. The hotel has three greenhouses so that much of the organic vegetables are farm to table fresh.

Tuesday is fish night with pretty shells, a little wooden boat and a lighthouse dotted on the table. Diners choose their fresh catch from a stylish display, be it grouper, tuna or snapper.

Children

Le Toiny is happy to accept children, but please note that it has a fairly sophisticated atmosphere, so it may not be suitable for them although some of the suites have laser pool alarms which are assigned to families with small children who can’t swim.

Useful Hints

Repeat guests at Le Toiny are driven straight to their villa suite rather than checking-in at reception, whilst new guests will be required to register on their first visit.

The voltage at the hotel is 220, 60 cycles and any appliances you take will require an adaptor with a French style plug.

Practical Facts

Annual Closure: 31 August to 25 October 2012

Dress Code: Casual during the day and informal but chic at night

Facilities: Swimming pool (approximately 30ft x 15ft), sun terrace, cocktail bar, restaurant, reception, full service spa, open air barber shop and fitness centre

Complimentary: Snorkelling equipment, airport transfers, library of CDs and DVDs, use of tennis courts at the Flamboyant Tennis Club

Other Services: Concierge, 24 hour room service, babysitting, baby cots available, currency exchange, daily newspapers, fitness instructor, laundry service, in suite massage, manicure and pedicure service available

Children: Welcome, however there is a limit of one child only sharing a one bedroom suite with their parents. Children under 5 years of age sharing their parents' suite stay free

Accommodation: 15 villa suites

Room Types: All villa suites feature oak floors, a private heated swimming pool, covered tiled terrace onto to pool/sun terrace, living room with ceiling fan, 40" satellite plasma screen TV, TV with DVD player, CD player, iPod docking station, WiFi access, telephones and safe. Kitchenette with mini bar, ice maker, microwave and tea/coffee making facilities and Nespresso coffee machine. Air-conditioned bedroom with ceiling fan, mahogany four poster king size bed or two twins, walk-in wardrobe, en suite bathroom with tub, shower, bidet and a hairdryer. 13 x One Bedroom Villa Suites are in 748 sq ft cottages with a 20ft x 10ft swimming pool and a sofa bed in the living room. One of these villas has wheelchair access with no steps, wider doors, shower ramp and a low level bed. 1 x Junior Suite is smaller than the villa suites, and has an open-plan bedroom with living area. The Three Bedroom Villa Suite consists of one 1075 sq ft master villa and two adjacent bungalows, which share a 12ft x 25ft heated swimming pool. The Master Villa (Villa du Directeur) has a sun terrace, dining patio, air-conditioned living room with plasma TV, DVD player, and fax (no sofa bed), satellite TV and DVD player in the bedroom with king size bed, kitchenette also has a fridge and dishwasher, the en suite bathroom is air-conditioned, black marble, with Jacuzzi tub and shower. The Bungalows have a small terrace, are air-conditioned with ceiling fan, have plasma TV, DVD player, CD player, mini bar and fridge, one has a double bed the other twins, and en suite bathrooms have shower only. The three bedroom can be taken as a Two Bedroom Villa Suite consisting of the master villa and a choice of one of the two bungalows. All accommodation has its own gated entrance and a red mailbox flag that serves as a Do Not Disturb sign, emphasising privacy and seclusion.

Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard and American Express

Stay & Sail

Into The Blue Package

Hotel Le Toiny has an exciting new five-night stay and sail package called ‘Into The Blue’. Guests stay three nights at the hotel before taking a two night round-trip excursion to nearby Saba island aboard a Sea Flower vessel. Each watercraft comes complete with a skipper and two scuba dives per person.

The hotel stay includes a one-bedroom villa suite with private pool and terrace, a bottle of chilled wine and gourmet snacks on arrival, one hosted three-course dinner at Restaurant Le Gaiac, two one-hour spa treatments, a Smart rental car to explore the island, daily full American breakfast and round trip transfers to the airport or harbour.

The package starts from €4,510 based on double occupancy (excluding 5% government tax) and is available until December 19, 2012.
 

Special Packages

Bon Vivant Package

Hotel Le Toiny’s Bon Vivant Package is a celebration of all things gourmet and pampering. It includes a four-night stay with luxurious spa treatments and gourmet dining experiences at the island’s culinary hot spots.

The first Relais & Chateaux property in the Caribbean to receive a Grand Chef distinction, Hotel Le Toiny’s famed Restaurant Le Gaiac is recognised as one of, if not THE best restaurant on the island.

The Bon Vivant package offers a four-night stay at a reduced rate, a two-course lunch at St. Bart’s barefoot chic La Gloriette Restaurant, three three-course lunches at Le Gaiac, Bonita (a local French-Latin restaurant) and L’Isola, the popular sister restaurant to the famous Restaurant Via Veneto in Santa Monica, featuring top Italian cuisine.

The package also includes a 90 minute Oenology course at Absolutely Wine, a new island venue including a wine bar and school, offering champagnes, organic wines, ciders, Grand Cru and fortified varietals from across the globe.

And to help you unwind, there are also two one-hour spa treatments at the Spa Cottage at Le Toiny. Round trip transfers, a convertible Smart rental car and daily American breakfast is also included.

The package starts from €3,980 based double occupancy in a one-bedroom villa suite with private pool (excluding 5% government tax) and is available from March 1 to December 19, 2012.

Locality

Le Toiny's location secluded at the east of the island doesn't mean that you will miss out on what the island has to offer. It takes just a few minutes to get right to the other side to Gustavia (unless you hit St Barths' traffic jams), where you can go for shopping or out to lunch or dinner.

The area around Le Toiny itself is quiet and fairly residential, with some local homes and many holiday villas. Close by (heading along the north shore) you come to Grand Cul de Sac, a lagoon which is known for its watersports because of its excellent cross-shore winds. Other popular beaches are Grande Anse des Salines and Gouverneur on the south coast, both undeveloped, and St Jean on the north shore, which is much more social and has beach bars.

Meet & Greet

You will be met at the airport and brought to the hotel by one of Le Toiny's drivers. If you are booking through a travel organiser, it is likely that their representative will be at the airport to meet you. This service and your return airport transfers should be included in the cost of your holiday. Please check at the time of booking.

Getting Around

Taxis are quite hard to come by in St Barths, and so be aware that if you have a dinner reservation in one of the restaurants 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, which has a booth at Hôtel Le Toiny, and Gumbs Car Rental for your St Barths car rental requirements. 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 you are advised to book one at least a month in advance.