Postcard from Le Guanahani, St. Barth

Bonjour My Loves, 

I hope you are having a fantastic start to 2016!! I returned home to NYC on Jan 7th, and before I could even unpack my suitcase, I was already filling up another one with clothes for St. Barth. I spent a few cherished and exquisite days at the beautiful Le Guanahani (Jan 13th - 16th) in celebration of their 30th anniversary.

Everything about this experience felt like a decadent adventure. I was flown from NYC to San Juan where I caught my Tradewind Aviation flight to the island. You can see my sheer elation boarding the sleek 8 seater in the photo above. My fears over flying in a small plane melted over the exquisite views of St. Barth from above. You can see for yourself below...

And the visual paradise had only just begun. When we arrived at the hotel, it was clear that this was a property that understood its DNA and the feel of five star boutique. Every inch of Le Guanahani is worthy of an Instagram (and you know that's the highest ranking in my books). The redesign, which took place very recently, was centred around the panama hat as inspiration. You can see these design elements in the lobby above and my room below...

Not since Marrakech had I experienced such an emotional response to hotel interiors. This room had my jaw dragging along the floor with every turn. I had an oceanview suite with a wrap around terrace that looked out onto the water. Even my bathtub had views overlooking that sparkling blue...

But what I especially loved about this experience was that Le Guanahani's Managing Director, Martein van Wagenberg, encouraged our group to go out and experience the island and all of its charm. We spent our first morning on a catamaran swimming and snorkelling out around Colombier Beach...

I must have been a sailor in a past life because I'm always most at peace when I'm on the water. Later that same day we rented a car to go out and explore Saline Beach and the town of Gustavia, which is brimming with quaint restaurants and chic boutiques...

We finished the day with an amazing lobster bbq feast under these gorgeous lanterns. If you can believe it, this scene was even more gorgeous in the night when they illuminated the dark sky...

By the next morning I was feeling quite acclimated to the vibe of St. Barth and Le Guanahani. The hotel guests are incredibly stylish, the staff all speak French (like beautiful Parisian French), off the shoulder dresses and lace up gladiator sandals had me so inspired I illustrated the sketch above to remember the quintessential look of the destination...

You couldn't ask for more breathtaking breakfast views from Indigo...

After we finished eating breakfast, we headed out on a personal driving tour of the island. I loved this view of Pointe Milou and the exceptionally beautiful cemetery. The tour helped me to understand more of the rich history surrounding the island and demystified this perception I had that St. Barth is only for celebrities. There is a local culture there that is far removed from the paparazzi lens.

I even got to make a few new friends along the way too ;P! We finished off the day with a one hour massage at the Spa by Clarins and dinner with our whole group at Bartolomeo. I was so sad to leave, but I have a sneaky suspicion, it won't be long before I'm there again. To catch a little more behind the scenes of my adventure, check out my snapchat video below. For those of you who don't follow, you can find me under username: meagan_morrison: