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By Angela Wibking

At eight miles square, most of it straight up, there’s not much to the rocky island of St. Barthelemy in the French West Indies, just east of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Not much neon, nightlife or much of a singles scene, that is.

That leaves room for more of what many travelers-- including this one--have come to look for in a Caribbean vacation. We crave fine dining, not loud discos or casinos. We appreciate natural beauty and local culture, not chain hotels and beaches filled with American teenagers. We enjoy great shopping but don’t want to feel we’re in a mall back home. On St. Barts, as the island is affectionately called, you’ll find all that and more.

There are 60 restaurants sprinkled among the hills and along the shore, lots of high-fashion boutiques, excellent beaches, sweeping mountain vistas, picturesque red-roofed villages and intimate luxury resorts and vacation villas with all the amenities. It’s no wonder a Rothschild, a Rockefeller and even a Madonna have vacation homes here.

The little island has fascinating French and Swedish cultural heritage that goes back 300 years and those influences remain strong today. The official language is French, though most everyone speaks some English, and the official currency is the franc, though the U.S. dollar is accepted everywhere.

The only full-service resort on St. Barts is Hotel Guanahani, set on its own 16-acre peninsula on the northeastern end of island. Full-service here doesn’t mean big and impersonal, though. It just means guests have all the usual resort amenities in their own backyard--things like tennis courts, two freshwater pools, a fitness room, two restaurants and the finest in sunbathing and water sports at two private beaches.

Accommodations are in charming, hyper- pastel colored cottages framed by flowering tropical foliage. Winding pathways connect the hibiscus-pink, mango-yellow and plantain-green cottages with the common buildings, beaches and restaurants. And at every turn of the path is another breathtaking view of the glittering sapphire and turquoise ocean.

A view all my own greeted me from the private deck of my periwinkle-blue bungalow when I drew the curtains back on a bright June morning following my arrival late the night before. There on the deck waiting for me was a breakfast of croissants, coffee and freshly-squeezed juice, set against the backdrop of a little indigo curve of the Atlantic called Marigot Cove. Breakfast at Guanahani, ordered for a specific time the night before, appears as if by magic: During my 4-night stay I never spied the server of my morning meals nor saw the dishes being cleared away.

The word Guanahani is said to be the Arawak native name for San Salvador, the first New World island “discovered” by Christopher Columbus. On a later voyage, Columbus came upon the island of St. Barts and named it after his brother Bartolomeo and that rather loose connection is the basis for the hotel’s name. But since Guanahani sounds as exotically tropical as everything here looks, why not?

The resort is justly known for its décor, especially the look interior designer Michel Jouannet gave the newest cottages and common buildings in 1993.

In the cottages, dark mahogany floors anchor a fanciful blend of the dramatic and serene: The white walls and bleached-wood vaulted ceiling of the bedroom/sitting area are separated from the bath and dressing area by a curved wood wall washed in sea-green. Behind the wall is a vibrant turquoise tile double sink complete with a lemon-yellow resin lizard frolicking on the mirror. A large marble shower, closets and a separate room with toilet, round out the facilities. Sliding glass doors lead from the bedroom/sitting area onto the covered wooden deck/terrace, shaded on all sides by flowering bushes and overlooking the water and the hillside across the cove.

In the reception building, also designed by Jouannet, emerald walls and ceilings contrast with the royal blue rafters and moldings, while bright yellow and blue Madras plaid fabric covers the furniture.

The same lively look is carried over in the resort’s fine evening restaurant Bartolomeo’s. Here mustard-colored walls, terra cotta floors and teal-washed wooden rafters provide a fitting setting for the restaurant’s Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

Dishes range from a light steamed snapper served on a bed of eggplant, tomato and basil puree and roasted lamb with goat cheese ravioli in thyme sauce to sea scallops and shallots, polenta and mushrooms or filet mignon with green pepper sauce. Dessert might be a petite but potent pyramid of white and dark chocolate mousse, a raspberry and chocolate soufflé, or a light, fresh fruit sorbet.

Before or after dinner, relax at Bartolomeo’s bar with one of several champagne cocktail creations named after jazz greats and enjoy the sounds of the talented Charles Darden at the piano. That’s about as wild as the nightlife gets around here, though there are also some small, popular dance and music clubs on the island.

The Guanahani’s other restaurant is the open-air Indigo. Overlooking a quiet lagoon and beach where guests sunbathe under the swaying palm trees or windsurf on the calm jewel-colored waters, Indigo serves a continental breakfast buffet in the morning and salads, seafood and sandwiches for lunch.

Accommodations range from standard rooms to one-bedroom suites with private pool. Rates for the summer season (April 13-Oct. 31) are about $230 for standard rooms; $345 for deluxe rooms; $500 for non-pool suites; and $635 for pool suites.

For reservations or more information, call Leading  Hotels of the World at (800)223-6800 or visit Hotel Guanahani’s web site at http://www.st-barths.com/guanahani.html

**Photo by Angela Wibking

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