Hotel Le Toiny, St Barths

While anchored off St Barths, and looking to spend a few luxurious hours on land, or an over-night spoil, Hotel Le Toiny is a massively recommended treat.

Offering the complete privacy and exceptional comfort and luxury your guests expect, this boutique hotel, which sits up on the hillside above Anse de Toiny looking out over the Caribbean Sea, has less than two dozen independent, self-standing one and two-bedroom suites, each with a private pool and terrace with views over the magnificent Toiny Bay.

ååWhile the staff take care to keep everything as exclusive as possible for guests staying on the property, you can, by special reservation, spend a long, leisurely and indulgent day relaxing at the Beach Club.

Hidden on a secluded beach, and accessible by private shuttle from the hotel, guests can choose to do the hedonistic thing and simply relax in the shade under the palapas or sea grape trees, while the more energetic can enjoy the beachfront swimming pool, or ride the waves … the recently opened Surf Shack offers lessons for beginners right through to those who’ve mastered the cutback.

There’s a boutique with a carefully curated selection of the best beach ready-to-wear brands and a handful of more exclusive designer creations, and a bar for pre-lunch cocktails. And what a lunch. With a rotating menu to ensure the repeat visitors (of which there are justifiably many) are kept happy, the Beach Club offers delightful and innovative dishes … think strawberry and red pepper gazpacho, truffle burrata, barbecued octopus. There’s tempting tempura, fresh homemade pastas – the Nigerian jumbo black tiger prawn linguini with chilli, lime and garlic is a hot fave, and a half-dozen or so BBQ options. For those who know to never mess with a good thing, Le Toiny’s Classics are just that … an excellent LT bacon and cheese burger, posh fish and chips, and a truffle croque-monsiur.

Boasting intimacy, exclusivity, rejuvenation, relaxation, the hotel also has a Serenity Cottage Spa – a treatment room in an historic house built by the first St Barth’s residents, and accessible directly from the Beach Club.

For those staying on, Le Toiny Restaurant is – quite rightly – widely acclaimed as one of the best restaurants in the Caribbean. From this lofty elevated position, guests soak in the views while tucking into something from the extraordinary menu … king crab or confit salmon, grilled seabream fillet or whole New Zealand lamb rack. And what would life be without ending off a perfect Caribbean evening without Le Toiny’ Rum Baba Flambe lambe … mango, passionfruit, coconut and pineapple plantation run? Bliss.

To make a reservation, visit restaurant@letoiny.com or follow on Instagram @hotelletoinystbarth

Images byJulien Capmeil