Hotel Le Toiny

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this boutique hotel in St Barths and unpacked their sarongs and spa products, a full account of their Caribbean luxury break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Hotel Le Toiny in St Barths…

Much as we fancy ourselves experts in (and advocates of) comfortable beds, Hotel Le Toiny’s perfectly grand, welcoming four-poster canopy beds may verge on criminally inviting. They make it all too tempting to laze away the morning, which might mean missing the hotel’s spectacular sunrise view. For early risers, throwing open the shutters or sneaking out onto the private terrace means panoramic views out over the sea from the secluded hilly perch on the eastern coast of St Barths. The ocean stretches interminably, with jewel-tone hues of green and blue bleeding into the brightening morning sky.

Hotel Le Toiny has many ways of encouraging deep relaxation: Once tucked into a quiet, spacious private Villa – with its heated infinity pool, sunloungers, a hammock and that gloriously massive bed – it’s surprisingly easy to forget that the rest of St Barths is a playground of mega-yachts, nightlife and impossibly chic boutiques. Unlike hotels plunked into the heart of the action, it sits in blissful, natural seclusion, with little more than crashing waves and soaring birds to compete for guests’ attention. Should guests venture from the Villa, it’s typically just to the beach below for surfing and paddleboarding. Or wait until the hotel springs to life each evening for dinner at Restaurant Le Gaiac, where French-Caribbean dishes and a generous wine list combine for one of the island’s best meals. Though diners converge from all across the island, those lucky enough to stay at Hotel Le Toiny have only a short stroll home to sublime sleep.