Tropical dreams...St. Bartīs
We know you are crazy about the Caribbean -every
month our mailbox is filled with letters seeking
advice.
Here , you will find a report about Harbour Island.
Harbour Island the next St. Bart's, though you won't
hear that from the island's residents. Brilanders are
eager to tell you that it isn't an easy place to
reach. You must fly to Florida or Nassau, change
planes and fly to North Eleuthera, where you catch a
taxi, then a speedboat, and then another taxi before
getting to your room on an island that has no golf
courses, no gambling, little shopping, electricity
that switches off for hours at a time, and so few
good hotels and restaurants you can count them on
your fingers—leaving a few fingers free to pilot
those golf carts, the preferred method of transport.
This balance, brought into being by the island's
unique history, is tenuous at best. Inevitably,
newcomers become atavistic, wishing the door could be
locked behind them, worrying about each enhancement.
"Every time you get something, you lose
something," says one boldfaced Brilander, who
demanded anonymity in order to avoid hastening the
very process that attracted him to the place. Already
he sees signs of decline, most notably inappropriate
"improvements" unsuited to the island's
essential identity. And he's not alone.
Co-owner and figurehead of the chic Landing hotel,
India Hicks attracts attention because she's a
daughter of the decorator David Hicks and
granddaughter of the late Lord Mountbatten of Burma,
who was Queen Victoria's great-grandson. A bridesmaid
to Diana, Princess of Wales, a former fashion model,
and a distant heir to the British throne, Hicks
tripped alarms not long ago when she issued an
ominous prediction to London's society glossy Tatler:
"As soon as Harbour Island becomes St. Bart's,
we'll move on."
Many Sip-Sippers wondered aloud how she could say
that when the recent increase of attention paid to
the island has been in large part her doing.
Appropriately enough, Harbour Island's earliest
visitors were also aristo-Brits. In the 17th century,
the first white settlers arrived from Nassau. In the
next century, British loyalistsfrom America followed,
escaping the Revolution;the fourth earl of Dunmore
built a summer house and planned Dunmore Town, the
capital of Harbour Island. The town's neat grid of
shady lanes is still lined with the Colonial-era
clapboard houses that inspired someone to dub the
island the Nantucket of the Caribbean (even though
it's in the Atlantic).
HOW TO GET THERE
Much like its French West Indian counterpart, Harbour Island is not the easiest location to access.
The journey from the U.S. mainland requires a flight to Miami, Fort Lauderdale,
or Nassau, and then a connecting flight to Eleuthera, the neighboring island.
From there, it's a taxi ride to the dock, followed by a water taxi across the short
and beautiful expanse of ocean separating the two islands.
Last comments:
St. Barts is beautiful!!!!!....And busy. The restaurants are fabulous and the people are very nice. If you can do it...the lodging is $$$$$, I love St. Barts.
You have to rent a car here since taxis are not reliable. I can't say enough good things about the island. I found good deals at Emeraude Plage for a hotel. It is quaint and small and near the airport.
The staff is excellent. There is an outdoor kitchen, which we made use of for lunch. It was neat. The bathrooms are ok in size, but are not a/c.
The rooms are...king-sized bed. While it didn't compare to Eden Rock or the Carl Gustaf, it was fine.
When we visited Harbour Island, we ate lunch at The Blue Bar at The Pink House Resort. It was VERY upscale and yummy and I thought the other places we drove by looked quite nice too.
Harbour Island was more relaxed and much smaller, easier to get around on.
Price - Harbour Island much less expensive but we really enjoyed both.
Updated March 2019
