My Way

The newly built Villa My Way (MWY) in fact lets its privileged occupants have it both ways. The first thing that catches your eye after you ascend the steps—which themselves are designed to represent a piano—is a gleaming black-lacquered grand piano, given pride of place in the living room under a curvaceous midcentury-modern lamp. Photos of Frank Sinatra hang on the walls, and a quote from “My Way” decorates the backsplash behind the stove in the open kitchen.

A sense of retro glamour permeates this luxury villa in Colombier, one of the finest new rental properties in St. Barth. But guests’ way of making themselves at home here doesn’t have to involve only unplugged pleasures like tickling the ivories, settling into the sleek Corbusier chairs for intimate conversations, or soaking up the beautiful views of the sea and the islands of Bon Homme and Fregate. Villa My Way (MWY) is also tricked out with marvelous technology. The furniture on the terraces becomes softly illuminated by night, the kitchen is well equipped with gadgetry and walk-in cold room, and the living room is transformed into an entertainment center when a large screen drops down from the ceiling and a projector is turned on.

There is no compromising in Villa My Way. Guests have sublime privacy, thanks to the private entrances into each of the five equal-size bedrooms, and myriad ways to amuse themselves, whether reveling in Rat Pack nostalgia, losing themselves in sea and sky views, or watching a movie indoors. This makes MWY an excellent choice for extended families with adult children, groups of friends traveling together and even corporate retreats.

The overall look is sleek and modern, with cool slate gray floors, horizontal lines, low-slung furnishings, walls made entirely of glass, and carefully deployed pops of color amid the soothing seas of white: an orange wall in one of the bedrooms, or a canary yellow table paired with black and white Philippe Starck chairs. Space is abundant, both in the expansive indoor and outdoor living areas and in the five bedrooms (three upstairs and two downstairs) with private bathrooms. Downstairs there’s also a fitness room with top-line equipment and floor-to-ceiling mirrors to reflect the ocean view. There’s also a large, covered parking area.

But the best ocean view, of course, is to be had from the infinity-edge pool that stretches the length of the terrace, or from the Jacuzzi and sun loungers outside. There are whimsical features too, like a pool that’s just deep enough to float in on a chaise, and a window in the main pool that gives guests a glimpse of what’s happening in the water as they make their way up the stairs from the downstairs bedrooms and fitness room.

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Nirvana

In Buddhist teachings, Nirvana is the ultimate peace of mind. In Hinduism, it is the union with the divine and the experience of bliss. In St. Barth, Villa Nirvana (NIR) is a serene temple of design, where bliss and peace are easily realized. In the uniquely 21st-century rental property, unusual architecture and contemporary art set the stage for a visual audacity unprecedented in St. Barth and probably in all the Caribbean. An almost monochromatic universe creates an air of contemplation, until splashes and touches of color interrupt like the unexpected sound of laughter. Chic and yet comfortable, Villa Nirvana is a level above.

One of the largest and most luxurious vacation homes on the island, Villa Nirvana (NIR) is very well suited to large groups of friends or families—each of the bedrooms is quite private, with its own entrance—particularly those who like to host small gatherings or celebrate an intimate event in high style. The professional kitchen would allow a private chef, perhaps one hand-chosen by our concierge, to flaunt his skills.

Villa Nirvana also swaddles you in divine comforts and frees you from domestic cares, as it has hotel-quality linens and other amenities, and professional housekeeping. There’s also a good fitness room in the back. Daily breakfast and turn-down service every night except Sundays and holidays are included for guests in the rates year-round, making the villa a choice for anyone who wants the star treatment and convenience found in a hotel—but wants to have it all to themselves.

And when you enter your private hideaway, you’ll discover a spacious living area with an LED-lit Ingo Maurer coffee table and Corbusier chairs. Larger mirrors enhance the feeling of space, sending your gaze back to the sea, visible through the open air where the fourth wall should be. A terrace stretches out along the side, capped by a 22-meter-long heated pool, which is ideal for swimming laps, and edged by a dining table that comfortably seats ten. The bedrooms, all in separate cottages with photographs by Elisabeth Montagnier, are no less stylish and serene.

There’s more than enough in Villa Nirvana (NIR) to delight the senses—and for guests who book for a week or longer, two massages are included but should you choose to leave this otherworldly sanctuary, the buzzing worldiness of Gustavia is just a five-minute drive away.

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Vitti

From the very first moment you set foot in Villa VIT, you know you have discovered a place of truly exceptional levels of aesthetic achievement and quality construction. The vast, white-tile terrace and clear blue infinity pool represent the epitome of clean, modern lines, and looking out at the view reminds you that your location is unsurpassed as well. Villa VIT is perched on the Lurin hillside looking down over Shell Beach, the turquoise Caribbean sea stretching off to the horizon, where the silhouettes of Statia and Saba are visible on a clear day.

Even on the terrace, the thought and care devoted to the selection of Villa VIT’s furnishings is evident: the lacquer-like finish of a Maiori Studios dining table gleams in the sun, sail-shaped parasols offer shade by the pool, a polished-concrete wet bar with two refrigerators is just a few steps away. The living room and indoor dining area open directly onto the terrace and the view; sliding glass doors and air conditioning can turn the space into a cool retreat from the sun. The living room transforms into a home cinema at the touch of a button, with a surround-sound stereo and a large HDTV that rises out of the floor. On the interior side of the living area is a peaceful and secluded Zen garden, surrounded by bamboo trees and offering a soothing atmosphere, with a gentle fountain and a cooling misting system. Adjacent to the living and dining area you will find the convenient and excellently equipped kitchen.

The first of Villa VIT’s five bedrooms is on the pool level, with a four-poster, Italian-design king bed, hardwood floors, and an extraordinary ensuite bath with a Bossini rain-head shower that illuminates the water droplets in whatever color you choose. Feel like relaxing with a film in your room? The HDTV rises out of a hidden panel in the floor at the foot of the bed. Adjacent to this room is the second bedroom, also with a king bed and ensuite bath as well as a small, private outdoor garden.

To one side of the lower level of Villa VIT we have two more bedrooms, each thoughtfully furnished and decorated in a clean, contemporary style, one in blue and the other in orange. To the other side, there is second master bedroom with a hidden HDTV, dressing area, and a pebble-stone motif throughout.

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Palm Springs

Drawing inspiration from the streamlined 1960’s elan of its SoCal namesake, as well as from the ingenious works of the renowned architect Dame Zaha Hadid, Villa Palm Springs (GEM) glows with the energy of a clear aesthetic ideal. The main structure of the property refines and reinvents the West Indies “case,” the simple one-story design of four walls and a pyramidal roof seen throughout the islands. Here the roof is elevated above the interior living space until they are effectively separated, and the kitchen, living/dining area, and master bedroom suite comprise a free structure beneath the peaked roof. This “cube within a cube” is shifted by just a few degrees so that it faces slightly more west than the exterior walls around it, accentuating its independence and guiding the viewer’s eye to the blue horizon as well.

Villa GEM’s large living area and kitchen are completely open to the terrace, pool, and spectacular view of the Caribbean Sea, thanks to an ingenious system of floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. Two entire walls vanish out of sight without any supporting columns remaining, breaking down the definitions of indoor and outdoor. Just outside the living area, a hardwood dining table seating ten is sheltered by a cantilevered roof. During the morning, the living area and the convenient and open kitchen appear as a cool refuge from the sun, while they are fully illuminated by sunlight throughout the afternoon. In the evening, well-placed recessed and indirect lighting give the space a warm and welcoming ambiance. The wide deck around the infinity pool offers the comfort of chaises in the sun as well as a shaded seating area beside the garden of bougainvillea and coconut palms.

The master bedroom suite continues the same level of design consciousness, with custom cabinetry in Brazilian wenge wood, polished concrete floors and carefully planned lighting. The ensuite bath offers facing Jack and Jill vanities and a pebble-stone tiled, rain-head shower. Villa GEM’s three other bedrooms, each with its own private bath, reflect the stylistic influence of the master bedroom re-imagined in different color schemes. The woodwork and upholstery throughout evoke an updated sense of 1960’s lines and form, perfectly adapted to a tropical setting. In a crowning touch right out of a Bond film, one of the bedrooms provides a picture-window view into the crystal-clear water of the infinity heated pool. Also on the lower level is an air-conditioned fitness room with treadmill and step machine, as well as a secluded outdoor space perfect for yoga or massage.

Villa GEM offers a rare blend of tropical immersion and sophisticated design–palm trees and sunsets alongside white-leather upholstery and Slim Aarons photographs. It is the realization of the dream of its owners, an exceptional home in an exceptional Gouverneur location, among the most desirable on the island.

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