Time is measured here in the romantic hum of a prop plane. 

It’s so quiet here, so serene, that the only indicator of the hours of the day is the periodic arrival and departure of the tiny planes that are the gateway to St Barth. 

It’s easy to get lulled by the calm, abundant beauty, the shake of the palm trees, the indulgent absence of the busy and the frantic. 

And even on the endlessly glamorous island of St Barth, where there’s always action and energy, this place is a sanctuary. 

Les Ilets de la Plage is hidden away behind Remy de Haenen airport. 

You make a right at the St Jean roundabout, enter a code on the keypad and head down a winding gravel road, green fields on your left, the airport on your right. 

And when you get here, you discover a tree-covered oasis — the best-kept secret on the island of St Barth. 

There are just 11 villas here, some one-bedroom bungalows right on the beach, others multiple-bedrooms tucked in the hills, all just steps from the white sands of St Jean and all impossibly charming.

They’re all equipped with kitchens, Nespresso machines, fridges and everything you need to enjoy what remains one of St Barth’s greatest experiences: visiting the Super U and taking back the ultimate French delicacies right to your villa. 

There’s a simple, wonderful routine here: mornings with a book on the sand; strolls alongside the runway; ti’ punches just before twilight; dips in the palm-lined pool; evenings with fresh fish and baguettes and marvelous cheeses. 

And the comfort means you feel like you live here, no matter how long you’re staying, temporarily weaving yourself into the tapestry of the French West Indies. 

It’s a place that even for most on St Barth remains something of a secret, a place many know about but just as many have never actually seen, one that draws travelers back year after year as their part-time St Barth retreat.

It’s St Barth as it once was, and as it still is. 

But the best amenity is that feeling you get, peering out at St Jean, that you’ve found someplace very, very special. 

And for a few days, or a week, or a month, it’s yours. 

For more, visit Les Ilets de la Plage. 

The post A Secret Caribbean Hotel in St Barth  appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Michelin-starred chefs. Oceanfront cocktail bars. World-class rums.

The Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire is readying to host its most anticipated event in years: Bonaire Rum Week, the weeklong celebration of premium rum and culinary culture from June 14-17.

Bonaire Rum Week, which is organized by Caribbean Journal in collaboration with Tourism Corporation Bonaire, brings some of the region’s top rums across the island, shining a new light on Bonaire’s exciting gastronomic culture.

“We’re less than a month away from Bonaire Rum Week, and the response both locally and in the wider region has been tremendous,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal. “Far more than a dive destination, Bonaire is coming to its own as one of the Caribbean’s hottest culinary destinations — and Bonaire Rum Week is all about highlighting that.”

The event kicks off June 14 with an opening party at Rum Runners, the island’s premier waterfront bar, presented by Aruba’s Papiamento Rum.

The rest of the week is filled with rum-fueled events around the island, many of which still have a few spaces available.

That includes a Rum on the Beach at Plaza Beach Resort presented by Rum San Pablo (rsvp to  banqueting.events@plazabeachresortbonaire.com); the Bonaire Rum Week Cocktail Challenge at Tiki and Co presented by Diplomatico; and star Chef Britt Thomassen’s rum-infused lunch at the Harbour Village Beach Resort (contact reservations@harbourvillage.com)

The following day is a rum tasting workshop for bartenders by the team behind the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth.

On the afternoon of June 17, Bonaire’s leading local rum brand, Rom Rincon, will present a Rum Happy Hour at the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort (rsvp to fandb@diviflamingo.com)

The event concludes with a multi-course rum pairing dinner at the Caribbean’s number one restaurant, the Brass Boer, owned by three-Michelin-star Chefs Johnny and Therese Boer, followed by a cigar-and-rum party presented by Papa’s Pilar (there are just six spaces left, contact reservations@delfinsbeachresort.com to RSVP).

There’s also the recently-launched Bonaire Rum Week Photo Competition (you can send in your photo here).

“This is a new kind of rum festival, one that takes rum events out of stuffy conference halls and into the beautiful environments in which the Caribbean, and Bonaire in particular, specialize,” Britell said. “World-class rum and the remarkable beauty of Bonaire – what’s not to love?”

For more, visit Bonaire Rum Week.

For CJ’s other event, the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth in November, see here.

The post Bonaire Set for Major Caribbean Rum Festival appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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