We booked our villa in St. Barth’s through Luxury Retreats International Inc., an online platform for short-term home rentals with private villas in various locations throughout the world. The Montreal-based company provides 24/7 concierge services through Ici & La, a property management company in St. Barth’s. In 2017, Airbnb, Inc. bought Luxury Retreats.

Before choosing a villa on the island, I looked at several online and kept coming back to Villa Rose Dog. The house is on a hillside in Deve and overlooks the ocean and Toiny Bay. The quiet, private location was precisely what I wanted, and I hoped that all the website hype and reviews would live up to my expectations. The villa and property management staff at Ici & La exceeded them all, starting with Montana, who gave us our initial tour of the house. To her surprise, we declined “daily housekeeping” in favor of our privacy and for our convenience. We didn’t need clean towels every day, or even every other day. Water is at a premium on an island, just as it is in the desert Southwest, and much of the globe for that matter. Sustainability is a good thing.

Prior to our arrival, we had the concierge at Ici & La make dinner reservations at various restaurants throughout the island, and we asked them to prestock the kitchen with a few items, as we planned to eat at the villa on our first night. While David fired up the grill, I set out Brie, sliced a baguette, and poured wine. As the sun sank low on the horizon, we ate dinner—grilled chicken and vegetables.

For professional photos of Villa Rose Dog view their website at: http://www.st-barths.com/villa-rose-dog/en/home.html

October 11, 2018—Saint Barthélemy 2016: Lorient