Saint Barthelemy, FWI – WIMCO Villas reports that the French Caribbean island of St Barths is “open for business” for the upcoming holidays. The island weathered hurricane IRMA on September 6, and since then has been restoring essential services, cleaning up roads and beaches, and repairing homes and businesses.
Establishing the five milestones required to be "open for business"
Essential services like electricity and water had to be restored to private villas and businesses, and grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies needed to have reopened. Achieved on October 2.
The beaches had to be cleaned up and reopened for swimming. The Collectivite of St Barths announced the achievement of that milestone on October 6.
A critical mass of restaurants had to declare they would reopen by December 15, including at least two beach front restaurants for vacationers to enjoy during the day. The Collective reports that 49 restaurants have declared they will be open for the holidays, including two on the beach – Shellona and La Plage.
Reopening of the “feeder” airports for St Barths in San Juan and St Martin, and resumption of inter-island service from Tradewind Aviation, Win-Air and St Barth Commuter. Those milestones were met on October 1 and October 10 respectively for San Juan and St Martin.
A critical mass of private villas had to be scheduled to reopen and fully operational by December 15, which WIMCO can now confirm.
Tracking the Progress of Recovery
WIMCO set up a website page to document St Barth’s progress towards these milestones here.
St Barths is Open for Business
“Today we are pleased to confirm that through the efforts of many remarkable people, St Barths has achieved the conditions necessary to insure that visitors will have a safe and memorable vacation,” said WIMCO’s President Stiles Bennet, “… which makes it “open for business” for the upcoming holidays and winter season. At the same time, let’s acknowledge that this year will feel different than recent ones… a few restaurants and hotels will not be open for New Years, however vacationers will be able to enjoy favorite spots like Shellona, La Plage, Le Ti, Bagatelle, Isola, Black Ginger, L’Esprit, Tamarin, Bar de L’Oublie, Le Select and Maya’s.”
WIMCO assisted in the island’s recovery by associating itself with two Gofundme campaigns (helpstbarts and stbarthstrong) , purchasing essential supplies and flying them down to the island, directing its local staff to join teams clearing beaches and roads of debris, and inspecting villas in conjunction with villa managers to establish reopening dates for each one.
About WIMCO Villas
Recently featured on the Today Show, Forbes Life, and HarpersBazaar.com, and winner of Travvy and Magellan awards, WIMCO offers a selective and personally inspected collection of private villas in the Caribbean and Europe. Well-traveled villa specialists match clients with the right villa for their lifestyle and budget, and then arrange every aspect of their trip, from setting up flights to VIP airport transfers to car rentals to private chefs and more.
WIMCO’s portfolio of private villas with concierge service includes properties on eleven Caribbean islands (including St. Barths, Turks and Caicos, Anguilla and Dominican Republic) and throughout Europe (including St. Tropez, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, and Mykonos). Start vacation planning at www.wimco.com, or speak directly with a villa consultant at +1 (401) 239-0319. WIMCO also runs a real estate office on St Barths listing many fine properties for sale. Inquiries for villa rentals or real estate sales may be sent to [email protected].
