What was it like to vacation in St Barts during a time when the world was battling the coronavirus? Our clients might say that it was better than being almost anywhere else! Travel during the time of covid was complicated, however, the team at WIMCO Villas handled all the details, and made it as easy as possible. We will let the feedback from our clients speak for itself.
-Aayush G., Villa AYA, St. Jean
“We definitely enjoyed our vacation and thank you and your team for making the experience amazing. Our villa was beautiful and was kept clean throughout our stay by the cleaning team. Additionally, our concierge Lucas was very attentive and helped us out with anything we needed. Finally, we are extremely pleased with the WIMCO team for their hospitality and assistance in planning this vacation, and we will be recommending them to our friends who wish to travel to St. Barts in the future.”
-James O., Villa Romana, St. Jean
“I wish to thank Michael Chisholm and Thibault for their help at all stages of our planning and visit. I particularly would like to acknowledge the exceptional level of on-island service provided by Lucas. It was unquestionably the most accessible, attentive, and professional concierge service I have experienced in my 30 years of visiting SBH.”
-Lori S., Villa Ivy, St. Jean
“We had a great time! Ivy was beautiful and the villa was very spacious and comfortable. We loved being close to the store and the shops /restaurants. We ate at Eddie’s, Zion and Jo Jo’s. Eddie’s was very good and had a fun St. Barts atmosphere. Zion was a little too fancy for my husband but I loved it! Jo Jo’s is always a favorite of ours and we feel like a local when we eat there. The Covid testing was no issue at the pharmacy by the airport. We were glad we used Tradewinds because they guided us through the extra paperwork. Jo was very helpful and answered several questions we had throughout the week. We also loved not getting up early the day of departure and just hanging out in the villa. Thank you for everything you did!!! I’m glad it actually happened.”
-Nadege, Villa Costa Nova
“We really enjoyed our WIMCO vacation in St Barth from start to finish! The WIMCO service is – without hesitation – a 5 star one.
Early breakfast at the Bar de l’Oubli was a must. Florian helped organize a private day out on a Catamaran. For the first time, we discovered and fell in love with: Gypsea Beach Club, Bonito and Fouquet’s, the Carl Gustaf restaurant, Florian made sure we had tables with the best views. This was the first family trip we took since March 2020, and St Barth has it all: French savoir vivre, unique beaches, amazing weather, shopping that spins your head, the highest quality of restaurants, you can party like a teenager or just do nothing and linger by your pool. The energy on the island is special too, hard to put words to it, but definitely rejuvenating. The WIMCO team treated us like royalties, we have been pampered from the beginning to the end. We thank you so much for that and cannot wait to go back :).”
Susan B., Villa Rock U, Lurin
“I have to also take this opportunity to tell you that Jo was an absolutely fabulous concierge. He saved the day many times and responded to every request quickly and with gorgeous courtesy. St. Barth’s is such a special place, but having Jo’s support made the entire experience all the more exquisite. Thank you so much for having such a superb team!”
–Thomas R., Villa Domingue, Pointe Milou
“I wanted to compliment your company on the SUPERB service I received during my stay most recently in St. Barth’s. As a businessman with many employees, I am sensitive to how important it is to have employees who represent one’s company in superlative fashion. You have that employee, his name is JO! I have been traveling to St. Barth’s for almost 20 years and have visited 40 or so times during that period. I have never had such warm, proactive and detailed service than I experienced from JO. His response time to a text was within moments and his follow up to even the smallest request was amazing. It truly gives me great pleasure to write this letter and hope you pass on my satisfaction to whomever is appropriate. I will be returning to CEO on July 2nd for 9 days and hope that you could arrange to have JO aid me again.”
-Bob B., Villa Grande Large, Gouverneur
“As far as Grand Large, we loved the location as well as the pool and the deck. It just felt so much more convenient than Jasmine, and we loved walking to Santa Fe for lunch and dinner! We decided that Grand Large is truly one of the most centrally located villas we have stayed in! In fact, we found a couple of other villas we might like to look at in the future that were just a short drive down the road, on the way to Gouverneur, on the right side. Villa GEM, MER and AVN. We also liked that they had a bunch of beach chairs and an umbrella for our use
Also, Marco was able to get us in to see What Else! We absolutely loved it! The beds were bigger than a queen but smaller than a king, so we think they would be fine. The villa was beautiful with amazing views and great decor! Marco was excellent again! Looking forward to July!.”
-Josh P., Villa Shell Beach, Gustavia
“SO lovely and thank you Florian! From the four of us, I wanted to let you know how much we appreciate you, and Florian, and all that your team did to make our vacation so enjoyable and easy. It was the first time I’ve been on the island working with Wimco and now I can’t imagine doing it any other way. The only downside is that I don’t get to practice my French, making restaurant reservations over the phone until it eventually breaks down and I ask if they speak English. A small price to pay.
Also, your confidence in navigating us through the Covid precautions was invaluable. Without you telling us it would work out, and just looking online, I’m not sure we could have ever figured out all of the different protocols involving three countries across a continent and two islands, test types, timing, and vaccination cards. I think, at one point, you said something to the tone of, “Just get to the Caribbean and it will work out.” That became my travel anxiety killing mantra. I just knew that it was true from having been there enough times. So let your clients know that without you and Wimco, this rental would never have happened– or give me their email and I will. We’re all suffering from rosé withdrawal and the side effects of real life, but I’m sure we’ll recover and push through until the next time we get to call you again. Thank you.”
-Steve G., Villa Telemaque, Camaruche
“It was deeply endearing to return to St Barts after 24 years. My 14th trip. Though I have been to Nevis several times, Antigua, St Kitts, both sides of St Martin, St Croix, etc. Once I experienced St Barts magic, I kept returning. Your assistance in making it viable for me to visit was much appreciated- and I will return. Much is the same culturally, topography, foodways, residents and the 22 beaches. I also love the colorful tile signs at each beach now- a great touch.
To have accras several times at La Langouste and Eddys was fantastic. Plus lambis (conch) fricassee, vivaneau with passion fruit sauce was amazing– passion fruit creme brûlée too. Passion fruit has been one of my favorite flavors for over 30 years. I started most mornings at Choisy Bakery in L’Orient-heavenly croissants, pain au chocolat and some savory goodies and breads. Great and welcoming folks there and across the island. I stopped in Gustavia daily for meandering, selective shopping and conversations, iced lattes at Bar Oubli or Creperie. Overall a wonderful combination of memories of previous trips, reconnecting and savoring. Wimco staff on the island were helpful and I loved getting the NY Times digest, water and their responsiveness.”
-Amy O., Villa Avalon, Gouverneur
“Everything was wonderful! The villa was great. I really loved the location. It had less traffic than the St Jean/Lorient side of the island and it was very easy to get to many beaches as well as restaurants. We all really loved the catamaran experience and would recommend it to others. All the restaurants were amazing and even with COVID protocols in place it did not interfere at all with the experience. Most restaurants are outside and spaced apart as is. I don’t have any complaints. Our favorite restaurants were the new Carl Gustaf hotel (we went for lunch), Cheval Blanc for lunch, Eden Rock for dinner, Santa Fe for dinner, and L’Isola for dinner.”
-Glenn H., Villa Flamands Beach, Flamands
“The villa was great. As discussed, I am old school St Barth, and not into the super chic fancy nonsense, but the food at Petite Plage was actually good, and the staff friendly. Jo was great, and very attentive to our needs”
-Eric K., Villa The Source, Colombier
“We had a great time! I was very pleased with WIMCO. Thibault and Lucas were amazing and I’m grateful for all their assistance. The villa was great. Great floor plan, modern, and good location.”
-Peggy K., Villa The Source, St. Jean
“Just wanted to say thank you so much for your great work. We really enjoyed everything you helped us organize. We loved Greg at tennis. Lucas was wonderful. The restaurants were great particularly Santa Fe, Gypsea, Tamarin, Bonito, Shellona and of course Eden Rock for New Years. Bri was wonderful with hair and we really liked the yoga instructor Julie.”
-Christine M., Villa Rincon, Pointe Milou
“I wanted to let you know how HAPPY we were with our trip to St. Barts! Everything was amazing and your service was impeccable! We look forward to traveling again with your company. The Villa we ended up getting Villa RinCon was perfect!!! Thank you again for everything. Happy New Year.”
– Carol B., Villa Avalon, Gouverneur
“We had such a wonderful holiday, and are sad to be leaving today. Thank you for all of your assistance ~ every detail was perfect. I especially want to thank Lucas who was an EXCELLENT concierge – truly, he went above and beyond every time. It was wonderful service – thank you! We hope to return soon! Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year!”
-Heidi S., Villa Good Vibrations, St. Jean
“First of all, we are so pleased and very impressed with our entire Wimco experience. You, Heather, and the entire Wimco team made our trip super seamless and enjoyable!! We appreciate all of the recs and suggestions and restaurant bookings ahead of time. It was so nice to just show up and have everything sorted! Everything with GVB was absolutely wonderful! We had the best stay. It was the perfect setup and the BEST location, in our opinion. We loved being so close to Nikki beach and just a short drive to Gustavia! We’d totally be open to staying there again (hopefully someday soon!).
Florian was absolutely great!! I probably was a bit annoying with all of my questions but he was able to help with all of them and we appreciate all of his efforts (especially the early morning breakfast delivery)! I wish we had more time in St. Barths but we certainly made the most of it while we were there. The restaurants are phenomenal! We literally ate our way around the island. I LOVED Tamarin. It’s so special and intimate with the garden/jungle setting. And Fouquet’s up on the hillside is top-notch. Next time we’ll have to go back for the sunset!
Overall, considering the COVID-era times, St. Barths was such a breath of fresh air. Especially coming from LA where everything has been shut down for so long. It felt so good to be able to dine at restaurants again and explore the town with ease. We loved how everyone was so good at wearing masks. We felt completely safe.”
-Bob L.,Villa C’est La Vue, Pointe Milou
“We had a wonderful time! We especially loved the Governors beach- and, surprisingly, several of the beach clubs. Saline was beautiful. Tamarine and Aux Ami won our vote for nicest and best-food restaurants. I was very impressed with Marco, and used his skills and services quite a bit. He helped with reservations, car rental, securing a doctor when I fell ill, and helping with the Covid testing when Saint Martin rejected my original test. He’s great!”
-Glenn., Villa Cap Au Vent, Pointe Milou
“The trip was great. I remembered that there was a housekeeper that lived there, but I didn’t realize we got a delicious breakfast every morning- that was a great surprise. Thanks for making the dinner reservations, with the Covid we weren’t sure what to expect, as it turned out there often was room, but I think reservations would be recommended. There were very few visible hardships due to Covid. Some of the restaurants made an attempt to open up the space, others did not. The beaches had lots of people, but never too many to be uncomfortable. All in all it’s a very fine and comfortable place to be during a pandemic. Thanks again for the help with the Villa, the travel, and the dinner reservations. There’s nothing better than ST. BARTS.”
-Nick M., Villa Up Side, Pointe Milou
“Home safe and sound. What a trip, so amazing. Villa rocked! Kitchen amazing- like everything you need. So great. Loved the villa all in all and had a great price. Thank you and Florian for helping with reservations and arrangements. He was the best, honestly did such a great job. I know we came in late so it was hard to fulfill all our requests but it definitely was great and we are happy.”
– Mike N., Villa Grande Large, Gouverneur
“It’s so great to be back in Barth’s – what a great island. Thanks again for setting up another amazing trip. We’re having a great start to our trip. The view, especially sunsets are ridiculous from GGL and walking up to Santa Fe is sweet. We’ve spent the last 2 days fully at cheval and miss flamands – great beach. You and your team of Thibault and down here with Lucas are top notch. You’re the best! Have a merry Xmas and a happy and healthy new year.”
-Bob B., Villa Jasmine, Gouverner
“As always, our trip was amazing! The Villa was beautiful, and the 2 rooms we stayed in were virtually identical masters, so that worked really well for us. We were happy to be able to go to all of our favorite restaurants (Yeah! Santa Fe was open), other than Le Ti, which we will be excited to go to when they finally reopen.
I have to tell you that our on-island concierge Marco was totally awesome! He always responded immediately to any requests we had, and was so great in making all of our restaurant reservations, boat reservations, etc. In fact, I had a little mishap our first night there when I was unpacking and 2 shelves in the closet fell on my head…resulting in a large gash on the top of my head. He was able to get us a doctor to come to the villa the next morning, who glued the wound shut.”
-Amy H., Villa Pearl Beach, St. Jean
“We had an amazing time as always. Pearl Beach was great and we loved our room on the beach.
Highlights: Tradewind’s is definitely the way to travel- and loved the vip Service. Way better than going through sxm. We rented a St Barth sailor one day which was great. We love Miguel. Best restaurant was the Sandbar at Eden Rock. Mix of food, service, view- you can’t beat it. Lunch at Shellona was great also. Orega – we love the vibe and service. Greg is such a great host. But portions are tiny and expensive. We had lunch at Manapany which was quite nice – first time we had been. Very pretty. All in all a great trip. We loved it and so did the kids. Thanks for your service – made the trip so much more pleasant. Especially with covid testing and travel.
-Emily C., Villa Shell Beach, Gustavia
“It is an interesting time to travel! But…our stay on the island was great – no real issues with Covid, etc. It felt pretty normal other than wearing masks in town and going in and out of the restaurants. It definitely seemed less busy for the first 12 days, but then started picking up & getting much busier at the end. I am trying to think if there was anything weird as a result of covid, but it really was great all things considered. Tradewinds was amazing with helping you navigate through the San Juan airport- so if any of your clients are considering Tradewinds & going through San Juan I would highly recommend it.
We loved the new restaurant at Carl Gustaf – the views are spectacular and the food was great – so happy they reopened. We were worried that maybe the hotel would cause noise problems at our villa since it is so close, but we really didn’t experience any issues. Maybe in the busy season it might, but we didn’t have any problems at all. Oh – we also loved Kunigawa, the new japanese restaurant. It had a similar menu to Nobu which we love! Great atmosphere & we had good service too. I had heard mixed reviews on it, but we went twice and loved it both times. And of course the new Super U Marche is awesome! We just love everything about the island, and can’t wait to come back!”
-Michael E., Villa Silhouette, Anse des Cages
“We had a truly wonderful trip, despite the stress of getting the Covid PCR test accomplished within 72 hours of arrival… We have a day and a half of travel from where we live, so the timing has to be precise! The island seems as busy as ever. We noticed plenty of Commuter, Winaire and Tradewind flights coming and going every day as well. All the restaurants (L’Espirit, Bonito, Tamarin, La Langouste, Santa Fe,) were open, busy and offered great food and service. Our concierge was Florian, and he and the rest of the staff were quite helpful as always.”
-Jason V., Villa Summertime, Pointe Milou
“Everything was fantastic – as always. Marco took very good care of us again and it was great to see him. You were right about SUM – it was absolutely amazing. One of our new favorites for sure! As for restaurants, everyone agreed that Zion was superb – they are going to kill it… such a good location and they needed something high quality in that area. Goes without saying probably that Orega was maybe the best meal we’ve ever had on the island. Thanks again to you and Thibault (and Johna!) for all your help and Happy Thanksgiving!”
-Richard L., Villa Ivy, St. Jean
“Maura and I could not have been happier with our vacation and the WIMCO team. From Florian, to the housekeeper, to the restaurant picks and chef….everything was perfect. The Villa was Killa! Tradewinds was a pleasure to fly. Beaches are amazing. Can’t say enough good things and have already recommended you to some of my friends.”
-Mike M., Villa Lorient Sunset, Lorient
“We had the best vacation we could possibly have imagined. St Barts has everything we love. The beaches, the food, the bakeries, the rum, the villa. We would not change a thing. Yes we are interested in re-booking but I am just not sure when. As far as WIMCO services and staff ( Lucas was a gem) I don’t think we will be able to vacation again without you. Thank you for such a marvelous trip.”
-Linda B., Villa C’est Ma Vue, St. Jean
“We had an awesome time! Let me start by saying that we had a completely different experience in the villa this time. What a difference it made staying in the upstairs bedroom! It was so much more comfortable for us, and having the big, beautiful bathroom with all the closet space, the amazing view from the huge shower, and even the nice, comfortable chair next to the bed.
Life on the island was pretty normal. We went out to dinner every night to many of our favorite restaurants; some of which were pretty crowded (surprisingly, since it was so late in the season!) It was actually pretty similar to Tampa in that we had to wear masks while walking into any restaurant, but could take them off once we were seated. As for the grocery store and the shops in Gustavia, everything was open, and masks were required.
We did our usual Sunday afternoon at Nikki Beach for their party with the DJ, and it was fun, but definitely not the usual craziness. We were sad that two of our favorite restaurants (Mayas and Santa Fe) were closed, but otherwise made it to all of our other favorites. Our driver told us that only two of the hotels on the island were open, but that didn’t affect us as we don’t normally go to the hotel restaurants.”
-Jill Y., Villa Rivendell, Flamands
“We had an amazing time. The house was excellent, as was housekeeper and Lucas. Best dinner restaurant: Isola. Best lunches: Shellona, Nikki, Eden Rock. Best Beach: Hike to Colombier, and after lunch at Town Beach. The massages were great. Be well and hope to SBH again soon!!”
-Elizabeth H., Villa Belle Bague, Colombier
“We just got back last night – We had a great time and know you went through a lot of extra effort to help us get there successfully.. SO THANK YOU. – for your help! Villa was as nice as expected, clean and in really good shape. Thanks for the recommendation and we would definitely go back to Belle Bague again!
The island shops and restaurants were very welcoming – you could tell they are really ready for things to get back to normal. Restaurants were awesome. Marco was really nice in helping us with reservations and logistics all week.”
Note about the villa reviews on this page:
These are actual villa rental reviews from people who vacationed in St Barts. The people who shared these villa rental reviews were not paid, or provided with any incentives, to share them with WIMCO Villas. The concierges who are mentioned by name are all employees of WIMCOsbh, a concierge services company with an office in St Barts, across the street from the airport. The St Barts villas mentioned by name in these reviews are all represented by WIMCO.
