The Ti Morne is undoubtedly the best value on SBH. The location is great - even the far more expensive hotels didn't enjoy the spectacular views we had. We had room 11 for 8 nights. The kitchen is outside on the covered terrace, which overlooks the Atlantic and a few small islands off the coast and is very private. The bedroom is a decent size, and the bathroom is a good size and was spotless.
The pool area was almost always empty, and also has superb views. Everything is clean and well-maintained.
There is an excellent bakery in Colombier (la Petite Colombe) where we picked up coffee and pastries every morning for breakfast. Food and wine in supermarkets is generally very cheap. The Match supermarket opposite the airport has the biggest selection.
Gustavia and St Jean were both 10-15 min away by car. Driving is a little crazy but you get used to it...
Other island notes:
After visiting all the beaches in the first few days, we decided that St Jean beach at the foot of the airstrip was easily our favourite. I imagine that it gets extremely crowded in high season, but in shoulder season it's great. At Flamands, Gouverneur and Saline the water gets deep quickly. At St Jean the sand is perfect and the water is very shallow for a long way. And of course there is the added interest of the planes taking off and landing. Flamands would be the second choice. Colombier beach is also very nice, and can be reached along a level and beautiful trail from Petite Anse, just past Flamands. Another, much steeper trail descends from the end of the Colombier road.
Do Brazil is a great beach bar on Shell beach on the edge of Gustavia. It's a great place to spend afternoons overlooking the beach with a few drinks. Caviar Island, in a courtyard in Gustavia, is a beautiful place for cocktails, and the BAZ bar on the harbour in Gustavia is likewise a great place to spend evenings listening to live music.
The best meal we had (by a mile) was at Le Sapotilier in Gustavia. Fantastic food, very friendly. The only place where we felt that the food was really worth the money - in fact it was very reasonable for the very high quality.
Hope this helps. We would definitely return to the Ti Morne. It offers great accommodation at a reasonable price which allows you to splurge on other things during your stay on SBH.
- Le p Tit Morne
