Spa Day at Le Toiny

During the low season in St. Barts several hotels offer some pretty good spa/lunch deals, one of which is at Le Toiny, a very exclusive hotel on the far southeast end of the island. The "journee spa" includes a 3-course lunch at Le Gaiac, pool access and a 90 minute spa treatment for 110 euros. After what we have seen so far this was an absolute steal! While I am trying so hard to add humor to this blog, it is just so difficult because there is nothing funny about this place or the service or the people (other than Suzanne and I, who are hillarious), it is ultra-elegant and classy and no matter who you are, you feel like a VIP. I hope that holds true for the rest of our trip. So far, I have been enjoying my new status.

Lunch poolside at Le Gaiac:


Chic decor:



The food of course was again outstanding, and probably one of the healthiest meals I have had in a very long time. We felt a bit odd being that we were the only people in the whole place, but then were glad about that fact when we found out that the "pool" that we could lounge at all day as part of our "journee spa" was right smack in front of the restaurant. Literally. It is actually part of the restaurant decor and is quite small. There were only 6 pool chairs available facing away from the pool toward the sea, but we later figured out why the accommodations seemed so short-handed: because each villa at the hotel has it own pool. I guess then there isn't really a reason to have a big community pool like at our fab hotel in St. Martin. If what we saw today was the lower end of VIP status I'll still take it.

Poolside:


I was a bit disappointed in the spa and the spa treatment for 2 reasons: (1) the spa was actually a small hut in the middle of a hill and (2) the facial didn't hold a candle, or even a match for that matter, to the ones given by Drita at Dita Day Spa in Chicago. I had expected a waiting area with fresh water, lounge chairs and incense but instead had to wait outside of the hut for the prior treatment to end. It was just odd. Then when my treatment was over, the woman never said anything and began packing up her things in the hut while I just laid there. Finally after 5-10 minutes I raised my head and said "um, excuse me, are you done?" and she said "oh yes" and had already filled out my bill. Maybe I should go to a spa in France to see if that is the protocol, but as far as I know, when your treatment is done they either tell you its done of give you some sort of signal like a pat on the head or something. I felt so violated....

I believe I failed to mention that while we were at Le Toiny, The Ambassador had agreed to arrange for transportation to the villa for my brother and nephew, who were arriving from St. Martin today via the Rapid Explorer Ferry. The ferry trip takes about an hour, compared to the 10 minute flight, but you don't have to deal with the airport hassle at Princess Juliana airport, so the extra time may be worth the lack of hassle, so long as there are no major swells that day. It was during my facial that it began to rain very, very, very hard (which sounded pretty darn cool on the tin roof of the hut) and while I was trying to relax, all I could think of was "oh great, they are on that ferry in the middle of this huge storm, they are either not going to make it or they will be so sea sick when they do". Apparently that thought was only a fleeting one because shortly thereafter I found that I had fallen asleep in the middle of my facial.

After my facial was done Suzanne informed me that The Ambassador had emailed and was already at the bar at Isle de France with my brother and nephew, waiting to take us out for dinner. We rushed home and threw on some non-poolwear and headed out for pizza at Le Bouchon, a casual locals hangout with a small outdoor dining area at a strip mall in L'Orient. I must say I was surprised at seeing a strip mall here, but its not like it was anchored by a TJMaxx or full of minivans in the parking lot.

On the drive over we saw lots of neat boutiques and shops in St. Jean that have made it to the top of our priority list for Wednesday. Its a much different feeling than Gustavia, which is full of the high-end french designer stores, I am very curious to see what they have to offer. The question now is, will Suzanne be joining me?? My brother, nephew and I left her with The Ambassador after dinner ........... (cue dramatic soap opera music here)