A Group Trip Is a Logistics Problem Before It Is a Party
Eight or ten people arriving on a small island, most of them for the first time, rarely land together. Flights come through St Martin at different hours, one bag goes missing, and the airport closes at sunset. That first afternoon sets the tone for the whole week, and it is the part people underestimate.
So I start there. I know who lands when, someone is waiting, the cars are sized for the group and the luggage, and the house is open, cold and stocked when you walk in.
The House Is the Whole Trip
For a group, a villa beats hotel rooms almost every time. Everyone gets ready in the same place, dinner can happen at home, and the evening does not end in a corridor. Villas are also the side of the island I work on daily, so it is where I can tell you the most: which house actually fits ten people, which one has the terrace you are picturing, and which one looks better in photographs than in real life.
Decoration, Cake, Personalised Details
For a bachelorette I also take care of the things I would not set up for an ordinary stay: the villa decorated before you walk in, a cake for the evening you choose, personalised towels and robes waiting in the rooms, and the entertainment, whether that means a DJ or something the group already has in mind.
These are the only trips I organise that side of things for, so tell me the tone you want, tasteful and understated or not understated at all, and I build around it rather than around a standard package.
Boat Day, Tables, and the Evenings
A day charter out of Gustavia is usually the centre of the week: swimming stops, lunch on the water, back before dinner. Around it: restaurants, beach clubs, a chef at the villa for the night nobody wants to go out, a driver on call because there is no Uber here.
On tables, I will be straight with you. I ask early, I know the rooms, and I keep asking when a place is full. But I do not book on anyone’s behalf and I will not promise you a confirmed table that is not confirmed, especially for a large group in the season.
Someone on the Island While You Are Here
Plans change on a bachelorette week more than on any other trip. The weather turns, the boat moves, someone wants to add a lunch. I live here year-round, so the answer comes from the island rather than from an office in another time zone.