Villa Cerf-Volant

High on a hillside in Mont Jean, Villa Cerf-Volant looks down over a coast of reef lined bays and rocky headlands, with small islets scattered offshore. Lawns and tropical gardens fill the slope below the house. The sea view is the main reason to book this villa in Mont Jean, St Barts, and the house itself has a classic, airy grace to match it.

The villa is white and traditional in spirit. Columns support gray hip roofs, and tall arched windows look out to sea. In the garden stands a sculpted white arch. Steps climb up through planted terraces to reach it. Inside, white and soft gray set the tone. Vaulted white timber ceilings are punctuated by round skylights, and arched French doors open the rooms to the terraces. Slipcovered sofas in green prints keep the living room relaxed. The large kitchen is built for real cooking, with a professional range under a steel hood and a granite island.

The free form pool has a beige stone rim over a mosaic floor, and it sits on a terrace right above the sea. Loungers and parasols line its edge. Columned covered terraces hold lounge seating and a round dining table for meals in the shade, and the lawns give children space to run. A private gym with weights and a treadmill means you can keep up your routine.

Three bedrooms sleep up to 6 guests, each with a king bed and its own bathroom. Tall white four poster beds stand in some of the rooms. The bathrooms are finished in yellow stone, with stone vessel sinks.

Mont Jean is one of the quiet residential hillsides on the north east side of the island, between Lorient and the bays of Marigot and Grand Cul-de-Sac. Homes here look out over those bays, and the roads are calm. Still deciding in Grand Cul-de-Sac? Villa Aigue-Marine offers 5 bedrooms for up to 10 guests with an upper sun deck with loungers and umbrella.

Couples or families of up to 6 will feel at ease here. For guests who want a villa in Mont Jean, St Barts that feels light and elegant, with a big sea view and a gym down the hall, Villa Cerf-Volant fits the brief.