Hurricane Irma

Following Hurricane Irma, the iconic hotel on Grand Cul de Sac debuts fresh look following design vision from Parisian designer Christian Liaigre…

Sereno Hotels has announced that Le Sereno St. Barth’s has reopened following the damage it sustained from the passing of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The decision to rebuild from scratch a significant part of the property came from the Contreras family with the aim to extensively renovate more than half the rooms and all the public spaces, while maintaining the iconic style of Le Sereno which has a devoted following among guests.

Le Sereno St. Barths was designed by the Sereno Hotels team, in keeping with the original vision of Christian Liaigre. The furniture for the new Le Sereno was also purchased from Christian Liaigre. With the high level of attention to detail and design-driven ethos, the new Le Sereno features the following:

• The entire Bungalow Piscine room category has been built from the ground up, featuring larger rooms and new interior design.
• Three new rooms have been added to the Bungalow Piscine category, two of which are part of a brand-new Family Suite offering that includes private pools for each suite.
• All-new waterfront Grand Suite Plage Sud rooms built from the ground up, featuring a larger bedroom and private garden with outdoor bathtubs.
• Completely redesigned restaurant with new bar, lounge and an all-new beach restaurant extension, where guests can dine with their feet in the sand. Le Sereno’s much-loved oak roof was rebuilt, and amazing views of the lagoon remain intact.
• Brand new spa and fitness facility with new treatment rooms and new fitness equipment.
• New garden space leading up to the Grand Suite Plage rooms, which will retain their classic look with new interiors.
• New on-site retail boutique featuring curated finds from French and Italian brands, including Milan-based.
• The total room count has increased from 36 to 39 rooms.

“The next phase of Le Sereno St. Barth truly ups the ante in the Caribbean with every room being touched with a fresh design.”

The iconic and much-Instagrammed pool at Le Sereno overlooking the Grand Cul de Sac retains the same look. The lobby building with its picturesque red doors will also continue to greet guests and each of the three, 7,000 square foot, four-bedroom Villas retain their much-lauded design, while the interiors have been refurbished and the private pools will now be heated.

“We are thrilled and eager to welcome back familiar faces and new guests to Le Sereno and we have been touched by the outpouring of support after Hurricane Irma,” said Samy Ghachem, managing director of Sereno Hotels. “Le Sereno has always been known as the most stylish hotel in St. Barth, and we are pleased to raise the bar in the Caribbean yet again.”

In keeping with the Sereno Hotels philosophy of building, owning and operating intimate, design-driven hotels in highly desired destinations, the next phase of Le Sereno St. Barth truly ups the ante in the Caribbean with every room being touched with a fresh design. For the entirely brand-new Bungalow Piscine rooms the designer “flipped” the previous parquet floors and white ceiling and now the ceiling is made of intricate oak carpentry while the floors feature warm white stone. New corner couches have been designed to fit seamlessly into the room and the ceilings are open and airy with an extended height of 11 feet at their peak.

The open-concept bathrooms are now air-conditioned, and feature custom made Iroko wood, oak and stone vanities. The Grand Suite Plage Sud rooms were demolished and rebuilt with entirely new finishings, a private garden with outdoor bathtubs and the floorplans have been reworked to allow for more living space. The waterfront Grand Suite Plage rooms, the heart of Le Sereno, now features new interiors, new technology, new furnished waterfront terraces, and a walkable garden in front of the suite entrances, to enhance the guest experience.

“The former Le Sereno was beloved by clients and in the past, when asked about potential renovations at Le Sereno, I always said that the hotel was almost perfect and that we continually invested a lot of money every year so that the property would keep its integrity. After the passing of Hurricane Irma, we had the unique opportunity to completely reimagine the hotel, while still making it feel the same,” said Luis Contreras, owner of Sereno Hotels. “We have applied our experience from operating the hotel for more than ten years to implement state of the art technology, while keeping all of what made Le Sereno so great. While the hotel is new, our loyal guests will feel that little has changed.”

“Building the new Le Sereno provided an opportunity to take environmental impact into account in every aspect of the hotel.”

The Spa at Le Sereno has been expanded and now includes three full treatment rooms, including the guest favourite waterfront pavilion, a coveted space for relaxation and the island’s only beachfront treatment room.  The new fitness room boasts the latest fitness technology and equipment.

The central heartbeat of the hotel is Restaurant Le Sereno, which features a new look while still maintaining 180-degree views of Grand Cul de Sac. A fully open-air concept, the space takes maximum advantage of the dramatic surroundings giving guests a water view from almost every angle.

Building the new Le Sereno provided an opportunity to take environmental impact into account in every aspect of the hotel. New solar panels, air conditioners with heat exchangers and LED lighting allow the hotel to offer new amenities to guests while significantly lowering energy consumption throughout the property. All of the new construction is made with sustainably sourced woods and stone. The entire property is outfitted with new windows and insulation designed to reduce energy consumption. Le Sereno also features on-site water desalinisation capability and grey water is treated and reused for irrigation; which allows the property to be completely “off the grid” from scarce city water resources.

Main image credit: Sereno Hotels