Les Palmes, Colombier

Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the ocean into every main room, with local stone and hardwood finishes keeping the palette warm rather than stark. A separate media room gives the group somewhere to gather away from the main living and dining space, useful for a five-bedroom house where not everyone wants to be in the same room. Wi-Fi is strong enough for remote work, which matters more here than at a villa positioned purely for holiday use.

The infinity pool is built to blend into the ocean horizon rather than sit above it, and the surrounding terraces are sized for both sunbathing and full-group dining. A pergola provides shade over part of the terrace, and the outdoor lounge area is set up specifically for sunset -- the water-level position means the sightline to the horizon is uninterrupted rather than framed from height.

Each of the five en-suite bedrooms opens directly onto its own terrace, which is the villa's defining bedroom feature -- private outdoor space attached to every room, not just the primary suite. Blackout shades and generous storage are standard throughout, and the primary suite's terrace faces the ocean directly.

Les Palmes sits within Colombier, on St Barts' quieter western side, positioned lower toward the water than the hillside houses that share the area. The single access road keeps traffic to a minimum, and the villa's water-level position means a shorter walk to the coastline than an elevated Colombier property would offer. It's a short drive to the island's main dining and shopping in Gustavia or St Jean, with the tradeoff of a more secluded, lower-traffic setting at home.