THE FACTS ABOUT LA BANANE

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For a hotel to distinguish itself on St Barts, the most fashionable 8.3 square miles in the Caribbean, it has to be really exceptional. Now that La Banane has been completely refurbished by its new Belgian owners, the girls in Dior thongs have somewhere suitably fashionable to stay. There are nine one-bedroom bungalows, each painted a different colour with outdoor bathrooms and private verandas. The walls are clapboard, the Casa Milano beds are draped in muslin and the halogen lights are by Artemide. The swimming pool is at the centre of the action: irregularly shaped and flanked by metal sun-loungers. The service is beautifully efficient without any hint of too-beautiful-to-serve attitude. Unfortunately, La Banane doesn't have a restaurant, so meals are restricted to breakfast and a room-service menu featuring dishes from the chi-chi Café Massai next door. That said, Massai is currently one of the hottest restaurants on the island. WHEN TO GO Anybody who is anybody books in for Christmas and New Year. In July and August the weather is usually fine, prices are lower and everything (except Hermès) is still open WHICH ROOM TO BOOK Honeymooners will enjoy the privacy of the pink Grenada Room with its large garden CONTACT La Banane, Baie de Lorient, 97133 St Barts (00 590 590 520300; fax 276844; www.labanane.com). Doubles about £185-£230; Christmas rates about £425