French Lessons

A new raison d’etre for the villas at La Samanna on St. Martin
By Jorge S. Arango - Photos By Chris Floyd

FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, La Samanna, the Orient-Express resort in St. Martin's exclusive Terres Basses (also known as the French Lowlands) neighborhood, has been a destination for jet-setters. Designed by famed architect Robertson "Happy" Ward-who built many elite Caribbean enclaves, including the Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados and the Mill Reef Club in Antigua-it has lured presidents (Nixon), aristocrats (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), fashionistas (Dolce & Gabbana), moguls (Sean Combs, Donald Trump), actors (Jeremy Irons, Jodie Foster, Harrison Ford, Daryl Hannah), entertainers (Oprah Winfrey, Whitney Houston) and others to sun on Baie Longue beach, pamper themselves at the Elysees Spa and dine at its world-renowned restaurant, now run by French-born and -trained Daniel Echasseriau.

Until recently, however, it was impossible to buy into the resort since virtually no construction had taken place since La Samanna's opening in 1973. However, in December 2006, Villas La Samanna debuted its first rental, and it is following this with seven more villas, six of which will be available for purchase for E5 million (about $7 million).

The villas will offer interior design packages starting at $350,000, but don't expect any of the usual Caribbean colonial cliches. "So much Caribbean decor defaults to the British or Spanish colonial model," says Cameron Zentz of Marc-Michaels Interior Design in Winter Park, Florida, who was charged with appointing the first villa. "But this is more eclectic, whimsical and very French," she says. "I purposefully created a tension between styles-rusticated French antiques next to more modern pieces next to an abstract acrylic painting by an American artist."

Architects Mauricio Lanari and Francois Jaulino provided the two-story whitewashed inaugural villa with terraces on each floor to take in the sweeping views of Baie Longue's private beaches. Then Zentz provided the vantage point: an enormous custom daybed she viewed as a "big play platform" for visitors surrounded by a custom teak sectional.

You do not want to compete with a view like that, of course, so Zentz was careful to keep everything "toned down and tailored," she says. That did not have to mean boring, however. Mixing upholstered goods from high-end manufacturers with custom furniture and antiques from Elephant Walk Interiors and Antiques in Orlando, Florida, these rooms are anything but homogenous. In the living room, for example, Zentz kept it muted yet luxurious, accenting the space with the occasional attention-grabbing piece. Two 120-inch sofas by Oscar de la Renta for Century, upholstered in quilted linen, face each other across a stone-topped iron coffee table. St. Germain rattan lounge chairs by McGuire and a simple sea grass rug add the requisite island ease. Then you get the showstoppers: an l8th-century French Mirrored console and an antique twisted twig table.

These types ofjuxtapositions run throughout the villa, creating surroundings that exude more character than most are accustomed to at the usual beachfront getaway, while cleverly evoking the island's rich mlx of cultures. A 19th-century Parisian carved oak buffet in the dining room shares space with an artwork by Carol Mann. In a guest room, an Asian lacquer wood bed, a contemporary sectional sofa and classic toile draperies span French eras and styles from colonial to modern. In another guest bedroom, an upholstered raffia cornice with nailhead trim cozies up to a quartet of 19th-century floral prints.

There is also a state-of-the-art kitchen stocked withViking appliances. Overall, says Zentz, "We were trying to maintain the charm and 'Frenchness' of La Samanna, which is the grande dame of the hotels on St. Martin."