Island offers visitors a cold shoulder

Snooty St. Barts is more Paris than Caribbean.

ST. BARTS, FRENCH WEST INDIES – Sailed into snooty Gustavia, the capital of St Barts, today and couldn’t wait to get back on board the Seadream I.

From the deck of my sleek Seadream I yacht, the Caribbean capital held much promise - I was impressed with the cotton candy coloured homes that cling to the side of the steep volcanic hills Gustavia is built around.

However, once ashore, I was less impressed.

Tourists appear to be an irritant to the residents of this South of France wannabe, whose U-shaped harbour is filled with million-dollar yachts owned by top French politicians, actors and sports stars.

The real estate in St. Barts ranks among the highest in the world and the corner store here is Louis Vuitton.

The euro is the currency in St. Barts and although most visitors arriving on cruise ships carry U.S. dollars, shopkeepers here refuse to accept the Greenback.

The narrow streets of this French West Indies outpost are always clogged with odd-looking cars and littered with dog poo – maybe that’s why the residents’ noses are always turned up.

St. Barts is the coldest place in the Caribbean – in terms of offering visitors a warm welcome and I cut my visit short.

Back on board the Seadream I, a loud cheer goes up when cruise director Jeff announces our next port of call will be the British Virgin Island town of Virgin Gorda – seems I’m not the only one happy to be leaving St. Barts.