One of Saint-Barth’s most iconic hotels is changing hands
After five years under Rosewood, Le Guanahani is entering a new chapter. Airelles is taking over the storied Saint-Barth address — marking the French hotel group’s first move into the Caribbean.
Saint-Barth has no shortage of exceptional hotels. Few, however, have been part of the island for quite as long as Le Guanahani.
Spread across a private peninsula between Marigot Bay and Grand Cul-de-Sac, the pastel-hued hotel has been one of the island’s most recognisable addresses for decades. This autumn, a new name takes over.
Rosewood will cease managing Le Guanahani on 1 October 2026, ending a five-year chapter that began when the hotel reopened in 2021 following an extensive restoration after Hurricane Irma.
Its successor is Airelles.
The French hospitality group has quietly added Le Guanahani, Saint-Barthélemy to its collection, with the hotel set to reopen as an Airelles Maison on 1 November 2026.
The move follows the acquisition of the property by Stéphane Courbit, founder of LOV Group and the man behind Airelles. More significantly, it marks the group’s first address in the Caribbean.
Until now, Airelles has kept its world decidedly European: Courchevel and Val d’Isère in the Alps, Gordes in Provence, Saint-Tropez, Versailles and, most recently, Venice. Saint-Barth is a departure geographically, though perhaps not in spirit.
Le Guanahani has the sort of setting Airelles tends to favour: singular, established and difficult to replicate. Eighteen acres, two beaches and a peninsula of its own certainly help.
The interest isn’t entirely new, either. Le Figaro reports that Courbit had already looked at acquiring Le Guanahani in 2019. Seven years later, he has his Saint-Barth address.
What happens next is the more interesting question.
Airelles has yet to reveal the extent of its plans for the property, and Le Guanahani hardly needs reinventing for reinvention’s sake. Its location and history have never been the issue. The intrigue will be in how one of France’s most particular luxury hotel groups puts its stamp on one of the Caribbean’s most established names.
For now, one thing is certain: Rosewood is leaving Le Guanahani. Airelles is moving in.
And Saint-Barth’s hotel scene just became a little more interesting.