e flew to St. Barthelemy (a.k.a. St. Bart's) from Anguilla in October. That same afternoon, Mariah Carey sailed over from Anguilla and rented a villa for a few days. Although she didn't find time to socialize with us, we spotted her dining at the Carl Gustaf (one of the few restaurants open the second week of October), and shopping in Gustavia, body guards nipping at her gracefully elevated heels.

Otherwise, St. Bart's was quite quiet - it was our first visit to the island during its off- off-season. This is the month or so between summer and fall, when locals shutter most businesses for lack of visitors and hope to dodge the annual tempests that wend their way through the region in September and October. Fortunately, no Caribbean hurricanes did harm this year (other than to Belize's barrier reef islands), so a lot of people have high hopes for the season. On St. Bart's, much effort was put into restoring the island's beaches earlier this year - they have been ravaged by three major storms in the last five years and were looking worse for the wear. Today, coves like Shell Beach, Colombier, and others look better than they have in years. Magnifique!

But we promised you the inside scoop on St. Bart's, so here's a guide to what's hot for 2001. First, our pick for top restaurants include Michael's at Eden Rock, Le Gaiac at Le Toiny, and François Plantation. You will not find a better meal in the Caribbean than the ones offered at these three. Of course, not every meal should be gourmet, so a notch less refined (but still wonderfully satisfying) is Eddy's, Le Sapotillier, Au Port and the new Route de Boucaniers for Creole food. Maya's continues to be a popular celeb hangout (we're told that actor Steve Martin dines here almost every night when he is on island, which is several times a year). The eponymous, gap-toothed, bedroom-eyed Boubou has now established a small empire of eateries on the island. In addition to Mandala (wonderful sunset views of Gustavia), he opened Boubou's at El Sereno Beach Hotel (the place to see and be seen and featuring the latest groove from Paris is spun by a DJ). On Valentine's Day 2001, Boubou is debuting a new restaurant that is a co-venture with tennis star Yannick Noah, called Do Brazil (we plan to – stay tuned!). It is located on Shell Beach and will have a Brazilian atmosphere.

Hotel news - well there's pas beaucoup (that's not much, bub) to report here. Our favorite low-cost landing, the Sea Horse, has been converted into condos (shame!). A good alternative is the Villa Creole, one of the island's oldest establishments, and run with good cheer by the Charneau family. This is where Craig Clayborne stayed for 18 Christmases during his annual Caribbean sojourns. The location is good: just up the steep hill from Eden Rock in St. Jean (the beach is a five-minute walk downhill, but there's also an attractive pool). Rates are PRICEY, reservations: 800-651-8366.

Top two hotels on the island continue to be Le Toiny and the Carl Gustaf, but the smashing and eclectic Eden Rock is probably our favorite. If a boutique inn is not your cup of tea, check into the 28-room Isle de France, which recently changed hands. This was always a good operation (and located on an excellent beach, Flamands), but it just may become even finer. You'll pay top, top dollar for rooms on the beach, so we think the ones in the gardens in back are a much better buy. Incidentally, the restaurant here, La Case de l'Isle, is superb - we had a very satisfying lunch (where the seaside view is great) and dinner here on our last visit.

Alas, the wonderful mini-Mokes and Gurgels that used to populate the Bartian landscape are being phased out. We rented a Smart Car, a hilariously puny little vehicle, new for this season. We must admit, the Smart Car seats two fairly comfortably - just don't bring much luggage, and note that you'll need a running start to ascend some of the island's many steep hills.

Another major piece of news is that the one-way road leading out of Gustavia (toward St. Jean) is still closed following a landslide (brought on by Hurricane Lenny last year). The solution is complicated and expensive, so heavy traffic in and out of town will continue for the near term. In fact, traffic - even at the end of October when tourists were just starting to arrive - is becoming a major bugaboo for the island. Everyone on St. Barts knows it, but no-one wants to bite the bullet and propose public transportation. Admittedly, a prime attraction of this island is the joy of navigating its sights and attractions independently (we still chuckle about the day five years ago when a solo Whitney Houston couldn't find a parking place at Eden Rock and gave up!). And let's face it, the rich and famous don't do public transportation although if they used stretch limos… In any event, will traffic and over-development in general be the death of the goose that laid the golden egg?

Other tidbits from St. Bart's: a new City Hall is being built at the entrance to the Gustavia harbor (on the peninsula of land where the Wall House sits), and a new airport terminal is being constructed next to the current one and should be open in spring 2001. Other celebrities visiting during our stay included David Letterman (who owns a home here, plus a precious piece of storied real estate called Autour du Rocher), and we dined at Le Toiny's superb Le Gaiac restaurant at a table next to Sandra Bernhardt, who was touring the island with an attractive female companion (and listening to every word we were saying!).

ot all our news comes from St. Bart's this month. Management of the 200-acre, 155-room Carenage Bay resort in sleepy little Canouan has been taken over by Dallas-based Rosewood Hotels and Resorts on November 12. This is the same company that operates Little Dix Bay and Caneel Bay in the Virgins, and we think they are a great fit for the troubled Canouan resort, a $160-million luxury property that opened in 1999 to little fanfare. Among the features: a par-72, 18-hole golf course, a Euro-style casino, enormous swimming lagoon, and a smashing architectural style. Although the property overwhelms this tiny little Grenadine isle, it may well become the next hot new destination for world-weary types. Rates are A SWISS BANK ACCOUNT; reservations 888-ROSEWOOD.

nother long-in-the-birthing resort, the Hilton Tobago, finally celebrated its grand opening on November 1. 2000. We last visited Tobago in September 1999, when the hotel was scheduled for a November 1999 debut. At the last minute, our scheduled site inspection was canceled, due to "inclement weather." We always suspected the excuse didn't exactly ring true - now we know why. The 750-acre, $35 million resort sits on a 5,000-foot-long Atlantic-facing beach a couple miles north of the island's Crown Point airport. On the site is a 90-acre natural lagoon, a 60-acre mangrove forest, tennis courts , beachfront swimming pool with swim-up bar, and four restaurants; an 18-hole championship golf course will open in 2001. Or so they say. For this winter, rates are VERY PRICEY (a good deal); reservations: 800-HILTONS.

bigger catastrophe is what happened to the Toronto-based Cuba Cruise Corporation's inaugural trip from Nassau to Havana. Despite getting tons of publicity (including a mention from us a few months back), the trip was canceled in early November because the company's owner, Sam Blyth, reported his family and company had become the victim of bomb threats. The story is marginally believable - what with the Elian-deprived of Miami stirring up trouble whenever the words "Cuba" and "tourism" get close enough for a kiss - but for the fact that Mr. Blyth was also the head of the now defunct World Cruise Co. If that company doesn't ring a bell, maybe this will: World was the cruise line that started around-the-world cruises last year, but stranded passengers in Tahiti when the company ran out of money. Blyth says Cuba Cruise Corporation may still sail - maybe even in time to swing by that golf course in Tobago. Meanwhile, if you're still jones-ing for a Cuba trip by cruiseship, note that the 550-passenger, Italian ship Valtur Prima departs every Friday from Montego Bay, Jamaica, with stops in Grand Cayman; Calica, Mexico; Havana and Isle of Youth, Cuba. Rates start at $1,095 per person; reservations: 877-818-CUBA.

ir service into the Caribbean continues to diversify and offer new options. While there's still no word on American Eagle resuming service into Martinique (they shut down the flights last December following a heated strike) TNT Vacations is launching a weekly charter flight out of Boston starting January 1 - seven-night packages will be available for Monday departures. Also out of Boston is new service on Air Jamaica to Montego Bay, Jamaica - five-days-a-week service will start February 15.

e'll be back in January with the latest from the U.S, Virgin Islands. Until then, have a rum-filled Christmas and a jammin' New Year (and see you at Foxy's!).