Laurie Smith

Les Îlets de la Plage was built in 1990 by the Lédée family, a long-established local family from St Barths who lovingly managed the property for many years.

In 2003, the Lédée family entrusted the management of the resort to two hospitality professionals, Laurie Smith and David Henderson. This marked the beginning of a thoughtful renovation program, updated décor, and a new strategic direction — all while preserving the original spirit of the place: a warm, family-friendly atmosphere and accessible rates by St Barths standards.

Laurie, originally from Brighton in the UK, on completing her Hotel Management degree in 1984, moved to Paris to study French and to experience the French 'joie de Vivre'.

She then followed her heart and moved to St Barths in 1988 and spent two years at The Hotel Guanahani before returning to Paris to work for the newly opened Hotel Montalembert. Moving on a few years later, she joined Château de Noirieux in the Loire Valley, but she remained an island girl at heart and returned to St Barths in 1992 as General Manager of Le Toiny, the sister hotel of the Château de Noirieux. Four years later, she returned to her native UK and became General Manager and Director of 22 Jermyn Street — a 5-star boutique London hotel, until it sadly closed for redevelopment in 2010.

Eventually, the call of St Barths and Les Îlets led Laurie home: in 2003 she took over the lease of Les Îlets alongside her business partner, David Henderson, and many improvements have been made since — but the original Lédée family concept remains the same: to keep Les Îlets as low-key and as relaxing a place as it can possibly be. Sadly, David left St Barths in 2011 (after 30 years as an islander!) to launch his own boutique B&B in Perth, Scotland.

Laurie continues to manage Les Îlets on a consultancy basis and, despite now living in the UK with her family, she can be found at Les Îlets every few months to visit alongside the team and to keep things 'ticketty-boo'! She strives to ensure Les Îlets remains the relaxed, authentic and serene resort that our many loyal guests so love.