Lure of St Barts, the Caribbean idyll where everyone's a star

Forget Whistler and Aspen, St Tropez and Monaco. If you're an actor, music mogul or model and you're not on the Caribbean island of St Barts, you should be wondering how you missed the party – and just when your star began fading.

The exclusive, six-mile-long French-Caribbean haven St Barthelemy is currently under siege from the beautiful people – and a few others who are simply very rich. Singing husband-and-wife duo Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z have been partying with Mariah Carey and her partner Nick Cannon, while "Smile" singer Lily Allen has been pictured having fun with the White Cube gallery owner Jay Jopling, recently separated from artist Sam Taylor-Wood.

The party really started on 28 December, when the American art dealer Larry Gagosian hosted a private party on Nikki Beach. The rock band Kings of Leon performed for guests including the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, designer Marc Jacobs and hip hop star Russell Simmons.

Then, on 30 December, the moneyed set gathered again at a party aboard Octopus, at 414 feet long, the sixth largest private yacht in the world, owned by Microsoft's co-founder Paul Allen. Singers Jon Bon Jovi and Robbie Robertson performed in jam sessions, entertaining guests who reportedly included Steven Spielberg and Denzel Washington, the supermodel Linda Evangelista and singer Billy Joel – a regular on the island who often holds impromptu bar gigs.

As new year approached, the Bond actor Daniel Craig and his film producer fiancée Satsuki Mitchell celebrated the last day of 2008 on board the Out of Africa II motor boat. The couple have spent the week on the island and have been photographed on the St Barts Petit Cul de Sac and Grand Saline beaches, picnicking with a friend's young daughter.

The island, regularly described as "one of the most romantic destinations in the world", has been the location for a growing friendship between 45-year-old Jopling and 23-year-old Allen. They were photographed embracing aboard yet-another luxury yacht. He has apparently "taken Lily under his wing" and she, for her part, is reported to make him laugh.

On New Year's Eve itself, Knowles, whose latest tune "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" has sold more 382,000 downloads, was at Nikki Beach restaurant, dancing and singing in the new year with Mariah Carey and her husband Nick Cannon, who jetted in from Aspen. Knowles has also been pictured on a jet ski and water trampoline during her break in the Caribbean with her partner Jay-Z on board the 50-foot yacht The Galaxy, which they are renting for a reported $200,000 (£138,000) a week.

Byron Shirto, sales team manager on St Barts island for the luxury tour operator Abercrombie and Kent, said: "St Barts has certainly got some cachet of exclusivity. The fact that food – such as caviar and oysters – is freshly flown in from neighbouring islands, or Europe, ensures the quality is consistently high." The small port of Gustavia, the capital of the island, is lined by designer shops such as Jimmy Choo and Chanel.

Mr Shirto said that he receives bookings from "very high-worth clients", adding: "We rent [out] a villa at Eden Rock for £105,000 a week, which has a fully-equipped recording studio and bathroom tiled with pure white gold. There's a golf putting room in the villa, and a croquet lawn outside."

For those who may not have £100,000 spare for a week's holiday to celebrate the new year, it is possible to find cheaper rooms. Just not for less than £1,500 a week.

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