Chace Crawford Photo by: David Wentworth for Stoli

Chace Crawford may be a big star and one of PEOPLE’S hottest bachelors but he is clearly very grounded.

Chace turned 24 on Saturday and to celebrate he flew 15 high school and college friends from Dallas to New York to celebrate with the star.

“His hometown friends got along great with all his New York city pals,” a source tells PEOPLE.

The whole gang then flew on V1 jets from the city out to Watermill, New York, where they stayed at some private digs for the weekend-long birthday bash. “It was the best birthday Chace ever had because he was amongst his closest friends,” says the source.

The group barbequed, ate, drank and were treated to meals cooked by a private chef, according to the source. They also played games and went swimming. But it wasn’t all chilling on the sand: To raise the excitement level, they chartered a speedboat and went out in kayaks.

Keeping your true friends close is important. This makes us love Chace even more!