My husband and I stayed here for six nights this month, and loved it! The owners, M et Mme Andrieu, were wonderful - and the staff was great. We loved Victoria and her sister, Marie Louise. They were so accommodating to every wish.
If you are looking for the Ritz (which we also love) - this is not it. However, it's great in a cute fun way.
We stayed in a bungalow that was right off the ocean- you can't possibly get any closer. The pool was nice. Breakfast was included - and very good with tons of fresh fruit. We enjoyed the restaurant, as well.
More Americans should discover Martinique - it's wonderful, so clean and it's just like being in France.
One of the best things was the other guests we met here. Clara has been coming here for many years. She has brought her beautiful granddaughter, Shaine, for the last 12 years (she's 14). We also made friends with a couple from Belgium- they were very sweet.
All I can say is that we were very sad to leave. I would recommend trying this place. We plan to bring our family back. You can't beat the price - and it was so tranquil!
11 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
We enjoyed our one week in Martinique.Visited: October 2006
Posted by yvongem
My wife and I stayed at this residence for one week
from the 26th of October 2006. We had a small room with a kitchenette on the balcony with a wonderful view of La pointe du Bout and Fort de France.
The place was clean, with basic furniture. The staff we met
was friendly. There was a daily cleaning service, too.
The only problem we had was with the Internet. We had been told there was a WIFI in the house, which was not free. One had to get a card, but none of their staff members knew where to get that card.
Eventually, we managed to pay for it online. Our credit card was debited, but we never got the service. Their hotline - which was more of a cold line - never responded. We noticed that Martinique was not so user-friendly with the Internet.
2 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
This is a good value hotel in Martinique.Visited: July 2004
Posted by james
I would recommend La Caravelle. It is family run, with English speaking owners, who are very helpful. The rooms are basic, but everything works fine (including a/c).
Also, the restaurant is particularly good. It is not cheap, but they take a lot of pride in what they offer - excellent local creole specialities.
La Caravalle is a very nice area to explore. Walks around to the end of point offer very dramatic views.
5 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Habitation LaGrange has a great atmosphere, but we had some reservations.Visited: February 2004
Posted by kattinger
We spent eight days here in February 2004 and we enjoyed it very much. It offered a beautiful experience of “colonial living” of bygone days, in a very relaxed way.
There was a beautiful tropical garden with a nice pool (no view of the sea though). The deluxe rooms were spacious, equipped with wooden floors, four-poster bed, two wash-basins, separate shower and bath-tub and separate bathroom. There was also a spacious balcony or front-porch to rest on in the dry during a tropical shower.
The staff was very friendly. The excellent dinners (accompanied by fine French wines) were served in a splendid hall, lit by candles, with ceiling-fans turning, a mural depicting colonial life and the classical music filling the hall just adding a tiny bit of decadence. As most guests used to stay away during the day, we had the garden mostly to ourselves which we considered a definite asset since quiet and relaxation were our main interests and we are not beach-goers.
There were certain weak points to be considered as well, though. The place seemingly struggled with the costs of upkeeping it in the prevailing tropical climate and environment.
This meant that while all the surfaces you got in direct contact with were clean, many surfaces which you did not actually have to touch (such as the undercarriage of the reclining chairs, seams between walls and ceilings, iron and wooden artwork) were falling prey to mold, rust and the tiny flora and fauna of the tropics. There was also some water damage to ceilings obviously due to leaks in the roofs.
The hotel was somewhat isolated, about 1.2 km inland from the main coastal road and as nothing was within easy walking distance a car is highly recommended. As stated already in the other commentary, the last 200 m of the driveway were in a dismal state of (dis)repair and I would not have liked to navigate it during a heavier downpour.
While drinks were served all day round, there were no snacks and the menu for lunch and dinner was the same (also as far as prices go). Although you could of course just have a salad for lunch.
A final warning to check one´s bill at the end as mine contained 98 Euros of miscalculations in the spreadsheets in which food and drink consumption had been gathered (out of correct 848,- or more than 10%). I attribute this to incompetence rather than malice (as it was easy to find), but still would have been left with a solid overcharge had I not kept track of my spending and demanded to check the details.
0 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
I arrived with five other travelers from the USA, including my husband. We expected much more that what we got. The rooms were like a throwback to camping when we were kids. We requested queen-sized beds and got twin beds. The rooms were clean as best one can clean something fifty years old and never updated. No air conditioning. We could never escape the heat. All three meals were eaten outdoors, with the birds, mosquitoes, and sand fleas. We especially loved eating breakfast with the birds, not. They are allowed to fly and land on the tables, doing you know what, along with attempting to eat breakfast. All eating utensils were left on the tables out in the open for the birds to get dirty, shall we say. All the drinks are watered down. Lastly, no matter how hard we tried, the staff would ignore us, how rude.
8 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful.
I hiked here from the coast road, and it was quite a hike. But it was worth it. The Leyritz was a very beautiful old sugar plantation with a mansion (closed during my visit). It had a lovely garden, and well-kept grounds. I skipped the vegetable museum.
2 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
We stayed at the Habitation LaGrange during our honeymoon trip to Martinique.
The staff was very friendly and accommodating, allowing us to see all of the available rooms and choose which one we wanted. Each room was very beautiful and they were all different.
We chose to stay in the building that was formerly the carriage house. Our room was very large. It had two large 4 poster beds and had a beautiful tile and rock shower and a bear claw tub.
The room also had French doors that opened out on to the patio where there were hammocks overlooking the pool.
In the morning, they delivered a full breakfast to our room. It was not a continental breakfast...they delivered bacon, eggs, juice, coffee, pastries. The food was wonderful.
We ate in the restaurant in the main plantation house twice and had a wonderful experience. We did not speak French and the waitstaff did, but they were very accommodating with us and very friendly.
This was the rainy side of the island so we were rained on quite a bit, but it was a warm tropical rain. We went swimming in the rain.
The road from the highway into the plantation was pretty bumpy and it was definitely off the beaten path. We thought we might lose our rental car in some of the pot holes, but we made it and it was a great adventure.
If I ever have the opportunity to return to the island, this is the first place I would go.
0 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
The best hotel for sports and meeting other vacationers.Visited: March 2001
Posted by embyrne
If you like to waterski or windsurf all day while meeting lots of fun people from other countries, no place beats Club Med. There is every water sport anyone would want, all included in the price (except SCUBA).
The location is also great, a short walk from Ste-Anne. The little cottages are darling, too, although it is clear the emphasis is on sports, food, and fun.
3 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
My husband, my children (ages 6 and 10), and I were all very pleased with Novotel's Carayou Coralia at Pointe du Bout. I used Novotel's website to book and got an internet rate.
The hotel was in a choice location, right on the ocean and just steps away from marina restaurants, shops, the ferry to Fort de France and 3 km from the golf course.
The hotel's grounds were in excellent shape and the tropical plants were all labeled for those with an interest in horticulture.
The tennis court was in good condition and in a prime location right on the water (watch the ball, not the ocean view!). Various complimentary water sports were offered to guests. They also had a nice pool with a waterfall.
The staff at the hotel was very friendly, and very patient with my halting use of French. They also took an interest in how we were enjoying our trip.
Our room was spacious, bright, well decorated, and in good order.
The buffet breakfast (included in room rate) offered boil-yourself eggs, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, fresh fruit, assorted breads and pastries, cereal, yoghurt, coffee, etc. The beach bar offered excellent lunch time sandwich baguettes. We dined at the nearby marina for dinners.
We have visited most islands in the Eastern Caribbean, and we found the staff at the Carayou to be amongst the friendliest and most efficient we have encountered. The hotel was rated as a 3 star, but due to the extra effort the staff made to make our visit enjoyable, I have rated our hotel visit 4 stars.
0 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
It is the most wonderful place on earth.Visited: November 2001
Posted by frank
This is one of the most beautiful places on earth!
It is not very expensive, and the son is a real crack in kitchen. You will love the hotel! You will love the beach. Take one of the bungalows. When you wake up in the morning, it is not more than 10 meters and your feet are in the warm water.
By the way... the water! It's just a dream! If you come here, don't miss the beach-bar "Chez Fredo", which is not far away. They have cheap and delicious lobster, and some rum. It is great.
18 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
La Caravelle is a small, friendly, family-run hotel built into the hillside of the Caravelle Peninsula, near the small town of Tartane.
The view is lovely. The restaurant is excellent, and is a particularly good deal if you take the modified American plan. The rooms are simple, yet clean; there is no air conditioning. Each room has a full kitchen on the balcony (refrigerator, stove, utensils), so if you want to prepare your own meals, you may.
Grocery stores are about ten minutes away, in and near Trinite. The nearby beaches are pretty and uncrowded; most tourists are middle-class Frenchmen. La Caravelle's husband-and-wife owners moved to Martinique from France; they speak good English and are very helpful. The hotel is a fine bargain.
3 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
There was nothing to be missed during our stay at the Bakoua, the end of the rain season in October of 2001. The accommodation was comfortable and the staff was helpful and really caring. The property was really great whether it was in the garden or on the beach.
I would really like to recommend dining at the beach restaurant "La Sirene," which offered (the quality of the dishes one can expect in such hotel) a spectacular view of the harbor and Fort de France. Those more interested in trying the excellent planter's punch at the bar will be offered the same view.
We absolutely enjoyed our stay and would be happy to return one day.
2 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
Close to transportation, shops and historic areasVisited: August 2001
Posted by aroundtheworld98
My boyfriend and I stayed at Hotel L'Imperatrice for 5 days. The hotel is very basic, but clean. The cost for a room is between 350F-420F and a simple breakfast of croissants, juice/coffee and fruit is included. There is a restaurant and cafe/bar at this hotel.
It's close to taxis and is in the heart of town where there are many shops, markets etc. If you don't know French, please carry a phrase book so at least you can get by. (We didn't come across anyone speaking English fluently.) Fort de France isn't safe to walk around at night if you're by yourself so be careful after dark. Near the hotel there's a shuttle service for 27F to Point de Bout (a beach and nice touristy town).
2 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Excellent friendly service in a beautiful settingVisited: July 2001
Posted by w57chev
We recently spent 10 days at Bakoua and enjoyed every aspect of this hotel. The staff was very helpful and friendly and the breakfast buffet was excellent. The accommodations were very comfortable and afforded a great view of the harbor and Fort de France, as well as some pretty spectacular sunsets.
The two restaurants we tried on property were both excellent, and the village very nearby had several very good restaurants also. We heartily enjoyed our entire stay and would enjoy returning here.
1 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
Actually I have stayed here many times before and the only reason I return is because I travel to Martinique on business and the hotel has an excellent windsurf rental shop on the grounds run by a person called Alain Millet.
The hotel is not so great at all. The rooms are clean and comfortable, the staff can be far from obliging and the food is less than desirable, especially the breakfast. The breakfast is an extra charge, but as far as I am aware, it is obligatory. It is badly presented, has poor ingredients and a lack of choice. The cooked offering you eat at your own risk consisting of congealed scrambled eggs, etc.
The grounds are okay, but are a bit like a barracks. The rooms adjacent to the beach though are nice, and very close to the water.
For eating go to the Marina in the evening, there is a good choice of restaurants and the food can be okay.
For windsurfers only: Alain's kit is good, BIC, AHD and Naish sails. The water in the bay gets very choppy when it's windy. At the moment, his choice of high wind boards is restricted although he says he has a couple of wave boards arriving. He has BIC widestyles and big sails. He is very fair also when it comes to charging; you only pay when you are on the water.
0 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Upon arrival, we noticed that the American flag was flying upside down. This was a harbinger of things to come.
The beach was pathetically small, the fence around the tennis courts was always locked, and the one dinner/show we sat through was touristy and dreadful.
The pools were adequate, but one was showing its age. The breakfasts were very good.
2 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful.
Caribbean 
Hotel Diamant Les Bains is a very quiet and nice place. 
We loved this hotel! 
We enjoyed our one week in Martinique. 
Very Disappointed. 
What a gorgeous place! 