Joelle
Jan 25, 07, 9:39 am
We flew end of December from Paris for a two week stay in sunny Martinique.
On arrival we collected our rental car and made our way to La Frégate Bleue, a small hotel/guesthouse, located on the south-east cost of Martinique.
This is in fact a charming address located at the very end of a very bumpy road.
Actually this is not really a hotel, but a "home" where Mrs de Lucy personally greets you every morning, does her best to run this 10 room unit, and makes suggestions for you to discover this island.
Rooms are rather large with old pieces of furniture, those on the upper floor having a wonderful view over the ocean and the nearby isles. However sound insulation is not always perfect... :(
Breakfast and dinners on the terrace were very nice moments. A few birds and many lizards kept us company.
Breakfast choice may be a bit limited, but dinner quality and service were fine.
After 5 days at Fregate Bleue we moved to a more tourist place called Les Trois Ilets located right in front of Fort-de-France bay and stayed at the Sofitel Bakoua.
We stay around 10 years ago at this place and did not like it all. Having checked that several reviews showed some improvement, we decided to test it again.
First of all, rooms have been nicely refurbished, but are always small (between 20 and 25 sqm terrace included).
We stayed in the Beach section (upper floor) and had the opportunity to meet with Miss Marie-Cecile, Housekeeper in chief at the Bakoua, a very impressive and very beautiful lady, 6 feet tall, who is an expert at the art of making your husband stop working. She even promised to take his computer and cell phone away during our stay. Great lady !!! ^
One important thing in this hotel is that service has really improved (housekeeping, restaurants, and even Front desk which used to be terrible).
The hotel enjoys a great view on Fort-de-France bay. Breakfast and dinners choices were varied and of a good quality. The bar stocks more than 100 rum types.... No driving after such an experiment… ;)
The Hotel Manager is very present and keep a smiling but firm eyes on his troops! But he does not forget to greet customers!
The beach itself is not big, but carefully maintained by a dedicated team. Plenty of deckchairs. No need to run in the morning to get one. However the hotel was not full.
We were really wondering about this choice, but all in all it was a good surprise.
To end our stay in Martinique we had decided to go for a splurge at the Cap Est Resort located south-east of Martinique, member of Relais et Chateaux network.
This is a high-end resort, the first one actually in Martinique.
Suites are minimum 55 sqm in size up to 130 sqm.
We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a De Luxe Suite (60 sqm) with a small plunge pool giving on the sea.
Service was excellent but not always faultless. Anyway this resort beats overall all the other places in Martinique. Prices are (of course) very high, I would even say "overpriced", notably for sightseeing and Spa.
Breakfast was very nice and the gastronomic restaurant in the evening offers a very high quality food on par with Parisian top restaurants. Still expensive of course, but definitely worth it!
Nice swimming-pool. The beach area looks a bit weird, since seaweed invades the shore. We've been told it was coming back regularly despite all efforts to remove it. This maybe is the weakest point in this resort.There is also a Sport center where you can practice kite surfing.
Our two weeks just passed through very quickly. We went to see the Montagne Pelee, St Pierre, drove along the north-east Atlantic coast, and enjoyed the shores in the south.
Many good restaurants on the way too…
Weather was excellent (just one partly rainy day) during the two weeks.
Not that many tourists… and wonderful landscapes.
It’s nice to be French sometimes…. ;)
On arrival we collected our rental car and made our way to La Frégate Bleue, a small hotel/guesthouse, located on the south-east cost of Martinique.
This is in fact a charming address located at the very end of a very bumpy road.
Actually this is not really a hotel, but a "home" where Mrs de Lucy personally greets you every morning, does her best to run this 10 room unit, and makes suggestions for you to discover this island.
Rooms are rather large with old pieces of furniture, those on the upper floor having a wonderful view over the ocean and the nearby isles. However sound insulation is not always perfect... :(
Breakfast and dinners on the terrace were very nice moments. A few birds and many lizards kept us company.
Breakfast choice may be a bit limited, but dinner quality and service were fine.
After 5 days at Fregate Bleue we moved to a more tourist place called Les Trois Ilets located right in front of Fort-de-France bay and stayed at the Sofitel Bakoua.
We stay around 10 years ago at this place and did not like it all. Having checked that several reviews showed some improvement, we decided to test it again.
First of all, rooms have been nicely refurbished, but are always small (between 20 and 25 sqm terrace included).
We stayed in the Beach section (upper floor) and had the opportunity to meet with Miss Marie-Cecile, Housekeeper in chief at the Bakoua, a very impressive and very beautiful lady, 6 feet tall, who is an expert at the art of making your husband stop working. She even promised to take his computer and cell phone away during our stay. Great lady !!! ^
One important thing in this hotel is that service has really improved (housekeeping, restaurants, and even Front desk which used to be terrible).
The hotel enjoys a great view on Fort-de-France bay. Breakfast and dinners choices were varied and of a good quality. The bar stocks more than 100 rum types.... No driving after such an experiment… ;)
The Hotel Manager is very present and keep a smiling but firm eyes on his troops! But he does not forget to greet customers!
The beach itself is not big, but carefully maintained by a dedicated team. Plenty of deckchairs. No need to run in the morning to get one. However the hotel was not full.
We were really wondering about this choice, but all in all it was a good surprise.
To end our stay in Martinique we had decided to go for a splurge at the Cap Est Resort located south-east of Martinique, member of Relais et Chateaux network.
This is a high-end resort, the first one actually in Martinique.
Suites are minimum 55 sqm in size up to 130 sqm.
We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a De Luxe Suite (60 sqm) with a small plunge pool giving on the sea.
Service was excellent but not always faultless. Anyway this resort beats overall all the other places in Martinique. Prices are (of course) very high, I would even say "overpriced", notably for sightseeing and Spa.
Breakfast was very nice and the gastronomic restaurant in the evening offers a very high quality food on par with Parisian top restaurants. Still expensive of course, but definitely worth it!
Nice swimming-pool. The beach area looks a bit weird, since seaweed invades the shore. We've been told it was coming back regularly despite all efforts to remove it. This maybe is the weakest point in this resort.There is also a Sport center where you can practice kite surfing.
Our two weeks just passed through very quickly. We went to see the Montagne Pelee, St Pierre, drove along the north-east Atlantic coast, and enjoyed the shores in the south.
Many good restaurants on the way too…
Weather was excellent (just one partly rainy day) during the two weeks.
Not that many tourists… and wonderful landscapes.
It’s nice to be French sometimes…. ;)