Hotel Bakoua

Hotel Bakoua Review

Wrought-iron gates open to arguably one of Martinique's best resorts, what French guests call a "human hotel," where you can cocoon. Formerly an estate, the original structure has that East India Company look, with cane-and-teak plantation-style furnishings and terra-cotta tiles. From the circular bar and the adjacent pool, the views of the mountain peaks juxtaposed with the yachts in the bay are magical. Walk down the pier to the thatch-roof rotunda that shades the Coco Bar. (Lunch here is inexpensive, and the tropical drinks are super.) Just a few steps up is Le Sirene, the water-view lunch restaurant where in low season the bountiful breakfast is taken—and dinner, too. Suites, such as the Amanda, are a throwback to gracious estate living. Down pillows and European linens, as well as comfy window seats, give the petite beach-level rooms a sumptuous feel. The veteran staff can be indifferent, although many are caring and friendly. Nightly entertainment makes this one of the island's social centers. Still managed by the Accor group, it was rebranded from a Sofitel to the new MGallery collection of historic boutique hotels.