Deciding between 2 hotels in St. Martin
Jul 2nd, 2005, 07:43 AM
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Deciding between 2 hotels in St. Martin
We are trying to decide between two places to stay in St. Martin at Christmas time. It is between L'Esplanade and Alamanda. We will have a 1 1/2 baby and my mother-in-law. We like the beach, shopping, and diving. Any pros and cons would be appreciated. It is too tought to tell from their websites.
Jul 2nd, 2005, 08:21 AM
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Kelli - Alamanda is new and its on Orient Beach. L'Esplanade is in Grand Case. There would be things to do within walking distance of both. Alamanda is on the beach and L'Esplanade is not, but in walking distance, there is a pool - LE is in walking distance of all the fabulous restaurants in Grand Case. Orient Beach is a more touristy area... the beach is really crowded a lot of the time. However, that does not mean there will be tons of people on that particular part...
With a little one the beach at Alamanda is probably better. I have been to Grand Case many times but not with my daughter yet.
We stayed at le petite hotel which is the sister hotel to LE it is very nice.
I dont think you can make a BAD choice with either really. Alamanda is so new, I guess that would be my only concern about it.
Hope that helps!
With a little one the beach at Alamanda is probably better. I have been to Grand Case many times but not with my daughter yet.
We stayed at le petite hotel which is the sister hotel to LE it is very nice.
I dont think you can make a BAD choice with either really. Alamanda is so new, I guess that would be my only concern about it.
Hope that helps!
Jul 2nd, 2005, 03:45 PM
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Another suggestion or 2 from a long-time St.Martin lover; have you looked at the Grand Case Beach Club or L'Hoste (www.hostehotel.com)? We've been going to SXM for about 23 years and at that time our son was just a baby. The beach at the GCBC is lovely..shallow, calm water. The property is gated, the rooms quite spacious with kitchenettes. Staff are friendly and helpful and there are washers/dryers on the property. You can walk into GC.
Hotel L'Hoste is on Orient Beach, close to L'Alamanda. Again there are kitchenettes, a pool and fairly spacious rooms. The beach is 2 minutes away. You do know you will see a fair bit of nudity on the beach; many women go topless and there will be some who embrace total nudity. They are supposed to be on the Club Orient Beach which is clearly marked as a clothing optional beach but we've been surprised the last few years at the number of people who walk the whole length of the beach totally nude. But can't say it ever bothered our son over the years.
When we go we take a fold-down cooler, and head to the beach for the day with fruit, pastries, baguette, ham, cold drinks. Any hotel we've been at has an ice machine so we can take a bag to keep things cool. We eat our dinner out; prices vary from cheap, cheap to the sky's the limit.
Don't know if you're American but as Canadians we can take Euros or US dollars. Since some shops and restaurants have deals where the dollar = the euro for us the dollar is far cheaper to buy.
In the past we have gone for 2 weeks at Christmas; you'll see many restaurants serving "Reveillon" (Christmas) and "St. Sylvestre" (New years) dinners but the prices are sky high like 100+ Euros/person. We've had wonderful dinners at a restauurant called The Bridge which sits next to the bridge linking Marigot to Sandy Ground. You're under a roof but it's open air; they serve a buffet, it's beautifully decorated and there's usually musical entertainment as well. The price was about 40 Euros/person...and...it wasn't touristy.
Sorry for going on and on but we love the island. We usually go twice a year but now that my husband has just joined me in retirement we've rented a house there for 6 weeks early next year.
Hotel L'Hoste is on Orient Beach, close to L'Alamanda. Again there are kitchenettes, a pool and fairly spacious rooms. The beach is 2 minutes away. You do know you will see a fair bit of nudity on the beach; many women go topless and there will be some who embrace total nudity. They are supposed to be on the Club Orient Beach which is clearly marked as a clothing optional beach but we've been surprised the last few years at the number of people who walk the whole length of the beach totally nude. But can't say it ever bothered our son over the years.
When we go we take a fold-down cooler, and head to the beach for the day with fruit, pastries, baguette, ham, cold drinks. Any hotel we've been at has an ice machine so we can take a bag to keep things cool. We eat our dinner out; prices vary from cheap, cheap to the sky's the limit.
Don't know if you're American but as Canadians we can take Euros or US dollars. Since some shops and restaurants have deals where the dollar = the euro for us the dollar is far cheaper to buy.
In the past we have gone for 2 weeks at Christmas; you'll see many restaurants serving "Reveillon" (Christmas) and "St. Sylvestre" (New years) dinners but the prices are sky high like 100+ Euros/person. We've had wonderful dinners at a restauurant called The Bridge which sits next to the bridge linking Marigot to Sandy Ground. You're under a roof but it's open air; they serve a buffet, it's beautifully decorated and there's usually musical entertainment as well. The price was about 40 Euros/person...and...it wasn't touristy.
Sorry for going on and on but we love the island. We usually go twice a year but now that my husband has just joined me in retirement we've rented a house there for 6 weeks early next year.
Jul 4th, 2005, 05:09 AM
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I second the suggestion for Grand Case Beach Club. The water is perfect for very little ones to play in because it is so calm. We were told it was much calmer than Orient. The condos are very spacious and you are within walking distance of great restaurants and there is a really good deli in town. If all the adults want to get out together, we were told by the wonderful lady to tended to our condo that she does babysitting for guests too
