haruko425

Hi there,

My boyfriend and I are going to St. Martin in a couple of weeks for the first time. We have been looking at L' Esplanade Hotel and Grand Case Beach Club. They both look beautiful but we are looking for something on the beach and close to the restaurants, so we are leaning towards Grand Case Beach Club.
We are also looking into doing some snorkeling and sailing. We are thinking of taking day trips to St. Barts and other islands while we are there.
Are there any restaurants that we have to try in Grand Case?

So if anyone has any suggestions and tips that would be fabulous!!

Cheers!
Stephanie

Callaloo

Do consider Le Petit Hotel; it's the sister property of L'Esplanade but it's on the beach and a short walk to the restaurants. As far as restaurants go, you can hardly go wrong. Some of the ones I've enjoyed include Bistrot Caraibes, Le Tastevin, L'Escapade and La California. Don't miss the low-priced lolos either -- Talk of the Town and Sky's the Limit are both great. SUnset drinks at Calmos Cafe are also a must; a laid-back, cosmopolitan beachy vibe.

kcpingc

You can't go wrong with either Hotel L'Esplanade or Le Petit Hotel (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...in-Hotels.html). Don't be worried that L'Esplande is not on the beach...the location, quiet and privacy makes it more than OK and you end up getting in your car to explore the different beaches SXM has to offer anyways. If you must be on the beach, Le Petit Hotel is a gem. For sailing check out: www.scoobidoo.com which leaves right out of The Beach Club and is awesome. All the restaurants in Grand Case are fantastic, hence the pull to that spot on the island! Have a great vacation!

DavidSXM

The Grand Case Beach Club is right on the water with a private beach, plus another one which everyone but a few of us 'locals' in the know THINK is also private, though it is not! It also has a pool, and a very pleasant bar and restaurant with great sunset views. It is easy walking distance to all the best restaurants, some of which have been mentioned above by Callaloo.

L'Esplanade is not on the beach, though it's 'sister', Le Petit Hotel, is (but the beach is not private). The latter does not have a pool, but the pool at L'Esplanade can be used by guests staying at Le Petit Hotel.

Le Petit Hotel - I think it has only 12 or 13 rooms - is at the opposite end of Grand Case Boulevard to the Grand Case Beach Club and all the best restaurants are a fair distance away - in my view hardly a short walk - munless you are prepared to spend ten minutes doing so. Also, as the Boulevard has one way traffic, you have to drive a circuit (and then park) if you wish to avoid the walk.

All three of the establishments have good reputations locally, and I know a number of persons who have stayed at each one. My son and daughter-in-law are frquent visitors to the Grand Case Beach Club with their kids - partly because of the location, and the fact that the units have well equipped mini-kitchens which they found particularly useful when the children were younger.

nycuwsapt

I stayed at L'Esplanade in December, 2008, for 2 nights. The property was gorgeous, but, I missed being on the beach. For that reason, I'm going to give Le Petit a try this December. I really don't mind the longer walk to the Grand Case restaurants. If you enjoy Italian food, Spiga is a can't miss. I've been to several Caribbean islands and Spiga is hands down one of my favorite places to dine. I'm only going to be in St. Martin for 2 nights this winter, and I'm seriously pondering dining there both nights!

DavidSXM

@nycuwsapt. Lucky you don't mind walking - Spiga is about as far as you can go down the Boulevard from Le Petit hotel !!

How did you manage to get past L'Auberge Gourmande and Bistro Caraibes on the way there ? I reckon that both are better than Spiga - but that is a purely personal view.

Next time you could also try Le Shore (it is fairly new, so maybe it wasn't there when you last visited). It is on the beach side of the Boulevard (at the Spiga end), and is a somewhat different concept. The food is excellent, but fairly expensive - even by Grand Case standards.

DavidSXM

One other thing about which you should be aware is that the 700 yards or so walk from Le Petit Hotel to the start of the Grand Case Boulevard is along the side of the heavily used N7 main road, and that for about half of that distance there is no sidewalk.

You need to be VERY careful of the passing traffic - particularly when returning in the dark having enjoyed dinner in one of the excellent restaurants. Walking along the beach in the dark is NOT an option.

Kristen1206

Our friends just stayed at Grand Case Beach Club in May and loved it. Great snorkeling in front of the hotel too.

kellybeaches

I vote GCBC! We loved it! It's easy walking distance to all the restaurants too. Le Shore had excellent food and a very swanky vibe come 8pm for dinner. We also ate at La California which had good food. My personal favorite was Calmos Cafe for lunch - great laid back atmosphere. Check out the little French clothing boutique shop in front as well. Great offshore snorkeling from GCBC too. Here's my TR w/pictures and details. Enjoy! (ps-we're the friends Kristen's referring to
http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...-7-15-long.cfm

haruko425

Thank you all for the tips! In the end we ended up booking GCBC. Now we are emailing sailing companies because we want to island hop a couple of days. We are thinking Scoobydoo and other places. Any good snorkeling beaches nearby?

kellybeaches

Good call on GCBC! Actually I thought the snorkeling right off of the smaller beach at GCBC was amazing! It didn't have huge coral, but the plethora of colorful fish was something else. There was even this giant (and kind of scary!) fish swimming around too. And best of all, you just walk right in and it's all right there!