L'esplanade or Le Petit
 

My fiance and I are traveling to St. Maarten/Martin next June for our honeymoon. We will be spending one week at Divi Little Bay on St. Maarten, and I am trying to find someplace in St. Martin for the second week. L'esplanade and Le Petit seem to be the best resorts for the price. Has anyone stayed there? I would appreciate any info.

Congrats, this being your honeymoon, I would spend your week at Divi, then head over to Anguilla, St. Barths or Saba for the remainder, or even stay a few extra nights at Divi, then head to one of the other islands. just a thought, and my last thought, is book your air and while your on the island, check out all the others resorts, that time of year is slow season, so it shouldn't be a problem geting a room.. good luck. I have made 21 trips to the island and love it.

We always stay on the french side--try Esmeralda Resort, Green Cay Villas or the small intimate L'Hoste in a suite. Dining in Grand Case and Marigot on the french side is fantastic. If you like Italian cuisine--Don Camillo in Marigot is exquisite! Just walking around the Marina in Marigot is nice after dinner and stopping for a glass of wine at the many outdoor cafes. Also St. Barts is beautiful--places like Eden Rock or Hotel Guanahani.

7 nights is enough for Divi, I would not extend beyond that period.

Just wondering why you chose St Martin? Have you been before? Have you thoroughly researched all of your options? Have you read the info available on this and other travel boards?

Just to let you know that you mentioned Le Petit--we saw this property, I don't think you would like it. Not sure about L'esplanade. L'Hoste is on a beautiful beach-Orient Beach--website is www.hostehotel.com

I just checked the Le Petit Hotel online and it is the one we visited--I cannot recommend this hotel, we didn't like the area it was in -- the beach was not impressive, you're better off with L'Esplanade or the ones I mentioned. Good luck!

If you're thinking of staying in St. Barts and you are budgeting, try the Village St. Jean or Emeraude Plage--good choices. If you decide on Anguilla try La Sirena. Both islands are 10 minutes away--both are expensive so cooking facilities help with B & L. There's also many villas to rent at all costs--look at WIMCO vila rentals (use Google).

I mentioned villa rentals in St. Barts (St. Barthelemy) with WIMCO--they also have apartments--for instance SIB LES villa, St. Jean Hillside --rents for only $1095 for the week! So there are some good deals, but you would need a rental car, very small hilly island no problem driving.

Thank you all for your informative responses. We chose St. Martin because my in-law's gave us a week of their time share at Divi. We haven't ruled out spending a second week on Anguilla or St. Barth's, so if anyone has any more info that would be great.

I haven't stayed at Le Petit, but I have been to L'Esplanade twice. I highly recommend L'Esplanade, it is really as nice as the website makes it look. I think that Le Petit is probably just as nice a place, but I don't particularly like its location as well. L'Esplanade sits on a hillside overlooking Grand Case and Anguilla. You are not on a beach (Le Petit is). It is a walk down a hill (and back up) to get to the beach and the restauants, but it's not an outrageous walk. And because it's not on the main drag, it's really very peaceful.<BR><BR>Good luck with whatever you choose, have a great honeymoon and life together!<BR>

May I suggest Hotel La Banane, St. Barts--small intimate hotel with very nice rooms and gardens. You can even reserve this hotel thru WIMCO, the villa rental people and I believe they also can get you flights to St. Barts. Go into Google and type out "La Banane Hotel, St. Barts" to get info.

My wife and I spent a week at L'Esplanade after researching both locations. We were very happy with our choice. The Le Petit is on the beach but also has the main island road going by right out front. It also seemed to be packed in tight along the beach between other developments. The L'Esplande seemed a bit more relaxed to us. Great views of the bay from the hillside. Easy five minute walk to town or beach. It also had a pool on sight. We'll definitely return to L'Esplanade. Wouldn't bother with upgraded room however. I looked at the standard room half way through our stay and found them to plenty nice with great views.