Just back from one week at Cap Caraibes. We stayed on the second floor overlooking the pool. It was quiet and clean., and absolutely no musty smell. The room is just as it appears on line.

Weather a bit cloudy at first, but then gorgeous. We were told it had been a strange "winter"-cooler and more rain than usual.

Location is great. Orient Beach is a great beach, however, I found the water too rough, even on quiet days, and I preferred to swim on the "nude beach" further down- where it was calm, no waves. If you don't like crowds, or sitting close to people, it's not the beach for you. Chairs are in rows, kind of like theater seating. If you don't like nudity of any kind, don't go to St. Maarten, especially Orient Beach.

Loved the gated community of Orient Bay Village. Restaraunts, grocery store, internet cafe, hairdresser etc. Very family oriented.

Many hotels there, L'Hoste, Alemanda, St. Tropez, Esmerelda etc. along with private homes and condos.

At Cap Caraibes I neglected to look for the shades that darken the room, so the light did bother me. Also, I found the pillows very flat. I have normanlly never had a problem with pillows. The bed was okay, I have had better, I have had worse. The fridge was fine, the "stove" is slow, but it works. Bathroom was fine, shower is a bit odd, but worked great, no problems with water or electricity.

I did see some "ants?" near the sink when we arrived. I cleaned it and sprayed some "Off" bug spray I had, and didn't see any more. However, I did see a "bug" the night before we left. It's the Carribean, it can't be helped. I saw a huge one on Marigot Marina, right near the restaraunts. Housekeeping is very good. We used the safe, as we always do. Nobody stole anything.

I know this may sound negative, however, I would stay there again. It's not the ritz, just a clean room, quiet place. You do have to remember that the front desk closes at 7:00 pm, and I think that can be an issues at times. On the other hand, I might also try another hotel, maybe in Grand Case. There are just so many choices in St. Maarten.

The girls at the front desk were great, especially Milenne. Very helpful in every way. Yes, you pick up the towels for the beach at the front desk. I don't find that a problem, as someone else mentioned. And yes, you are seconds from the beach! Many of the guests were repeat visitors.

We loved St. Maarten. Hadn't been there in 20 odd years. We had no problems with people, safety etc. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. We never, I repeat, never felt unsafe. We did as everyone told us- leave the car unlocked and didn't leave anything in the car.

We rented from Triple A rental. Met us at the airport and he's great. Nice "seasoned" Corolla with French license plates, and no need to count the nicks and scratches- it was a well used car, and functioned just fine. Driving on the island is interesting, to say the least!

Rented my phone from Sharon, right up the road. She is great, and full of information about the island.

Getting to Orient Bay can be tricky. We made it fine- go through Marigot, not the way Alain at Triple A recommends, it's safer.

Pinel Island is great. Many other beaches to explore. One note: for those who are not great swimmers, please be careful. I had a very scary experience at Rouge Beach. Heavy undertow, and rough water. Even Orient can be rough, and knock you down.
However, there are many calm places such as Friar's Bay, etc.

Dining: I am not a big fan of French food- because rosemary is often used in the cooking. We ate at the Talk of the Town Lolo in Grande Case- and had great red snapper on Pinel Island. Even lunch at Rouge Beach was great. La Belle Epoque in Marigot had great pizza and salad, great little bakery in Orleans, and in Marigot. Ate at Il Nettuno in Grand Case. I did not care for the food, could be what I ordered. My husband enjoyed his meal. Also ate a lite dinner at Le California, pretty good.

I can't wait to go back, but for 2 weeks next time! There is so much we didn't see. I never even got to Phillibsburg. I never shopped and I didn't care! Go and enjoy. There is a lot to do and see. I found comments on Trip Advisor very helpful, and wrote to many travelers for opinions and suggestions. Most of what I saw on line was exactly as it was in St. Maarten. Some of my pictures look dark. We took those on the "off" day, when we travelled around.

Email if you have any questions.

We just returned from St Martin and stayed at Cap Caraibes. When we first checked in I walked to our balcony on the 2nd floor(building 3) and my view was the back of the Waikiki Bar(with 3 guys working looking right into our room), The description said we would have a view of a pool or vegetation. The view was the dumpster and the back of the huts of the bar - kind of gross so just pulled the curtains closed all week. Our safe was not working and when I asked about it, one of the check in ladies tried a new battery then said oh it's not working and said she'll call someone to fix it tomorrow. I read about all of the robberies here so I told her I was not comfortable waiting unitl tomorrow. She replied that maybe I should stay at another hotel...you can imagine what I was thinking at that point. All of a sudden she called a maintenance person to fix the safe. So we had to sit there until this guy came to fix the safe. the room is very simple. The kitchen was very helpful but there were ants and we just made sure we were very clean and didn't leave any food out. The bathroom sink drained disgustingly slow and the shower needed some serious mildew remover.

I can say that the hotel is extremely close to the beach, free chairs and umbrellas are great and the convenience of bars, stores and restaurants are all in a quick minute walk. By day 2 we didn't care about all the negative things mentioned above due to being so busy and enjoying the island. My only suggestion to you is request building numbers 1,2 or 5 this way you dont have the bad view of the back of the bar. You will have to request these buildings when making the reservation because our room was already assigned and no other rooms were available. I'm not sure whether I would return here...would have to be dirt cheap or no other options available.

My husband and I just returned from an amazing week in St. Martin! We have stayed at 3 other different resorts and found the Cap Caraibes to be the very best! If you want a truly French experience, and are not expecting to be spoiled with typical American tourist amenities, this is the place for you. In spite of the devaluation of the American dollar, we were able to buy freshly baked croissants and baquettes for lunch or breakfast right around the corner at the local boulangerie at very reasonable prices. Grand Case is just down the road, and the lolos there offer good food at very reasonable prices. The beach from the hotel is just a few steps away...we spent hours just sitting in the sun, reading, walking and relaxing. There are so many water sports if you want to be adventurous... it is even fun just sitting and watching others having fun! You will not be disappointed with this nice, clean and very safe vacation spot! We plan to go back next year with family!!!

We recently stayed at this hotel and definitely enjoyed it. We found the room to be very clean and comfortable. As others have stated, this is not a grandiose resort but a simple, quiet hotel with an excellent location, just steps from the beach.
The beds are comfortable, the kitchenette was handy (especially traveling with small children), the room was spacious. We enjoyed having our breakfasts of fresh French bread & croissants on our own small patio & the complimentary beach towels, chairs, & umbrellas were a definite plus. It was very nice being able to walk to the small village around the corner that has a couple restaurants, ice cream store, mini mart, pizza shop, etc.
Orient Beach was very nice although the week we were there was quite windy and the water was rough for our toddlers. However we found another nice beach just to the south, Galion Beach, that was perfect for families, with calm & shallow waters. The pool was fine, not huge but certainly adequate.
It was tricky finding the place and we were glad we weren't doing so at night. We obviously didn't have any problems with thefts (or my review would most likely be quite different) and didn't ever feel that we were in an unsafe part of town. Nor did we have any problems with the feral cats, overly loud beach clubs, or inadequate A/C as others mentioned. I did bring a couple washcloths from home (after reading here that they don't provide them) and was glad I did - could that be my biggest gripe?...
All in all, we enjoyed our stay here and would consider a return trip.