Due to a mix-up on our part, we had to spend 2 nights at Le Petit and 1 night at L’Esplanade. I was so excited for both of these places because of their rave reviews on Tripadvisor, but after staying at both, I have to say that L’Esplanade wins hands down.

Le Petit’s location on the edge of Grand Case is fine, but we hadn’t realized it is right on a busy road with no sidewalk, so walking to the restaurants at night is a challenge. We didn’t want to walk on the beach for safety reasons, including the fact that there was a lot of broken glass in the sand. There is also nobody at the desk before 9am or after 5pm, so although somebody is on call, it would have been a hassle had we needed anything. Stephanie at the desk was wonderful and very helpful, but I found Caroline to be a bit cold. I was trying to call Liat to check on a question about our flight to St. Kitts and I was dialing the number wrong and couldn’t understand the recorded message in French, so I went down to ask for assistance. She really made it seem like a huge chore to help translate the message for me and was not very helpful. I still hadn’t figured it out when we were done talking, so we actually went to L’Esplanade and they were very friendly and seemed happy to help.

We were in room 9 on the 3rd floor and it was just as beautiful as the pictures on the website. The sheets were very nice and there was a lot of space in the room. The bathroom only had a shower, no tub, but was still nice. The balcony was pretty small and had a nice view of Anguilla.

When we moved to L’Esplanade, we were much happier. We were in their one-bedroom suite (room 20) and it couldn’t have been lovelier. We laughed at how much more comfortable we’d be living in that room than in the apartment we’re currently in at home. Everything was new with beautiful furniture. The balcony was large with flowers all around it and overlooked the water. The service was much friendlier and more efficient. We really loved this room and hotel so much better than the one at Le Petit, and though we probably won't return to St. Martin because it wasn't our favorite, we would return to L'Esplanade rather than Le Petit.

My wife and I have just returned from a weeklong stay at Le Petit for our honeymoon. The experience was absolutely wonderful. The location was very quiet – the only noise you would hear at nighttime was the sound of the ocean. The room was very clean, the bed was comfortable, and the service was exceptional. Caroline (the concierge) was a joy to work with! The view from our balcony was stunning as well. We would recommend this hotel to anyone staying in St. Martin.

In response to the previous review…. I grew up in New Jersey, and to spend a week down at the Jersey shore (which is not nearly as nice as St. Martin) would cost you at least as much (if not significantly more) than the cost of Le Petit with NO breakfast, NO concierge, NO beach chairs (which by the way were not hard, rather a canvas-like material for backing), etc. It boggles the mind to hear someone complain about walking down a few stairs to get a “free” breakfast (which was delicious, by the way). Gee, I wonder why people from other countries think we Americans are fat and lazy. If you are the type that requires everything to be done for you in order to enjoy your vacation, this may not be the place for you.

Le Petit Hotel and the reception staff Caroline and Stephanie were wonderful. For our honeymoon we stayed 9 nights in a room on the third floor with our balcony overlooking the beach and nearby island Anguilla. All rooms have the same wonderful view. The room had very strong air conditioning system which was great because it was very hot when we were there in mid-June. The room was very clean, very quiet, no bugs, modern decor with impressive mahogany furniture. Bathroom featured a spacious stand-up shower - no bathtub. Fully stocked kitchen area. Two Hunter ceiling fans which were super quiet. The only complaint was the bed. The king size bed and feather top were old and tired. We flipped the mattress ourselves in an attempt to get a better nights sleep and it worked. The mattress was much better after we flipped it. The issue with the bed is the only reason I am not rating this hotel five stars. The hotel is at the opposite end of Grand Case beach and is a short 5 minute walk down the beach to the heart of Grand Case and all the wonderful restaurants and boutiques. If you are looking for a hotel with many amenities, this is NOT the hotel for you. No pool, no pool bar, no restaurant, and usually no bellman to carry your luggage. But you certainly don't need a restaurant in your hotel at Grand Case as there are far too many gourmet French restaurants to choose from. Le Petit does serve a free continental breakfast each morning which is great. You bring a plate from you room down to the reception area, grab your pastries and beverage and take it back to your room to enjoy.

The sister hotel Le Esplanade is another beautiful hotel and is about a 15 minute walk or 5 minute drive from Le Petit and offers a pool and pool bar that serves a small lunch menu, but no free continental breakfast and no beach front location. The pool bar at Le Esplanade is nice way to get to meet and socialize with other guests. We found the ability to meet and socialize with other guests was lacking at Le Petit. You can go to Le Esplanade and enjoy the pool, have some drinks, socialize and grab lunch and simply charge it back to your room at Le Petit. We thought that was a nice perk.

We recommend the Le Petit Hotel for anyone staying in Grand Case, but you should understand you are giving up a few things such as pool and pool bar for the exceptional beach front location and incredible ocean view from your balcony. Highly recommended!

I remain puzzled by the many "glowing" reviews on Trip Advisor of "Le Petit Hotel". Not that it is a bad place to stay, but I would rate it as more average than it has been described here. And the only thing "romantic" about it, is the view from the balcony, and being right on the beach.

Rooms are ok, clean, and well taken care of, but lack any sort of flair or style. The worst part, for me though was what they lacked in comfort. The "bed" was the worst- absolutely hard as a rock. Upon investigation, it was easy to see why, as it had no proper mattress. Rather, it had a consisted of a thin feather top, on top of a half high box spring, which was on top of solid sheets of plywood, which is not the usual design for either a regular bed or a platform bed. And the lack of comfort extended to every chair in the room. The most comfortable thing was the cheap plastic chair on the balcony, but if you sat in it, you could not see anything of a view, just the solid wall of your balcony. The end result of all this was that you could never really sit and relax in your room. The one armchair was designed only to be looked at, and the dining room chairs, tiny and all hard wood, were probably the most uncomfortable ones, I have ever experienced anywhere. This lack of comfort extended to the beach also- there were no cushions for the hard chairs, nor any beach umbrellas, and certainly no beach service. And by the way, this is not the norm in St. Martin, as many beaches rent out chairs w/cushions/ umbrellas/small tables, etc. for a small fee.

Service , except for room-cleaning, is virtually non-existent, consisting of only one person, present only to mid-afternoon. She was nice enough and helpful, but this was the limit of service you received. Everything else you did yourself - from dragging out your beach chair, to getting your own breakfast(limited) , to dragging your own luggage down stairs etc. This level of service is ok for a cheap chain motel in the U.S., but I would expect more from a hotel, where the room costs more than $300 a night, with a service charged being added in.

The location- Grand Case, is quite nice, but you do require a car, since walking down the road to the town, especially at night, would be some what dangerous- due to the narrow road, fast drivers, and lack of anywhere to walk, but on the road. But please note that even backing out of the tiny parking lot on to the road is not for the timid driver. And parking in Grand case is quite difficult.

We enjoyed our trip, because we did like St. Martin, and found lots of nice beaches, and restaurants, and places to explore, but while not bad, I would not return to this hotel or recommend it to a friend.