Wow!
This place is truly special. We took advice from TripAdvisor members and chose this place for our honeymoon-it was wonderful! From check in to check out, the staff here not only took care of every need,question, or reservation we needed but you felt like you were staying with friends whom had known them for years.

You have to check out the pool bar at the hotel-the bartenders completely embody St. Martin's reputation as the 'Friendly Island"
as well as the in-room breakfast service-delicious!

Don't miss the street festival in Grand Case every Tuesday night in high season and make the trip to Orient Beach-one of the best beaches we have visited.

We are already planning a trip back, especially since returning guests receive a discount!

My family and my inlaws (9 people) stayed at the hotel from 3/31-4/6/08 to attend my son's graduation from The American University of the Carribean Medical School on April 5. My wife and I have stayed at fine hotels all over the US, Carribean and Europe and it is hard to find a better hotel anywhere. This is a boutique hotel with only about 25 rooms. We had a one bedroom, both of my sons and their wives had a Deluxe Studios, and the in-laws had a Deluxe Loft. The rooms were beautiful all with a view of the Grand Case Bay. We had a large balcony that wrapped around from the living room to the bedroom that had a view that was spectacular. The living room/kitchen was large and the kitchen had full size applicances where you could store items in the frigerator and a cooktop if you wanted to cook. It also had a microwave, sink and all the necessary items for the kitchen. The room was spotless and the friendly staff cleaned the rooms daily. The bathroom was unbelievable for a hotel. The shower in the one BR (two shower heads) was so big that you could have gotten the whole family in it. I cannot say enough about the staff being helpful and friendly. One of my sons and his wife brought their Cavlier King Charles Spaniel with them and the staff loved the dog (dog friendly hotel). Foxy Lady (Spaniel) was the diva of the hotel and got to know all of the guests at the pool. We will return to the hotel in the future and look forward to it. The Sunset Cafe at the Grand Case Beach Club at the Petite Plage (Small Beach) was fantastic for all your meals. Phillippe at the Sunset Cafe was fun to talk to to and took great care of us for our meals. Don't miss this hotel!!!

L'Esplanade is a wonderful hotel! The rooms are large and very clean. The beds are comfortable - we slept at least 10 hours a day. Alain, the bartender, makes fantastic drinks and is friendly and knowledgeable. The staff was always helpful. We could have rented a car, but found that taking a taxi was much better for our blood pressure! Ask the hotel to have Juliette be your taxi driver. She's very pleasant, professional, and prompt! We had some great meals at the restaurants, but I think I enjoyed the lolos best - so much food! This hotel has LOTS of steps and stairways. Breakfast at the Sunset Cafe at GCBC is very good - prompt service and a delightful setting. We took a day trip to Philipsburg - stop at Cornie's on the beach for a beer and some great conversation with a most enjoyable host. Orient Beach is beautiful; even though we got caught in a squall one day, it only lasted about 10 minutes and then the sun came out again. Day trip to Marigot was great for souvenirs at the outdoor market. Had a wonderful salad at La Vie En Rose. Would we go to L'Esplanade and St. Martin again?? Most definitely!! They call it "The Friendly Island" for a reason!

We stayed on the French side of the island at L'Esplanade Hotel. The hotel could not have been better, excellent service, beautiful rooms, very clean, and an extremely friendly and helpful staff. Despite not being directly on the beach, the hotel was a 2 minute walk from Grand-Case and beach access. The pool was peaceful and rarely crowded and the bar staff was fun! Another nice thing about the location of the hotel was that it was perfectly located near "Restaurant Row" which was a strip of French restuarants ranging from casual to gourmet.

We had a rental car which looking back on our trip we would totally recommend. This way you have the ability to truly explore the entire island and find beaches that are off the beaten path. Of the beaches we went to Galion Beach/Bay was by far our favorite. The best part about it was that the water was clam and you were able to walk out 100 yards and still be only waist-deep.

After experiencing a variety of different restaurants here is a list of our favorites: L'Hibiscus (Grand-Case), Le Cottage (Grand-Case), LoLo's (Grand-Case), Mr. Busby's (Oyster Pond) the Mahi Mahi was fantastic!, Bliss (Maho), and Temptation (Maho). Although Spiga (Grand-Case) was highly recommended, we felt it was overrated.

We loved Loterie Farm which is in Pic Paradis located inland and is the island's only natural rainforest. We recommend doing the extreme zip-line package which takes about 1.5 hrs to fully complete. Great workout and a lot of fun!

We stayed from March 21-29 and it seemed we had just missed the tourist rush (as Easter fell early this year). We rarely needed reservations but have heard from other travelers that they always needed them.