We stayed here as we prepared our sailboat for storage prior to flying back to the US. We were only interested in a couple days stay at the end of the season, so a vacation experience wasn't our goal. Our goals are obviously different from most visitors to this website.

The units at the Cottages are very nice and very clean. They are quaint and quiet; however, in the unit we were in, only the bedroom had A/C. That's not bad, but it does get stuffy and mosquito'ee in early summer in the "living area". There were a lot of mosquitos at night in the living room. The hotel does provide a lot of mosquito wicks, sprays and other devices to combat the pesky critters.

There are a few good restaurants within walking distance (1/2 mile), but that may not be suitable for some visitors. The Cottages are pretty isolated and require a $20+ taxi ride to St. George's, Grand Anse Beach, the airport, shopping centers or anyplace you really want to go. The Cottages really aren't isolate; it just costs a lot to get anywhere.

The staff is friendly, very helpful and willing to address all your needs. My only major gripe with the staff was that they ruined my Visa card when they ran it thru the antique hand machine. I didn't realize it till after I left the office and was lucky that I had an alternate bankcard to use for other purchases. When we were there, the staff did not stay on the premises and you had to call them if you needed their assistance.

The Cottages are right by the beach. The beach is nice although not big and pretty much only used by locals and those staying at the Calabash, a more expensive resort, next door. The only problem that I see is that the bay is full of sailboats, many of them dumping their feces directly into the bay. There is a bouyed mooring distance from the beach, but that wasn't being enforced when we were there. I don't think it's a significant issue, but be aware that there isn't much or any water quality monitoring for the beaches throughout most of the Caribbean, whether you are in St. Maarten, Antigua or Grenada.

To finish up, I basically think the Cottages are way, way over-priced. For a few dollars more you can get something on or near Grand Anse, which has far prettier beaches, exclusion of sailboats, nicer rooms and closeness to shops and St. George's. If you add taxi fairs to your room rate, you can get a much nicer room at Grand Anse. If you want seclusion, there are other B&B's or rooms available on Grenada that are much more quaint and nice than the Cottages for less.

We had a wonderful time in Grenada and just loved our stay at LAE Cottages. We stayed in the Kite Apartment for 11 nights. Our housekeeper Josepha took good care of us preparing 5 delicious traditional meals for us. The people of Grenada were very friendly and helpful. We rented a car and travel around the island. The driving can be a little stressful but after a few days I got a good hold on it. We went to Fish Friday in Gouyave and loved it. We would recommend Grenada for an out-of-the-way vacation spot and especially the Lance Aux Epine Cottages. You can view our travelogue on Grenada at http://owfish.blogspot.com/search/label/Grenada.


Cap'n Kenny & Barbie Sallee

We spent a week at Swallow cottage in November 2007. All the cottages are located yards from the beach in a parkland setting. They are much as described below: spacious and well equipped (if you must have a TV you are probably missing the point). A nice feature was a living room/kitchen that is effectively open to the beach, apart from mosquito protection. This gives an amazing view/feeling every time you enter the room.

Again, I don’t want to repeat what has already been written below but we agree that the staff (Tim, Thaneia and Ann) were very friendly and helpful. Most importantly for us they managed to maintain the balance between being available for queries and being overly intrusive.

In particular we liked the well thought out small touches and extras that are included at no cost (local phone calls, light laundry, Safe deposit, watersports etc). It’s not a huge deal but friends staying in an adjacent “top 5” resort were worn down mentally and financially by expensive extras, all with an additional 18% tax/service charge.

You can’t compare like for like but if you are looking for beach side self catering accommodation it’s a perfect antidote to the all inclusive mega resorts and at significantly less cost.

We stayed at the cottages for 2 weeks in early March, and had an excellent time. The cottages, and the apartments are very spacious, and comfortable.
We have stayed in the cottages at least 4 times in the past, some stays of 6 weeks.
The maid service provided is good, and all the staff are helpful and friendly.
There are several good restaurants, and bars within walking distance.
The swimming in the sea is safe.
Janet and Ian Craig