I have been thinking about this since I left the Club -it really just depends on what you are looking for and who you are.

I went to the Club to work on my French , while I am not fluent, I speak very good French. At this Club -- that is a GREAT help. So if you are comfortable in French -- this will be a much easier place to enjoy -- if not -- it will depend on the week and who happens to be there. During my first week, there were just 5 Americans and an equal number of American GO's -- so english was not so common. The next week 10% of the village was American -- it would have been easier.

I also go to the Caribbean as I love the islands and the ambiance and the new Club does show that off very well. The grounds are very nice, the location is very nice and they generally have thought of some nice additions to make the Club into a near resort.

I say near because there are still some things that are not very high quality. The rooms are medium sized, but the windows in an ocean view room were small -- you could only look out from the bed. The TV's are nice new flat panels but unless you enjoyed the French language -- you choices were minimal.
Good news -- they had THE best shower in recent memory of any resort anywhere.

There were many complaints about the bugs/mosquitos and such in the rooms and the pool -- OK for me bad for others.

The main restaurant was good to very good. They had a nice presentation given it was a buffett and the quality was very good. The sashimi and pizza were both outstanding -- try some new tastes and you will enjoy yourself. But some of the traditional things like steak -- were modest at best. Deserts and breads were uniformely excellent.

The pool area is really outstanding -- to be enjoyed -- although it seemed to fill up quickly with the resort less than half full. But be at the pool for sunset -- see my pictures -- the place is outstanding for sunsets. The bar is a nice location too -- right next to the pool and very friendly. Do try the little food place right there -- they make some really good little treats. Only complaint about the bar was that trying to get a specific drink that was out of the ordinary was pretty hard to do.

Do the off site trip to St Lucia for a day on the catamaran -- good fun.

Complaint wise -- no small sailboats -- not enough places to sit out and around the pool or beach in the shade (poorly designed shade umbrellas) -- lack of any effort to connect single people -- and my guess that when the place is full they do not have enough facilites at the pool and bar. And most of all the LOUSY LITTLE windows in the rooms keeping me from looking out at a wonderful view.

My recommendation is go if you like a mostly European Club Med feel with very few kids around this is a good place. Entertainment is OK to good by Club Med standards and the location is comfortable if not perfect.

Do NOT go there if you want english speakers to be in the majority or if you want to be pampered -- isn't going to happen there. If you are looking for hot old style Club Med singles action -- don't got there.

Given they are currently remodeling the Caravel Guadeloupe Club Med -- I think I might try that one next time again -- the beach is better there for sure.

We went to Martinique and after a long flight (changed in Paris) we arrived in Paradise. We stayed in the rooms at the Tour (tower) which had their own quay and a view of a truly beautiful sandy beach. Martinique is a beautiful island and this beach that Club Med is on, is really lovely. Usual Club Med formula which with teenagers suits us as they can join in or not. Rooms small but nicely decorated. All in all a really great holiday.

Club Med touts the resort as Luxury. It may be luxury according to Club Med standards, but the resort is not luxury if you compare it to regular US hotel standards. I would give the room 3 stars, and the food 3 stars (0ut of 5 stars). The room does have the flat screen tv, but we had some bugs in the room and room service never provided certain towels when requested. There were alot of markings on the room wall (i.e., huge streak marks, dents and scuffs). The room is small. Sheets are clean and comfortable. King size bed was just two twins zipped together so we felt the divider. Strange workman were allowed in our room without notifying us first.

The infiniti pool is beautiful. It overlooks the caribbean sea. The beaches are short. The water is blue, but a little grassy. The GO's are terrific and friendly. The land sports and water sports were great. The overlook of Martinique is beautiful. Mostly French people, but they seemed friendly. Met enough English speakers at the resort to be comfortable.

Over all we had a great time because the GO's were great and the sports facilities were fun to use. Will go back again, but with the understanding that Luxury for Club Med does not mean the same everywhere else.

This was my 9th Club Med and 1st time in Martinique (5/28/06 - 6/4/06).

Although I had a good time at the village during my stay, I was somewhat disappointed that the upscale rating did not hold up.

I would not go back to this village because I can go to Club Med Turkoise which is much cheaper and much better in almost every category.

Pros

Beautiful village on an incredible location on the island.

Fitness Center was brand new with all the latest equipment.

Rooms were excellent w/LCD TV and glass shower.


Cons

Bartenders could not make a mixed drink. The pina coladas tasted like medicine. You have to stick with shots, beer and wine. This was very disappointing for a 5 star resort.

Food was much better at Club Med Turkoise. The signature chocolate breads did not make one appearance during my 7 night stay. Shrimp and Lobster - forget about it! The shrimp all had to be pealed and we were promised lobster but got nada. There were no extravagant deserts like the Baked Alaska that is common in Turkoise and Cancun.

Beach was very narrow and most guests hung out by the pool.

Euro is so strong that you get very little buying power with the U.S. Dollar. A men’s bathing suit in the boutique was 80 euros.

As a U.S. citizen and non French speaking, communicating with other guests was impossible or difficult. About 10% of the guests were from the U.S. and there were only 3 G.O.'s from the United States.