Hotel L’Esplanade is exactly what you see online and with Tripadvisor’s photos. My wife and I just got back from an excellent vacation to St. Martin. We were very pleased in picking the French side and loved the location of L’Esplanade. This is not a large hotel and do not expect much, no grounds, just a sharp looking hotel and its pool/pool bar. We are adventurist so we used the hotel for sleep and comfort. You can cook in the nicely stocked kitchen; they have large refrigerators and a nice balcony to dine. The staff was great, you must rent a car and I suggest renting a small one. Roads are tight and easier to park. I’m 6'4” and got into their smallest car. Use Hotel L’Esplanade for the car services, it’s easy and you’ll save money in the long run.

When arriving to St. Martin I was a little skeptical about this Island, boy was I wrong. It has its hard living ways and I thought it would be tough to explore. We got to the hotel and felt so comfortable, you can walk right down to restaurant row (which is not all that). I’m sure I missed a couple different restaurants that are hidden but the main ones were just okay. Maybe being from the tri-state area I’m spoiled but I’m not impressed by food that doesn’t deserve to be on a plate.

Here are my restaurant thoughts (best are last 4):
Lolos – If you’re not hungry, walk past the smell and it’s an instant hunger. Go for a nice BBQ lunch on the water side. I see a lot of people sitting on the street side but enjoy the breeze of the water. Very good BBQ and local food…as cheap as it gets.

La California – At the end of restaurant row…so far you think you’re too far down. Just okay, on the water and just had some appetizers. They were ruined with so much vinegar, to wet (Tuna Tartar and Beef Carpaccio)

Calmos Café – Nice on the beach setting, BBQ fare with plastic plates. Fun spot.

Fish Pot - Horrible…maybe best décor from the street BUT food came out wrong and just wasn’t worth it. Ordered escargot with the puff pastry, pastry never came out. Ordered lobster salad over mango. It was a half of lobster over big lettuce pieces with 8 julienne mango strips. I would have been fine with that if they mentioned it was a half of lobster.

Italian place in the middle – If you have that pasta craving, I had one.

L’Auberge Gourmande – This is the best place on restaurant row. Food and service was very good. Veal chop was excellent. You do get hit with the Euro here but worth it.

Mario’s (Marigot) – This is a must in St, Martin. Excellent food and excellent service. Hands down best meal on the island.

Baywatch (Orient Bay) – This shack is run by a NJ owner and NY wife. Get a clams casino and linguine white clam sauce and “faurgetaboutit”. What a great place for lunch but you know what, it’s a hidden secret for breakfast. No one on the beach, very relaxing and cool.

Please Tour the Island:
Garfield Fun Cat: This is a small, FUN, boat tour of the island. A day long trip that was nothing but great smiles and amazing memories. Snorkel in 3 different spots, go to small islands, go to the mud baths have FUN. Bruce and Lorna are the owners but Captain Steve is your typical local surfer tour guide.

Drive around: Go to Marigot, Drive to Phillipsburg; drive the circle for a day. See this island and its different towns.

Go to Orient Bay – Bikini Beach, sit and relax at this beach, it is active, has tons to do, walk around and even get naked (at the end). I didn’t get naked but the vibe of this beach was just fun and the water was amazing. You pay for chair and umbrella.

Go to Pinel Island – Drive to Cul de Sac, get on a ferry (5 minute drive), and get off on this small island where you can snorkel off to the left or walk out 50 yards of crystal clear water to the right. Get a chair and relax and look over the hills of St. Martin. This my friends is living a dream. Bring cash, not sure if they except credit cards and you must pay for chair and umbrella.

Go to St. Bart’s – You can fly out of Grand Case (we should have) or take the ferry out of Marigot (we did that). Leaves around 9:00 about 1 1/2 hours, we rented a car and just went. RENT A SMALL CAR. These roads are small and steep. Drive around to these spots: Nikki beach, get out and walk around. Saline beach, you must see it, maybe best beach in Caribbean, not to hang at just the walk and seen. You’ll see the airport, imagine flying into that. Shop in Gustavia BUT eat lunch at Carl Gustav hotel. Extremely nice place over looking Gustavia.

All in all they say St. Martin is the #1 revisited island in the Caribbean and I can see why. It’s not the nicest in looks but it has so much you can do (not enough time for St. Kitts or Anguilla). Hotel L’Esplande in my opinion is in the right spot. If you are into night life and casinos, stay on the Dutch side (seriously). I gave this hotel 4 stars because it’s really not a 5 star hotel. There were times and areas that we slacked (only one person working on 3 people while the phone was ringing, pool water was cold, pool bar had no music, beach towel (only one)was the size of my bathroom towel, ran out of coffee twice and had to ask for more) nothing big but not 5 stars. If you are deciding between this hotel and their sister hotel Le Petit Hotel choose this one. Has a pool and Grand Case beach is nothing great. I also have to say that we stayed in April when the rates dropped, I’m not sure if I was paying the high rates if I would have given this hotel 4 stars. For the price in April it is worth the 4 stars. Trust me, they’ll be busy for years to come, it’s very nice but not sure if it’s a $500 a night spot, I would than look into Hotel La Samanna or a private villa somewhere. I will be back to St. Martin and will be booking this hotel for its location, ambience, nice people and April prices.

Let me know if you have any questions about the hotel

Oh…one last thing…the walk to the hotel is as easy as it gets. You’ll be fine.