When you book a room at this hotel, make absolutely sure that you get a room upstairs and preferably beach-side. Our room, no.1, sat on the corridor along which clients approached the hotel's restaurant. So, we didn't gey any peace until about 2 a.m. Then, being next to the main road, we had to put up with the sound of clubbers returning home with their stereo's blaring loud, as they drove along the main street, on which the hotel is situated.

Furthermore, do not choose this place if you are looking for convenient access to shops or the airport. Grand Case is really in the middle of nowhere, with very few places open during the day.

The only selling point for this place is that it sits right on the beach, and I mean RIGHT ON THE BEACH! the room's decor and bathroom were tawdry and with a distinct feeling of being not quite clean.

An eyesore during the day, Grand Case at night transforms into a myriad of beautifully lit late-opening, boutiques and restaurants. However, the prices to eat at these venues is formidable and anyhow, why on earth would you come to the carribean to eat french Cuisine?!! Luckily, there a couple of cafes on the main strip where you can get local cuisine at an inexpensive price.

All in all, if you were going to stay on St. Martin's, itself a wretched dump of a destination, you would want to stay in Grand Case. Only because it is the only place that was not overly developed in a tasteless manner for mass tourism. There again, that isn't saying much! Save your money and go to Benidorm or some other Eurotrash destination, as you'll find the same stuff there as at St. Martin's, an absolutely awful destination!

If you are simply looking for a "base of operations", this is the hotel for you. This is not a resort, it's a small but excellent french restaurant with a 7-room hotel attached.

We stayed in the "suite" for five nights and then moved into one of the other upstairs rooms for our last night. Our first night we were frustrated by the lack of screening on the sliding glass door to the private deck (mosquitoes bit us all night, every night). We also found problems with the bathroom cabinet door (handle fell off in my hand), the closet door (wouldn't open) and the shower head (detached from wall).

However, our first morning we loved waking up to the sound of waves washing up on the beach outside our room. We ran right downstairs and straight onto the sand. The location is excellent.

Grand Case looks like a typical caribbean village (poor) until you get to the beach road (blvd du grand case). All the shopping and restaurants are here. Almost all of the restaurants are expensive, french and very good. For a more reasonably priced alternative, the lolos (especially Talk of the Town) also offer great BBQ.

The week we were here, the town was fairly uncrowded. Most of the time there were only a couple other people on the beach. The beach itself is quite long and varies in width from about five feet to 20-30', depending on the tide. The sand is nice and soft, and I collected quite a lot of beach glass. (be careful of the glass that is still a bit sharp!)

Here are some other details. Only the suite (room 7) faces the beach directly. Rooms 4,5,6 share a patio space that overlooks a sort of garden area. You can see the beach, but only if you are at the rail. Room 3 faces a dark upstairs corridor. Rooms 1 and 2 are on the first floor.

Each room has a mini-fridge, but all rooms share the same "kitchette". (see photo) The beds were rather hard, and the pillows ran the gamut from compressed down-filled to lumpy polyester. The bathrooms all had double sinks and plenty of counter space. Room 5 did not have a bathtub but the shower worked. Room 7 only had a hand held shower nozzle. The limit of the hot water is about five minutes.

Breakfast is included. You eat in the small dining room, overlooking the beach. Every morning is the same croissants (plain and chocolate), baguette, ham & cheese, orange juice, preserves and coffee. The Miami Herald is also available Mon-Saturday.

Rudy, the manager, is very amiable, however we didn't really meet him until the third day. The owner doesn't speak a word of English, but is also very friendly and helpful.

We had some trouble with our car. The battery was stolen right out of it, as it was parked in front of the hotel! The owner, despite significant language barriers, was tremendously helpful. He made dozens of phone calls for us and even drove my husband to the airport trying to find someone from the rental agency.

All in all, we did have a wonderful week. We were looking for something quiet and convenient to the beach. We didn't want lots of other people around, or noisy pool areas. We visited the Grand Case Beach Club one day and Orient Beach another day, and both areas had lots of activities but were too crowded for us.

If you are looking for a modest hotel, without frills or amenities, this is definitely your place. You won't overspend and you'll be right on the beach.

My wife and I enjoyed five nights at Chez Martine in Grand Case in October, 2005. The accommodations were good, and the service outstanding. Rudy, the proprietor-manager, works very hard to make his establishment first rate. The beach is beautiful and clean in Grand Case, and the hotel is right on the beach, with a gorgeous view from the dining room and the suite, if you get it.

The restaurant is outstanding, with great food, a gorgeous view, nice wine list and good prices compared to the other bay front dinner establishments. The food is delicious, and beautifully presented. My wife said the lobster was the best she's ever had. No one will be disappointed there.

The rooms are few (only six) and nice sized, with mini-fridge, AC, and comfortable beds, though there wasn't always water as hot as you would like it (however, it felt great when we were sunburned.) There are a couple spots where the maintenance has been deferred, but management is working constantly to improve the place. Included in the cost of the room was a nice breakfast served in the dining room, overlooking the bay, composed of orange juice, croissants, bread, cheese, meat, jams, and coffee, more than enough to start a day.

It is not a luxury resort (though the restaurant is worthy of one), but it is nice, well-located, well managed and priced fairly. It is a great value in paradise! We hope to return.

It was our first trip to St. Martin, staying 1 week at Divi Little Bay (Dutch side) and another week at Cottages de Lonvilliers (French side). In order to get the flight we wanted we needed to stay an extra night at the end of our trip. We read about Chez Martin form Trip Advisor and booked 1 night for $85.00.

When we arrived, Rudy greeted us and took us up to our room. He asked how many would be staying and we told him 3 including our 12 year-old daughter. Instead of a regular room, he gave us the 'suite' for the same price. Our daughter loved the bunk beds in her own separate room while we enjoyed the large master bedroom; complete with the best ocean view we have ever experienced. The room had a small refrigerator and dinner ware. (See pictures of room from Charlottsville, VA guest)

The only negative part was that it was extremely hot that day and it took until well after dark before the A/C had cooled the room off. But what do you expect on a sunny July day in St. Martin?

While Chez Martin has a restaurant downstairs we tried a different restaurant down the street that our daughter's godparents had recommended.

All in all our only real gripe is that we didn't have a few more days to fully enjoy Grand Case. You can be sure that on our next trip we won't make the same mistake.