“Great hike on the island”

We were now on the St. Marie island. There were some monuments and then a boardwalk. Some men were working. We headed to the cross. We had a perfect view. We were able to see the tombolo perfectly. We came back down and went further and we saw waves attaching the stones and boulders. Some of th… Mehr

We were now on the St. Marie island. There were some monuments and then a boardwalk. Some men were working. We headed to the cross. We had a perfect view. We were able to see the tombolo perfectly. We came back down and went further and we saw waves attaching the stones and boulders. Some of the boulders were amazing! This is where all the action was. The last mountain, we enjoyed the tombolo from far. At leat, the day we were here there was no tombolo. A must see!

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“Not the best value for money”

This is not a hotel but a holiday complex with private owners. We have mixed feelings about this holiday community and the bungalow (no 331) we rented privately from David and Véro via the French Abritel site . Due to 'Franglais' communications via email our host had misunderstood our arrival time… Mehr

This is not a hotel but a holiday complex with private owners. We have mixed feelings about this holiday community and the bungalow (no 331) we rented privately from David and Véro via the French Abritel site . Due to 'Franglais' communications via email our host had misunderstood our arrival time and as darkness fell we were left in limbo standing in a car park until a very helpful couple came to our rescue and contacted David, who eventually arrived and was very apologetic for the mistake. The bungalow is part of a holiday & year-round community where the permanent residents obviously look after their bungalows while some of the summer rentals and the communal areas are in need of significant maintenance. The swimming pool water was clean but the surroundings were suffering from dangerously broken tiles, fittings, lamps and a partially demolished 'bar'. There were steps and a locked private access gate to the public beach below the complex, but the beach was very disappointing. Naturally, being on the Atlantic coast it is not as inviting as the west/south coast beaches, but on this holiday we preferred to use the pool. Our bungalow had all the amenities as advertised and was reasonably well maintained but the external photos on the http://www.abritel.fr/location-vacances/p668382 are very selective and show photos taken years ago before the area was fully developed together with views from the owner's bungalow, not the one for rent, nor do the photos of the pool show the the problems highlighted above. We considered this to be a great disappointment and misleading - not an honest description of the property. The bungalow is in fact, wedged between two neighbouring bungalows with a steep slope into the back garden of one and a paneled fence onto the patio of the other. The steep entrance steps to our bungalow were uneven and badly damaged - definitely not for anyone with mobility problems (mentioned in the description) but even able bodied have problems! The patio was quiet and not overlooked but the sea view has been restricted by development. The owners, who lived in a bungalow situated above ours, were very pleasant in every respect although communication was limited to 'Franglais'.(English is not widely spoken in Martinique and you must take this into account when planning your holiday.) Sainte Marie town is about a 20-25 minute walk or 5 minute drive from the Domaine. The town has a Tourist information office with very helpful staff, but it is a small and not very affluent town with only the Saint James distillery, the natural isthmus 'Tombolo' and a large church as main points of interest. Apart from street stalls and a selection of shops there is one Franprix supermarket. All in all we had a relaxing stay and used it as a base for exploring, but would not return to Sainte Marie. We found the beach at Trinite a few miles away on the Caravelle peninsula to be far more pleasant and the southern and western areas offer more for the traveler. I note that the French Abritel website shows 5* reviews for this rental - something that influenced our decision to rent, but with which we cannot agree

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