We reserved room #1 right on the beach and felt like we had our own incredible French-Moroccan home. The room was lovely, the amenities flawless, and the food and location perfect.

Things we loved.
- The beach. It's right there outside the back door. Water as warm as bathwater - we swam hours each day. Whoever said that there's only a small space to swim in is wrong; there's endless space to swim in. Water is crystal clear. Do watch out for sea urchins, though.

- The breakfast. The baked goods are obviously hand-made and crafted to perfection to French patisserie standards. The juice is squeezed by hand (juice press) also - I saw the staff making it. It shows in the taste: divine. You can saunter over to the breakfast buffet any time you like, which I prefer over having to sit in some public dining room.

- The accommodations. Room #1 is fantastic. Right on the beach; exceptionally well appointed. Everything first rate and gorgeous. It's a large room, spacious kitchen, large bedroom, large bathroom, total privacy, and just a few steps right out your back door to the beach. Feels like a private home. The view is INCREDIBLE.

- The location. Walking a few block to "restaurant row" (and oh, what a delightful culinary find that is!) was so much fun. Feels much more European. Go to St. Martin to experience something different than the U.S. Walk 3 blocks, enjoy the stroll, drink in your surroundings. By beach or by sidewalk, it's all very pleasant!


- The service. Stephanie at the front desk was wonderful. So nice, and will arrange anything for you if you ask. In fact, everyone was professional, warm, and knowledgeable.

- The food in town. Oh, what a treat. We are "foodies" and this was an important aspect for us. We were not disappointed.
Do eat at La Marine for lunch or dinner; they have excellent meals (the best we had on the trip) and a great bar also. The Pink Martini is a must for cocktails late at night (great meeting place for the locals; great local color). L'Escapade was excellent also. There is no need to leave Grand Case in order to find inventive, high-quality food (or savory casual food, if that's your preference).

There was much more to see - butterfly farm, Dutch side of the island, other beaches, and more restaurants to try - but our five days flew by and we ran out of time. No worries; we'll be back.

Things to watch out for.
- Slight language barrier. We went in the off-season (October) and had perfect weather but found ourselves a bit at a disadvantage when it came to ordering food around town. However, logical gesturing or high-school French will get you by.

- Sundays, nothing is open. Thank goodness the owner (Max) at La Marine saved us from starving. But every other restaurant is closed - so if you'll be in Grand Case on a Sunday, plan ahead!


Overall, Le Petit Hotel gave us exactly what we wanted: a pampered, upscale, absolutely perfect experience.The unique fusion of French, Morocccan, and Caribbean cultures mixed with a beach-chic casual elegance was an added treat. There's nothing like this place anywhere, and we will return - and we'll stay at Le Petit.

I need to be careful when writing this review as the Le Petit was a very nice clean hotel but having travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean this was a atrange one to give rave reviews on. The room at the top was ideal for sitting watching the world go by, albiet a tad small. the views of the beach, sea and the surrounding town was fantastic The hotel itself was strange as there was no reception area to speak of just a small room with a nice French lady working a 9 hour day. It was open from 9-5 which we found hard to get used to as in most hotels or room only places there was a reception area with someone on duty till late in the evening. It says bed and breakfast but once again it was strange having to walk down three flights of stairs to collect the continental breakfast for two and then back up again as there is no dining room or lift. By the time you get back to your room you needed a rest before eating. The breakfast was a good continental with great fresh orage juice so top marks. The room was a good size with a nice big bed, but once again hard as rocks. We spoke to the manager of the sister hotel, 'The Esplanade', and she said, no offence to our American cousins, that the reason for the hard beds is because the large American guests would break the beds in a short time and it would cost them a fortune to keep replacing the mattresses, sorry guys. The kitchen was very small and basic not like the Ku we stayed at in Anguilla. We did not look at any other rooms so they might have larger kitchens. The downside to this place was the position. It was right on a busy road, and I mean busy as was the whole island. To get to the restaurants up in Grand Case was a nightmare if you walked. There is a small narrow sidewalk to walk about a mile before you hit the restaurants and believe me it was downright dangerous. There were cars parked on the pavement which you had to walk aroung taking your life in your hands as you did so. There were a lot of restaurants within a small area but most of them, at least while we were there, were empty and we thought it was to do with the prices as they were expensive. We do recommend a place called LoLo's, I think that is how you spell it, which does great barbicue meats and fish of all kinds and you can walk away with a bill of no more than 20 dollars, great value.Walking along the beach to Grand Case is another option but the sand is very soft and hard work to walk on plus we noticed quite a lot of glass in the sand as you got nearer to LoLo's so not really recommended as an option. The other small point was the beach out the front was quite narrow and the sun would go about 3.30 pm so it meant dragging the heavy sun bed about 50 yards along the beach to keep getting in the rays then drag it back again when it is time to go back to your room. We paid £598 for 4 nights, which was a expensive for what you get but still worth a four star,according to my girlfriend, as it was in very good condition. If the dollar was not in our favour then it would definitely not have been worth the money. To us hiring a car was not an option as the roads were very busy with some pretty crazy drivers. And when you went into Marigo the traffic was unbelievable, just like being on the M25. The same goes for Phillipsberg, which was basically a town set up to accomadate the cruise liners. Great for shopping but nothing else. So we did not do our usual and visit the whole island as it would have taken weeks to get through the traffic. The island as whole, at least the bits we saw was wierd to say the least. It was not a Caribbean island as we all know them to be. More like a bustling city stop with French cars an a French way of life. None of those lovel Rasters and local Caribbean people you meet on other islands. We have decided it was the worst island we have visited so far and would never go back there again. A last note beware of the taxi prices. We had a 6 am taxi to the airport and he charged us 45 dollars for a trip worth no more than 25 dollars. A final note, we did vist the sister hotel 'The Esplanade' and found it much better value than the 'Le Petite'. We had a free cocktail and spoke to the manageress and some guests. The guests all said it was a lovely place to stay, even though it was not near the beach, having said that the beach was not too far away.I have given the 'Le Petite' a four star but I think it would be nearer three star than four except my girlfriend told me not to.

This hotel was very nice. And, as other reviewers have stated, the service is excellent. The staff was extremely accommodating and pleasant and made our stay more enjoyable. When they found out that we were renewing our vows, they left us a bottle of champagne and a very nice note wishing us well. The room was very nice, with elegant furnishings, plenty of space, and a nice kitchenette.

The only big disadvantage (and this is most likely more a personal thing) was the beach. The beach was okay but there was only a very small area suitable for swimming that was usually occupied by other guests or local residents. It just wasn't a great beach for walking, sunning, or swimming. We walked the beach one day and found it to be somewhat dirty (broken bottles, mainly).

Grand Case is a nice town, but much smaller and less bustling than Marigot. The food is excellent at most restaurants, but very expensive.

The other problem we experienced was being woken up early in the morning by the people above us stomping around in their room. I'm not sure if they were just loud or if the insulation is just not very good. Either way, it wasn't very pleasant. Also, we had a pretty bad mosquito problem in our room. I think it was because our room was cleaned every day with the doors open. Consequently, we spent a good part of our time trying to kill mosquitoes and I came home covered in bad bites. I understand that it's the Caribbean and there will be bugs, but hopefully not when I'm paying that much for a room.

All in all, it is a pretty little hotel but probably not worth how much we paid. If you like more activity and a nicer beach, I would recommend trying hotels outside the Grand Case area.

Although this review is more than six months after our stay at LPH, it is nonetheless deserved. Our stay was our honeymoon at the end of April, for a week, of this year. We had been to St. Martin previously as a stop on a Cruise in October 2005. After our day trip there, my husband (then fiance) and I both agreed this was our future honeymoon destination. Our stumbling upon LPH was all on my husband as he happened to find all of these fantastic reviews on this site after we returned home from said cruise. Soon enough, we were booked for our honeymoon stay.

We were one of the few reviewers on this site that did not rent a car, and truthfully, we managed quite fine. If you are the type to want to explore and go about on your own, rent a car. However, we are the type of vacationers that like to completely relax, be lazy and, sometimes, virtually do nothing so we decided we would not get the full value of renting a car. We did take a trip to Marigot one day to buy groceries and took a day trip to Phillipsburg on the Dutch side, all via taxi which was not too expensive. I think the most we paid one way for two of us was $20. Additionally, we took a taxi to Orient Bay for a day (fabulous beach!) and that was inexpensive as well, and our driver was the same to and from, so he arranged for an agreed pick up time at the end of our day.

On to the hotel itself. It is a hidden gem. We loved the boutique style of this establishment and it fit my expectation of an island, French-style location. We had a room on the third floor (we requested) and the staff knew this was our honeymoon stay. We had a complimentary bottle of champagne waiting for us in our room. The room was great, loved the dark wood and the white linens on the bed to contrast. The bathroom was unique and the entire space was very clean. Our balcony provided a great view of the length of Grand Case and across the Caribbean to Anguilla. The beach is rather deserted and you could look the length of the beach and see only a handful of other people on it.

We ate at some of the restaurants in Grand Case, our favorite was Le California and we had the same waiter all three times we visited. He was fantastic, and rather generous with the free shots of alcohol! We did eat rather extravagently most dinners, enjoying a bottle of wine with appetizers, salads, entrees and of course desserts! You can eat on the cheap there and even order pizza and have it delivered to your room at LPH, which we did twice. The locals greatly appreciate an initial greeting in French and are not bothered by following conversation in English.

Grand Case, overall, is not an area that one would describe as "touristy." It is monikered as the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean and rightly so. However, you will not find a souvenir shop selling merchandise with St. Martin splayed everywhere. I think this supports the quaintness of the area and makes it unique. I must note that walking on the street in Grand Case was rather precarious at times. Returning to LPH after dinner, we opted to walk on the beach which is somewhat lit by neighboring establishments.

We would definitely return to St. Martin again in the future and would stay at LPH again, although for only a few nights rather than seven and spend a few nights near Orient Bay for a change.

So, bottom line, this is a fabulous establishment and if you are looking for a quaint, boutique-style hotel that provides personal service in lieu of chain hotel ammenities, this is the place. There may not be an elevator, a pool, or room service, but this is a one of a kind location that demands one of a kind service for its patrons.