Caraibes Bonheur

Yes, you're definitely in Guadeloupe, not a Greek island, though guests couldn't be blamed for being confused -- the hotel is a miniature Greek village, from the dominating color scheme of Aegean blue on white to the Greco-Roman statues on the grand terrace to the cracked-stone pavement on the grounds. You even see your neighbors laying out their laundry on the balconies at this multi-leveled property -- with only their Gallic looks and voices breaking the illusion. Essentially, the place is laid out in three terraced levels, with reception, the grand terrace, and the pool on the top, two stories of guest rooms in the middle, and a tropical garden path at the bottom. Everyone, from guests to staff, seem to spend much of their time on their balconies or taking in the breathtaking ocean view from the grand terrace.

The hotel is located on the less-frequented island of Basse-Terre (the western portion of Guadeloupe, and connected to Grand-Terre by bridges). It's about an hour's drive from the airport, and it's at least an hour to the most popular tourist locales (which are clear on the other side of Guadeloupe). To get to the hotel, visitors coming from Pointe-a-Pitre have to negotiate a seemingly endless series of curvy mountain roads, with lots of inclines and declines, coast through a suburban residential circle, and then make their way up a steep road to the hotel. Note that much of the parking for the hotel is on a similarly steep incline. Once they're situated, though, guests get to enjoy feeling like Zeus on a cloud, thanks to a mountaintop vantage point that affords great views of the ocean and the slopes below. Petite Bas-Vent beach is technically only a few hundred meters away (you have to walk through the Langley Resort Hotel to get to it), though guests seem to prefer to drive there, perhaps because of that steep uphill walk on the way back. (Barring spills, the walk should take about 30 minutes.) The hotel is about a 10-minute drive from the small village of Deshaies, where guests will likely get the majority of their supplies.

Rooms carry on the Aegean blue-and-white color scheme of the rest of the hotel in an appealingly simple and straightforward way. They also make good use of the abundant sunlight, and come with modern conveniences such as TVs and AC. The biggest draw here, though, are the views that look out over the roofs of the surrounding houses and the blue ocean below. (Every bungalow has a sea view.) The rooms' terraces also come with fully stocked kitchenettes, though the fridges come empty. Inside, however, rooms are small almost to the point of feeling cramped, as are the bathrooms, which might explain why everyone at the hotel seems to be hanging out on their balconies. The layout of the Two-, Four-, and Six-Person Rooms are generally the same, with the entry through the balcony, which leads into a living room with a sofa bed, and then to a master bedroom or small hallway with two master bedrooms, where the small bathroom is located. Furniture consists of simple, azure wooden cabinets and dressers, white-rattan chairs with azure padding, and beds with single sheets and (yes, azure) thin bedcovers. Rooms are located in large, apartment-style two-story buildings facing the ocean, but the varying elevations and placement of individual stairways allows a greater sense of privacy than expected.

Besides getting to feel like they're living out scenes from Jean-Luc Godard's "Contempt," guests are greeted with Ti punch or another fruity rum cocktail once they arrive. Though there's no restaurant, the staff can arrange reservations at a nearby eatery for dinner, as well as arrange for child care or a car service. Lunch and dinner can also be catered to the bungalows up on request. A breakfast is offered every morning for a fee, and includes croissants, jams, juices, and coffee.Guests can also try lose themselves in the garden level of the property, which is the hotel's major concession to the locale, a path with dense walls of tropical greenery (though, since it's a straight line, you really can't get lost). The pool is most notable for a great rocky outcropping that dominates one end -- it doesn't share that fantastic view of the shoreline. The entire pool area instead looks directly over the shaded lobby area, where guests can have their Continental breakfast. And, yes, that common terrace really does take your breath away. There is free Wi-Fi, but no fitness center.