Village Creole

Point du Bout is Martinique's most popular tourist hub, offering a variety of hotels and many restaurants. The purpose-built Village Creole with its steep red-tiled rooflines, gingerbread trim, and pink and blue shutters was designed to resemble a French Creole style village, but it lacks authenticity and instead looks more like an attraction built by Disney. 

Guests, mostly families, check in to the Residence Village Creole for weekends as well as weeklong stays. Located in the heart of Point du Bout, the spacious apartments cater to budget-minded travelers. With a market, French bakery, and other shops all within walking distance, guests can stock the refrigerators with the basics they need to prepare meals. The hotel's location also makes it easy to forego renting a car. Anse Mitan and Point du Bout beaches are within walking distance as is the ferry that shuttles to Fort du France.

In the morning guests can find fresh croissants and other baked items as well gourmet coffee at cafes along the Rue du Chacha. In the afternoon, the pedestrian village courtyard of the Village Creole is active with families browsing the gift shops and enjoying treats at the local ice cream parlor and the creperie. In the evenings, guests can choose from a variety of restaurants, karaoke bars, and a casino. 

The doors to most of the rooms at the Residence du Village Creole open onto a sidewalk that runs along a side road that dead ends at the parking lot of the Hotel Bakoua. Across the street from the property is a gated parking lot where guests can park for a fee, or they can walk a short distance to access a free (un-gated) parking lot. A variety of restaurants, touristy shops, and cafes are located in the colorful Village Creole.

• 10-minute walk to Anse Mitan Beach
• 10-minute walk to Point du Bout Ferry Dock
• 10-minute drive to Martinique Golf and Country Club
• 30-minute drive to Diamond Beach
• 40-minute drive to Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport
• 50-minute drive to Balata Gardens
• 70-minute drive to Caravelle Peninsula
• One-hour, 45-minute drive to Sainte-Pierre
• Two-hour drive to Mt. Pelée

A collection of Studio, One-, and Two-Bedroom Apartments are set in colorful pink- and blue-shuttered French Creole-style three-story buildings surrounding a pedestrian courtyard. Studios feature large common areas with circular dining tables and slouchy futon sofas. The beds are tucked in to nooks, offering little space to navigate between the walls and the bed. The larger apartments feature separate, more spacious, bedrooms and some have two floors of living space.

All of the rooms follow a similar design scheme with ceramic tile floors, lime-green accent walls, matching lime-green window treatments, and canvas artwork that displays images of palms, sailboat hardware, and fisherman. The beds feature white-slat headboards, basic linens, and striped hotel-style bedspreads. The furniture is basic and somewhat flimsy. White tables are surrounded by white faux-leather chairs and topped with vinyl tablecloths while tiny bedside tables are set with miniature reading lamps. Thick futons, which can be opened for additional sleeping space, are set in front of wall-mounted flat-screen TVs. 

The kitchenettes are a popular feature for guests staying at the property. They feature mini-fridges, two-burner stovetops, microwaves, coffeemakers, and all the necessary supplies for preparing and serving meals. Most of the rooms feature balconies, accessed via a wall of tall hinged glass doors. Although narrow, the terraces offer enough space to sit and watch the activity of the Village Creole and come equipped with racks for drying wet bathing suits.

The bathrooms are small but adequate, equipped with single vanities with laminate countertops and tight stall showers. The hotel supplies plenty of basic white towels, but guests need to bring their own toiletries.    

Location is the Residence du Village Creole's greatest asset. The apartments are set within the French Creole style buildings that are part of the mixed-use, tourist-heavy, Village Creole. A multitude of shops selling everything from jewelry to handmade soaps as well as several restaurants and cafes are steps from the residences. The property lacks typical hotel features such as a pool, gym, and lobby lounge, but in-room kitchenettes allow guests to self cater. There's no beach on-site but one is within walking distance (though it's small and man-made).