Pierre et Vacances Resort Sainte-Luce — Hotel in Le Marin

DO NOT STAY HERE! REPEAT: DO NOT STAY HERE!

This dilapidated excuse of a resort made for a ruined vacation, thanks to its many deficiencies:

To start at the beginning: checking in: a total disaster, no signage, no organization. Be prepared to waste at least an hour checking in, and also be prepared for absolutely no service. Worst of all: only one room key, the old fashioned metal kind. Since our initial unit was “only” half a mile from the reception desk where we were told to leave the key, one can imagine the inconvenience, which became much greater when we were to move to a unit for six people and still given only one key.

The rooms are very dated, with 12” televisions (we never used ours) inappropriately located. The rooms were cleaned only once a week, with towels changed very infrequently. And we were asked to pay 10 euros a day for the use of the room safe! When we asked for assistance with our bags (my wife and I are in our mid-seventies) the answer was “pas possible!” As a result we had to carry our bags up 39 steps to get to our first room unaided. The rooms have a bare minimum of furniture, with the most uncomfortable beds imaginable. The bathrooms are a step back in time, with showers elevated 12” or so off a tile floor, with plate glass doors, making for a dangerous exit after showering.

We had reserved many months in advance for a 2 bedroom unit for six people during the week our daughter visited us. We asked for a late check out from our first unit and an early check in to the 2 bedroom unit. “Pas possible!”. Could the management arrange to have our bags moved? “Pas possible!” We were directed to take our bags down the 39 steps, place them in an unguarded storage room, then had to wait 5 hours with no offer of pool towels, no offer of anything; just frequent trips back to the reception desk to see if our 2 bedroom was ready. 5 hours and many trips to the reception desk later, we were given the single key (for six people now!) and made to collect our bags and carry them up 51 steps to an attic hovel that P et V falsely represented as a 2 bedroom unit appropriate for six people. The entire unit had dormer-like ceilings, so there was no standing headroom in at least half the space. One bedroom was about 5’ x 7’ (see photo) with no way of getting into the bed and only a small light at the door of the bed. Each of the two bedrooms had headroom only directly above the beds, so that a trip to the bathroom in the night always resulted in assaults on the head by the sloping ceiling. Night-lights? Of course not! The bathrooms and kitchen were the same: only very limited headroom. Furnishings? The “living room” had a 30” square outdoor table and 4 garden chairs. There was virtually nothing on the walls other than an obsolete TV hung at the end of an alcove in the living room, thus making it viewable by only one person. The bathrooms had the same shower problem, and were a disaster.

The beaches surrounding P et V are quite nice, but are all public with easy parking. And in Martinique the beaches are public, open to everyone. So . . . do yourselves a favor: if you want to stay in this area, rent a house or apartment with a pool and walk or take a short ride by car to the beaches, which have many nice restaurants for lunch. Don’t even think of wasting time or money on the awful food at P et V. The nearby town of St. Luce has many good restaurants, but it is a good idea to make reservations. After a first miserable meal at P et V, we went out for all our other meals.

NB: bedroom photograph is from unit for which you are asked to pay 310 euros...

The location is about a 30 minute drive from the airport. It is probably best to either organize a transfer before you arrive or a rental car as taxis are expensive and hard to get out of hours. If you are coming from the USA just remember that most rentals are stuck shift... Just saying...||The arrival was rendered a little more awkward than it needed to be. Paper confirmations of the booking were requested. The booking number and reservation in an electronic format were not accepted, even though the information was on their systems.||The 2 bed apartment was spacious and clean upon arrival although the kitchen outside on the balcony me at there were ants around. The kitchen comes supplied with all necessary plates and cooking implements but you have to provide your own dishcloth and soap or tablets for the dishwasher. Tea towels were provided.|The choice of food on site is quite limited. The Mahi Mahi restaurant is only open at lunchtime so the choice is pizza or the buffet meal. We didn't venture in for the buffet meal as it was expensive and didn't look the best. The pizzas were good, but salads only available at lunchtime and the crepes were never available, so it's either pizza and fries or nothing. Service in the evening was fantastic though.||The pool is large and well maintained and clean. You have to get cards from reception to get pool towels and are asked to keep these several days. You need to return towels to get the cards back for check out. The biggest disappointment is that the swim up bar which looks great is used exclusively to supply towels, no drinks available.||There is a bar close to the pool where you can get drinks and a panini. You can harge to your room. There is also the main bar open at night. Choices are limited and service is slow, but it is not very busy so all good. There is some evening entertainment provided but it is very French campsite and a bit cheesy.||The location is right on the beach, so it is ideal to be able to get to the sea and a walk up the beach to the left brings you to Caribbean Food where the food and drinks are excellent.||Car rentals and excursions are available in the main lobby, but best to book up front as the opening hours for staffing are only in the morning and pricing was much higher than booking online. ||Finally, there is a small store where you can get the basics. Don't forget to order baguette and pain au chocolat the day before and keep some small change to pay. ||All in all the experience was good, the resort is clean, well kept and if you are coming to cook yourself and hang at the pool and beach it is ideal. Some rooms have been updated and look better than others. If it rains watch out on the balconies as they get very slippery. ||I would highly recommend getting a car rental not only if you want to get shopping to cook yourself but also to be able to get out and visit many of the wonderful sights in the Martinique. Not much is walkable...

With the help of information and reviews available through Trip Advisor, my husband and I spent five days at Pierre & Vacances Village near Sainte Luce; and we were thrilled with practically everything about it. First of all, it is in a very beautiful location near lovely, shaded beaches and trails. We had not rented a car on Martinique, so we were especially happy that we could walk to a local grocery store (Carrefour) and also to the village of Sainte Luce on delightful trails that follow the beaches through many shady groves. These trails have tree roots and stones here and there; but for the most part, they were very easy to hike and offered a delightful morning stroll. There were some very nice "beach" restaurants that provided delicious seafood options. (Just be aware that you have to eat either early or late since most of the restaurants were closed between 4:00 PM and 7 PM! Since we normally eat dinner around 5 when we are at home, we generally ate breakfast and then an early dinner. No problem!)||||Pierre &Vacances Village provides a wonderful environment in every way. The entire staff is helpful and friendly. We do speak some French, so this was helpful (and very enjoyable!); but everyone we encountered spoke at least some English. There was always someone available who could communicate in English whenever there was any confusion on our part! No problem!||||The grounds, pool area and apartments are lovely and provide a very relaxing environment. We especially enjoyed having a kitchenette on our terrace where we could have breakfast. We chose to eat dinner out, but the cupboards were well stocked with pans and utensils had I chosen to cook more, (Ha, ha!) Also, there is a very nice little store on the grounds where one can buy sandwich makings, snacks, gifts, etc. It is quite well stocked and prices are comparatively similar to those at Carrefour. Very handy! Also, there are a couple of washing machines and dryers available for the guests. ||||There are other services available right in the village including a restaurant, a pizza/sandwich parlor, and a sandwich stand near the pool area. We did eat at the restaurant a couple of times and were very pleased.||||We can't recommend Pierre&Vacances Village enough and are definitely hoping to return...