Fleur De Lune — Hotel in Saint Barthélemy

This is a review of our stay in February 2017. I cannot find any information regarding the impact of the hurricane in September that hit the island. I only hope that the resort and the owners have come through unscathed because both are absolute gems.||||The hotel and grounds||Our first trip to St. Barths (10 days) has been excellent, in part because we stayed at Fleur de Lune, a hotel that is family owned and run that has 5 very unique suites/bungalows that are well appointed, and each has own pluses and minuses. Our bungalow, La Kaz (more about it below) is located close to the salon, where we have our daily breakfast and evening aperitif. The salon is very inviting and tastefully decorated with a distinctly Caribbean flair. Besides the dining room table where we have breakfast, and the living space with sofas and chairs enough to seat 6-8 where we have our evening drinks, there is a very small rectangular pool (the photos make it seem a lot larger than it actually is). I did not see anyone using it for the 10 days we were there so I think it’s more for show. The other accommodations wrap around the salon in a variety of configurations. We did not visit any of these but based on descriptions of other guests, they are all very unique. My recommendation is to book directly with Fleur de Lune rather than go through a booking agent because I could have gotten a better deal; if my French had been fluent, I could have asked Maryse for a better option than what we had.||||La Kaz||The website describes the suite very well and I will not elaborate on basic features here. Some things that I wish I knew beforehand was that the kitchen is located outdoors so it does not have A/C, and is also exposed to a lot of flies and mosquitoes later in the evening (just when you want to do some cooking). The sitting area is similarly exposed and lacks privacy because anyone walking to the office near our unit can see us. This was not obvious from the website. The shower is also outdoors, which is not really an issue, but I did have a few mosquitoes fly around me when I needed to shower after dark. This is something that really can’t be avoided because of the lush gardens and lagoons nearby. There are mosquitoes galore at the resort, and we had to make sure that the curtain separating the ensuite and the bedroom was closed tightly after around 4:30. We definitely made use of the mosquito netting over the bed each night. Someone had mentioned about the low water pressure in another review, and we experienced a bit of that, but can’t say it was a noteworthy problem. Because of the bugs and lack of A/C, I used the table/desk in the bedroom as our dining table the couple of nights we did not want to go out to eat. On those occasions, I was able to use the very stripped down kitchen to reheat leftovers, and even make some stir-fry dishes with veggies and meat purchased from the supermarket. I came prepared to cook a few meals and vacuum-sealed some specialty spices that really came in handy.||||We rented a car at the airport and had a hard time finding the resort just using Google Map and the address from the website. We stopped several times at homes near the resort to ask for directions and was surprised that no one knew of a resort called Fleur de Lune. Google map kept bringing us to the M&P restaurant, and after several trials, we continued up the road from the restaurant and eventually found the sign to the resort. It turns out the proprietors of the resort also owns the M&P restaurant. In retrospect, most guests probably take a taxi to Fleur de Lune from the airport, and would not encounter our problem. ||||Hospitality||Maryse and Stefan Berry, as well as a manager, Alejandro, collectively hosted us. Besides running the hotel, the Berry's also own other businesses, such as a taxi service, catamaran cruises, and the M & P restaurant (stands for Meat and Potatoes). It's not entirely clear which is their main business and which a hobby. We dealt mostly with Maryse; Stefan and/or Alejandro tended to the catamaran cruises and were off by 10:00 am or so most days. We went on a catamaran cruise with 6 other guests and it was very pleasant. If you’ve been on a cruise before, though, this is nothing out of the ordinary. The resort has a rich history—several generations of the Berrys have owned the property and the resort has expanded over the years, seemingly around this very large tree in the center. It is a very quiet retreat, but only about 10-15 minutes drive from the main part of town, where there all manner or ways to entertain oneself if you have the money. A word of advice about driving in St. Barths if you are not used to narrow roads and impatient islanders: get a very small car, and take the long way around hills. The most direct ways to our destinations usually involved several Z turns up steep hills.||||Dining||The island has more fine dining establishments per capita than I have ever seen in the Caribbean (or probably could be sustained by any other culture except the French). Around the resort itself, and within walking distance, there is the M&P restaurant, L’esprit (French cuisine) about 5 minute walk and the Grain de Sel (Continental) about 10 minute walk which is closest to the Grande Saline beach, which is another 5 minutes walk. About a 5-minute drive up the road in the opposite direction is yet another fine restaurant that we never got to (Le Tamarin) because we enjoyed the L’esprit so much and returned to it on our last night. They are pricey by Caribbean standards, but then again, St. Barths is actually part of France, and not the Caribbean. For lunch, we drove to several bakeries and markets to purchase croissants, baguettes, cheese and cold cuts that were all very reasonably priced. A great choice of wines at great prices. We ate at several restaurants in town and they were all very good.||||Bottom line||We chose Fleur de Lune for its proximity to the Anse de Grande Saline and Anse de Gouverneur, which are spectacular beaches with Au natural sections. I’ve written reviews of both and will not go into details here. This resort is only a 15 min walk to Grande Saline, although we drove most days because of the heat and because we had to bring along chairs/shade/food. But if you did not have a car, it would not be a difficulty. If we returned to St. Barths, we would consider coming back to this resort but look into a larger suite. For the money, accessibility to beaches and really good restaurants, I don’t think you can find anything better...

This is a review of our stay in February 2017. I cannot find any information regarding the impact of the hurricane in September that hit the island. I only hope that the resort and the owners have come through unscathed because both are absolute gems.||||The hotel and grounds||Our first trip to St. Barths (10 days) has been excellent, in part because we stayed at Fleur de Lune, a hotel that is family owned and run that has 5 very unique suites/bungalows that are well appointed, and each has own pluses and minuses. Our bungalow, La Kaz (more about it below) is located close to the salon, where we have our daily breakfast and evening aperitif. The salon is very inviting and tastefully decorated with a distinctly Caribbean flair. Besides the dining room table where we have breakfast, and the living space with sofas and chairs enough to seat 6-8 where we have our evening drinks, there is a very small rectangular pool (the photos make it seem a lot larger than it actually is). I did not see anyone using it for the 10 days we were there so I think it’s more for show. The other accommodations wrap around the salon in a variety of configurations. We did not visit any of these but based on descriptions of other guests, they are all very unique. My recommendation is to book directly with Fleur de Lune rather than go through a booking agent because I could have gotten a better deal; if my French had been fluent, I could have asked Maryse for a better option than what we had.||||La Kaz||The website describes the suite very well and I will not elaborate on basic features here. Some things that I wish I knew beforehand was that the kitchen is located outdoors so it does not have A/C, and is also exposed to a lot of flies and mosquitoes later in the evening (just when you want to do some cooking). The sitting area is similarly exposed and lacks privacy because anyone walking to the office near our unit can see us. This was not obvious from the website. The shower is also outdoors, which is not really an issue, but I did have a few mosquitoes fly around me when I needed to shower after dark. This is something that really can’t be avoided because of the lush gardens and lagoons nearby. There are mosquitoes galore at the resort, and we had to make sure that the curtain separating the ensuite and the bedroom was closed tightly after around 4:30. We definitely made use of the mosquito netting over the bed each night. Someone had mentioned about the low water pressure in another review, and we experienced a bit of that, but can’t say it was a noteworthy problem. Because of the bugs and lack of A/C, I used the table/desk in the bedroom as our dining table the couple of nights we did not want to go out to eat. On those occasions, I was able to use the very stripped down kitchen to reheat leftovers, and even make some stir-fry dishes with veggies and meat purchased from the supermarket. I came prepared to cook a few meals and vacuum-sealed some specialty spices that really came in handy.||||We rented a car at the airport and had a hard time finding the resort just using Google Map and the address from the website. We stopped several times at homes near the resort to ask for directions and was surprised that no one knew of a resort called Fleur de Lune. Google map kept bringing us to the M&P restaurant, and after several trials, we continued up the road from the restaurant and eventually found the sign to the resort. It turns out the proprietors of the resort also owns the M&P restaurant. In retrospect, most guests probably take a taxi to Fleur de Lune from the airport, and would not encounter our problem. ||||Hospitality||Maryse and Stefan Berry, as well as a manager, Alejandro, collectively hosted us. Besides running the hotel, the Berry's also own other businesses, such as a taxi service, catamaran cruises, and the M & P restaurant (stands for Meat and Potatoes). It's not entirely clear which is their main business and which a hobby. We dealt mostly with Maryse; Stefan and/or Alejandro tended to the catamaran cruises and were off by 10:00 am or so most days. We went on a catamaran cruise with 6 other guests and it was very pleasant. If you’ve been on a cruise before, though, this is nothing out of the ordinary. The resort has a rich history—several generations of the Berrys have owned the property and the resort has expanded over the years, seemingly around this very large tree in the center. It is a very quiet retreat, but only about 10-15 minutes drive from the main part of town, where there all manner or ways to entertain oneself if you have the money. A word of advice about driving in St. Barths if you are not used to narrow roads and impatient islanders: get a very small car, and take the long way around hills. The most direct ways to our destinations usually involved several Z turns up steep hills.||||Dining||The island has more fine dining establishments per capita than I have ever seen in the Caribbean (or probably could be sustained by any other culture except the French). Around the resort itself, and within walking distance, there is the M&P restaurant, L’esprit (French cuisine) about 5 minute walk and the Grain de Sel (Continental) about 10 minute walk which is closest to the Grande Saline beach, which is another 5 minutes walk. About a 5-minute drive up the road in the opposite direction is yet another fine restaurant that we never got to (Le Tamarin) because we enjoyed the L’esprit so much and returned to it on our last night. They are pricey by Caribbean standards, but then again, St. Barths is actually part of France, and not the Caribbean. For lunch, we drove to several bakeries and markets to purchase croissants, baguettes, cheese and cold cuts that were all very reasonably priced. A great choice of wines at great prices. We ate at several restaurants in town and they were all very good.||||Bottom line||We chose Fleur de Lune for its proximity to the Anse de Grande Saline and Anse de Gouverneur, which are spectacular beaches with Au natural sections. I’ve written reviews of both and will not go into details here. This resort is only a 15 min walk to Grande Saline, although we drove most days because of the heat and because we had to bring along chairs/shade/food. But if you did not have a car, it would not be a difficulty. If we returned to St. Barths, we would consider coming back to this resort but look into a larger suite. For the money, accessibility to beaches and really good restaurants, I don’t think you can find anything better...

Avoid these people at all cost. If it was possible to give them a NEGATIVE rating, I would. My wife and I found this place on Expedia and booked a stay with Fleur de Lune. The hotel took a deposit of 1440 Euros in April 2017 for a Christmas getaway. In October of 2017, the hotel's website posted that they couldn't accommodate guests that Christmas due to hurricane damage and promised to refund our money. We made alternate plans for the holidays and when we started asking Fleur de Lune for our refund, they replied that they COULD accommodate us after all and invited us to come to assist in their rebuild. Seriously. My wife said, "No thank you, we'll take our refund, please". They simply ignored that request for more than a month. We have been emailing and calling them ever since, trying to get our refund. It's been over 3 months of constant emailing and calling these people with no refund in sight. Various people affiliated with this place including someone named Maryse (who we think might be the owner) and various employees (hard to keep track of them all) keep promising by email and on the phone to refund our money but of course this never happens. We have complained to Expedia and in response, Expedia's representative actually called the hotel to demand that they refund our deposit. The Expedia rep subsequently told us that something was "not quite right" about what they told him. In any event, even Expedia could not cajole these people to refund our deposit. The hotel claimed for a while that they couldn't refund our credit card because their credit card machine doesn't process refunds (a ridiculous and an obvious lie, one of many). Instead, they demanded my banking information, purportedly to make a wire transfer. I provided that information to them 3 times and they promised to make a money transfer but never did. Then they just stopped responding to emails and calls. We finally had no choice but to start a fraud investigation and make a claim with Amex to recover the money Maryse and Fleur de Lune stole from us. I wonder how all of this is...