Restaurant Hôtel Le Nil — Restaurant in Guadeloupe

I had Le Nil, or as it was called under previous ownership Le Diwali (you can see old profile here on TripAdvisor), on my radar for a few years while planning the trip to Guadeloupe - it all started with Club Med idea but I wanted something more intimate, not all inclusive yet with a breakfast on the spot and the absolute beachfront on St Anne - this is exactly what Le Nil is, so if I have your attention still read more below as for just "reopened" hotel probably you may have some doubts or questions (I definitely did!) and I want you rest assured - this is a great spot with just some small negatives as well that can be worked out in the future of this very recently taken over business.||||Location: I would lie to you if the 40-45 minute drive from the airport is pleasant or scenic - it's easy no questions asked but it's pretty slow since you do cross many towns etc. but it's worth it once you get here - and yes I would lie to you if I said it was easy to find Le Nil - I read on Booking.com that it's hard to find them and for the first time in my life I have doubts that the place indeed is a legitimate business if not for the fact that I knew the prior owner's Le Diwali being a real business :P we arrived late and it was dark and we didn't see the logo at all from the road - for the record the hotel is an absolute beachfront and the TripAdvisor location is simply incorrect and the owner's can only request the change once they claim it... considering neither of Andy or Fanny speak any English (to all of the non-French speaking people like us don't worry each day you will have either lovely Maya or Roman whom both speak perfect English and will help you with anything you need) it may take a while but all in all I tried to leave here a picture of the logo you want to look out for on the main road N4 as you approach the google maps location - it's a normal road leading to a property and and as a matter of fact leading through another property - it's a pass through hotel that then leads to Le Nil behin its own fence - extremely unusual but I hope this helps you finding it - that other property is better marked as its a light blue and white bigger banner on the street wall called "Residence Paradis Bleu" while Le Nil has a much smaller logo and as beautiful as it is it's extremely dark and completely invisible at night for a person who is not expecting to see it that way :( Just to add a few more useful pieces here - you are on St Anne Beach, literally you walk out to the beach - one of my top 5 beaches ever (see my separate review) and we have seen, to not be modest, almost everything in the Caribbean region + some in Pacific by now - also plenty of restaurants walking distance, a boulangerie (most likely won't need it since the excellent breakfast is included in the room rate) and also a a Carrefour Express is an easy 5 minute walking distance - we are in mid 30s and we brought a 6pack of water in the backpacks + beer etc. in one shot to give you an idea how doable it is :) ||||Room/Rooms: OK for the record we had 2 nights in probably the worst room of the house and 2 nights in the best (or probably one of 2 best rooms in the house) - we booked originally the cheaper room on the ground level - it turned out to be the room the closest to the "main floor action" right behind the kitchen - did it bother us and we couldn't survive 4 nights here? Probably we would be fine but after 2 nights Fanny approached us playing a voice mail recorded by Roman a night before asking us if we want to upgrade the room for a small upcharge - I made a decision on behalf of both of us not because I wasn't fine with our current room but because I wanted to see what is the "best Le Nil has to offer" - all in all we basically traded less noise from the kitchen for a stunning ocean view balcony with rocking chairs (loooooooooooved sipping rhum :P and chilling there) and lack of Netflix :) (we were able to hook their TV up to their WiFi in the bottom floor but somehow the WiFi did not work on the phones nor obviously on the TV in the upper floor room in the upgraded room). The WiFi is spotty and it didn't bother me too much it upon our room switch but sometimes I felt like I could have accomplished more planning out the day have I had the Wi-Fi - but then again that water/ocean front views... I will take it every day all day over any internet/Netflix/WiFi you name it - when the ocean calls my heart answers! :) back to the "basics" each room came with a safe, a good A/C and like I said before a smart TV - something only this hotel had in our 4 while on Martinique and Guadeloupe for 2 weeks - which in all fairness and retrospective I would think Le Nil to be the last one to offer that :)||||Hotel Grounds: so I already mentioned that you arrive to Le Nil by passing through another property - once on the grounds there is basically the hotel, its restaurant and the beachfront - you can walk outside the gated entrance to the lovely St Anne Beach (again an absolute top 5 of my life, see separate review) or you can chill within the premises of Le Nil and still love it - I did one day stay "on the spot" and read my books, explore the map of Gwada and had some rhum - whatever you are up to they have it covered. The restaurant on the spot and full bar, as the live music events many evening of the week are just a tip of what this place one day will be - they are amazing and the only true full blown yet intimate hotel right on the beach (it appears there are some rentals and B&B in the area but nothing that can match up this potential here). ||||Beach: St Anne... oh the St Anne beach what a lovely place!!! Loved it - see my full long separate review on that - if you manage to get here in this review you will manage to go to my separate review of it - I will mention it for the 3rd time here, top 5 of my life as of the time I am writing this review and we have been almost everywhere in the Caribbeans! ||||Food & restaurant options: the breakfast included in the room was perfect - quality, good size and the views/venue served it - absolute perfection - whenever I was tired the day before and in need of the rest I was already looking forward to another day to have that lovely beachfront breakfast :) great coffee, fresh juices, pastry, croissants or bagels, fruits - my "usual" favorite French Caribbean food :) we also had 2 dinners at the hotel and they were both really good, so were the cocktails - if there is one area that the hotel absolute EXCELLS is the food/drinks - I could not say a single bad word about it or leave any room for improvement - it was an extremely pleasant surprise as I am used to some OK food while on the hotel grounds and usually seek out better but here at Le Nil you get the real deal - and quite frankly all at reasonable price. However, if you are like us and like to explore the area and other restaurants I highly recommend at least having a lunch at Le Kontiki next door and give a shot to L'Oce-Ann - I have reviewed both separately here, especially the latter don't get discouraged by the low review average - French West Indies seem to have very demanding reviews from the French folks and it's not like I don't appreciate good restaurants but I feel like the French translate their European standards to Caribbeans and after being to almost every island/country in this absolutely amazing region of our globe I can say that they are wrong and tend to miss what this region truly has to offer! Again, I am normally very modest but here I will stand my ground as by now I have seen to much, experienced too much in Caribbeans to not intervene - both Martinique and Guadeloupe had some amazing food places we visited that based on the average reviews you would never consider - so if you don't believe me at least give it a shot, as I always say if you dislike a restaurant you simply aren't going to return and you love it you may have a meal of your life :) || ||Thins to do: I am an honest person who speak my mind; I loved Le Nil nd St Anne but didn't like Grand Terre - loved Basse Terre though! I enjoyed the breakfast and the time on St Anne Beach but when it came down to exploring the area, which is what I always look forward to, this side of the island simply doesn't have as much to offer as it's "across the bridge" sibling - an absolute must is of course Anse des châteaux no matter what you think/feel or people tell you (see my what I wrote separately on TA to prove my point) and La Douche and maybe Kreol West indies to throw in some local culture there as well after a half day on the beach. If you love rhum like I do then go to Damoiseau Distillery (disregard the low average here, I had seen about 30 rom/ron/rhum distilleries in my life and 10 rhum ones a week prior to stopping here and I still stand my ground on recommending this place) and give a shot to the new player on the market Rhum Gwadinina (both reviewed separately), we didn't venture out to north of Grand Terre but we did try our best in Basse Terre, despite the November 2021 street riots and blockades that further decreased amount of things I had on my radar but driving, assuming normal conditions, here is very easy and fast as both Martinique and Gwada had the best roads I have ever seen in Caribbeans (even better than Puerto Rico, considering its a US territory and its mountainous terrain similar to Martinique's and Basse Terr'es in Gwada).||||Overall: is this place an absolute 5? NO! Is it a solid 4 - YES! is it 4.5 to stretch it to 5? Probably - what stuck with me was the kindness of Fanny who didn't speak a word in English and yet was always smiling and super nice, the helpfulness and attention to us by both Roman and Maya, our English speaking savors :) whom always treated us nicely and respectfully trying to help us despite our inability to speak French (for the record we speak multiple languages, simply French is not of them) - especially Maya's assistance with the scheduling the COVID test at the airport facility that spoke hardcore 100% French and only French was something that I will never forget and I am grateful forever - it's these things that let me overlook the smaller things and I can only wish this place growth, prosperity and bright future! Thank you for having us - you were the "human" people when the "human" touch was desperately needed and we will...

I can’t say enough good about Hotel Le Nil! The location is perfect and it’s right on the ocean where you can walk right out onto some of the best beaches I’ve seen in the Caribbean. ||||What really made our stay so perfect were the owners and staff of the hotel! Fluent English is spoken by at least two staff here but some attempts to speak French always helped. ||||I had a brief incident where I passed out from heat exhaustion at the restaurant next door (Kon Tiki). The owner of Le Nil rushed over to help while everyone at Kon Tiki did so much to help me along while we waited for the ambulance. When we were ready to leave the hospital in Pointe-à-Pitre we called the hotel to see about a taxi. Instead, one of the owners drove out herself, picked us up and drive us back to the hotel!!!!||Try doing that at a Hilton!||||My final comment is about the restaurant. Breakfast (included with the room) is wonderful. Everyday was an assortment of fruits, with bread, coffee and croissants. We ate several meals at night where the menu was varied and delicious. I’ve never been a fan of Caribbean lobster (called langouste) but the night we tried it it was delicious! The waitstaff is attentive and very friendly!||||Two rooms out of the right in this boutique hotel overlook the ocean with a balcony, so if you want one of these it’s best to request them. Ask for...

I can’t say enough good about Hotel Le Nil! The location is perfect and it’s right on the ocean where you can walk right out onto some of the best beaches I’ve seen in the Caribbean.

What really made our stay so perfect were the owners and staff of the hotel! Fluent English is spoken by at least two staff here but some attempts to speak French always helped.

I had a brief incident where I passed out from heat exhaustion at the restaurant next door (Kon Tiki). The owner of Le Nil rushed over to help while everyone at Kon Tiki did so much to help me along while we waited for the ambulance. When we were ready to leave the hospital in Pointe-à-Pitre we called the hotel to see about a taxi. Instead, one of the owners drove out herself, picked us up and drive us back to the hotel!!!! Try doing that at a Hilton!

My final comment is about the restaurant. Breakfast (included with the room) is wonderful. Everyday was an assortment of fruits, with bread, coffee and croissants. We ate several meals at night where the menu was varied and delicious. I’ve never been a fan of Caribbean lobster (called langouste) but the night we tried it it was delicious! The waitstaff is attentive and very friendly!

Two rooms in this boutique hotel overlook the ocean with a balcony, so if you want one of these it’s best to request them. Ask for...