Are we in the south of France–or the Caribbean? It can be deceiving on St. Martin.
Navigating the steep hills and winding roads to reach secluded Grand Case Beach Club resembles driving on the Grand Corniche. The resort’s imposing entrance gate features a flagpole flying the French tricolor, as it should on this overseas outpost of France. But there’s a second flagpole flying the stars and stripes and while the official language is French, everyone speaks perfect English.
The palm trees and vibrant sprays of multi-hued bougainvillea are an apt welcome to what the resort boasts is the real unpasteurized French Caribbean. The shades of blue you see in the sea and sky seem to change by the hour. And the bay echoes night and day with the purr of gentle Caribbean waves rolling along the shore, while tree frogs and dove calls add to the background melody at sunset.
This resort in the center of Baie de Grand Case has a long history; but in a sense, the Beach Club today is a brand new destination. And that’s a story itself. Everyone on St. Martin has tales about what happened to the island when record tropical storm Hurricane Irma made a direct hit in the fall of 2017.
As we check in, the night clerk recalls what was—and wasn’t– left of the resort in the aftermath of that storm. Guests who couldn’t leave during the storm had all been relocated into what was considered the strongest building on the property, but even that was badly damaged. Fortunately, no one was injured.
The storm completely ripped off the second floor of the office, yet remarkably the chair where the resort’s director always sat was still resting in its usual place. It’s local legend that the manager was such a force of nature, she could even stand up to a hurricane. The resort needed a complete rebuild, though. And no one could have guessed the clouds parted that it was only the start of a five-year recovery.
It took more than two years just to reconstruct the residential wings and the beach-side restaurant and the resort was finally ready to open in 2020—but we know what happened that year. Two years of pandemic lockdowns meant the resort didn’t get back into full operation until 2022, and the buildings are still practically new today. Meanwhile, there have fortunately been no major storms since and the palm trees, flowers and sea grapes that dot the property have grown back to mature size.
We were staying at on St. Martin only for a long weekend before boarding a cruise leaving from Philipsburg on the Dutch side of the island, but our deluxe one-bedroom suite at Grand Case Beach Club was a place we could have comfortably settled into for an entire season. The two-level suite features a full bathroom and furnished terrace on both floors. A vast bedroom is upstairs and downstairs features a living and dining area and a kitchen complete with all the appliances, dishes and utensils, pots and pans you’d ever need to set up housekeeping.
Artworks by local resident Sir Roland Richardson that were inspired by the island’s landscapes hang in the resort’s rooms and public areas. A welcome bottle of wine is complimentary and the resort’s reasonably-priced list of available vintages includes French Champagnes. There’s a phone number to order food delivery if you don’t want to go by shuttle to town to shop.
It’s simplest, of course, to just relax and enjoy the cuisine of the resort’s restaurant, the beachside Sunset Café & Bar. Located at the water’s edge, with a panoramic view, it has a colonial French ambience and chefs and staff trained in France. It’s a concession run by a separate company than the resort and they cater to a wider audience than just guests, so reservations are recommended in high season.
The fresh catch one day was a local specialty: wahoo–a large fish that looks like and tastes similar to tuna, even though it’s really a closer cousin to mackerel. It’s grilled accompanied by an inventive array of artichokes, carrots, mushrooms and zucchini, which could be served as a meal without the fish. A bowl of mashed potatoes alongside had been whipped to a froth with an intriguing added hint of cauliflower.
I wanted to repeat the experience the next evening, but found the Café’s handwritten menu had completely changed. The food at each meal was incroyable and excellently prepared at reasonable prices. At breakfast the menu included eggs and waffles, tropical fruits and sinful freshly baked pastries.
By day, the activities are lounging and beach-combing on Grand Case’s two relatively compact beaches that are separated by a boardwalk. It’s pleasant stroll along fine golden sand and water is shallow enough to make bobbing in the waves a popular pastime.
The placid blue bay attracts an array of pleasure boats including several for hire by the day. An activity desk can arrange sailing, snorkeling or scuba diving, or sport fishing at sea and sightseeing island tours.
In contrast to the commercial bustle and commercialism of Philipsburg and resorts on the Dutch side of the island, Grand Case Beach Club is a quiet retreat with a south of France personality that’s secluded but within easy reach of the restaurants and night life of the town of Grand Case.
A stay will leave you dreaming of returning for more tastes of this tropical watercolor of a Caribbean getaway.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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