TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Grand Case In April 2023

Hello all. So nice to be visiting this website again and seeing so many familiar names. My husband and I visited Grand Case in April 2017 and have been hoping to return ever since. Then came Irma and Covid!

Well, I’m hoping to do Grand Case for my husband’s birthday in April. A few questions: If we stay at Le Petit, would it be safe to walk to and from restaurant row at night? Is Le Petit as nice as Le Esplenade, where we stayed on our last visit? Any other recommendations for accommodations in the Grand Case area? We do not want to rent a car. We love fine dining and will want to walk to/from dinner each night.

Thank you for your help.

Le Petit is quite a ways from where the majority of restaurants are, and there are no sidewalks on the main section of road. I personally would not feel comfortable walking there. The hotel itself is very nice. I have to assume that you know that Le Petit is owned by the same folks that own Le Esplanade. You might check with them to see if they have any transfers provided to restaurant row from the hotel. I believe that Esplanade does provide transfers to restaurant row, but you should check with them. As far as other nice hotels in that area, I could definitely recommend Grand Case Beach Club. There is a restaurant there on the property, and it's a much shorter walk to restaurant row. There are several nice Air B & B type places in Grand Case, but I don't know of any particular ones to recommend for sure. A few years ago, we saw one that was immediately across the street from Le Cottage, but I do not know the name of it.

Not to put a stick in your plans, but have you considered Orient Village?? Since Irma, to ME, I think the choices in Orient Village outshine Grand Case for walkability. And there are still some parts of Grand Case that haven't totally recovered from Irma. There are a million (well, maybe not literally!!), but there are a TON of townhouses to stay in, in Orient Village where you can walk to the many different restaurants in the Village, and enjoy everything that is there. As far as hotels, Orient Beach Hotel gets really good reviews, and it is just off the Village Square. It's not in the category of Le Petit or Le Esplanade, but the beach is outstanding and there are several great lunch restaurants on the beach, in addition to those in the Village for dinner.

Best wishes and enjoy!

Carol, thank you for your response. Yes, I’m aware that Le Petit and Le Esplanade are under the same ownership. Such nice people and terrific staff. When we stayed at Le Esplanade, we were welcome at Le Petit to use their beach facilities. We walked there daily, stopping at Rainbow and Frenchys for adult beverages 😊. Back in 2017, we felt comfortable walking to/from dinner. However, today I’m not so sure that would be wise. Hubby and I now in our 70’s….we still like long walks, but now more concerned about safety.

We did visit the Orient Beach and found it more commercial than Grand Case. However, we will consider your recommendations. Are the restaurants in Orient Bay as good as those along restaurant row in Grand Case?

Thanks again for your help.

Another question: Would you feel safe walking between Grand Case Beach Club and restaurant row at night?

Walking during the DAY is fine, anywhere in Grand Case.

As far as Orient Village restaurants are concerned, I think they very much compare with Grand Case restaurants now. And I personally really love the vibe of Orient Village. As I said, there are some parts of Grand Case that still have damage from Irma..

As far as walking from GCBC to restaurant row, it is a much shorter distance than Le Petit. I have to say that I PERSONALLY wouldn't do it, but I do not do much walking in general, due to physical issues. Again, I would check with GCBC to see if they provide transportation to restaurant row.

There is a security guard on the road between CGBC and the main road in Grand Case. We have walked that route for many years now and have never felt any danger.

Le Petit does offer a shuttle to and from restaurants.

Thank you. You’ve given me a lot of useful information. Hope to be in SXM in April!

We have walked from GCBC to restaurant row for many years with no problems, but haven't been to the island for 3 years, so can't comment on the current situation. We are arriving Nov.7, so will update after we get there...

Thanks! Looking forward to your update. I’m curious to know which of my favorite restaurants are still open. When we visited Grand Case in 2017, we never had a less than excellent meal.

A lot has changed in the past 5 years. Not just there but all over the island.

Hi all. I resurrected this discussion to say that I’ve finalized my trip to Grand Case and to thank everyone for your comments and suggestions. Hubby and I will stay at Le Petit and will, most likely, take advantage of their transport to and from Restaurant Row. Now looking into restaurant choices…there appear to be more fine eateries than the number of days in our stay!

Thanks again for your help. Cheers!

Yes they are and great food to be had. Just take an open budget.👍

Calmos cafe has reopened since hurricane. It was special. Often had music in past.

We enjoyed Calmos Cafe when we visited Grand Case in 2017. Hope they are open for lunch next month.

Hope you enjoy your trip. While I normally stay in Grand Case and love walking down the main strieet to pick a place to eat each night, I agree with Carol that there is plenty of good food in Orient Village, we usually do that it least one of the nights during our stay. While I always rent a car, I would imagine a taxi from Le Petite to Orient Village for one night would be a worthwhile investment - it is a very short drive.

Sounds like I’m going to have to extend my stay to enjoy all the culinary delights!

I know I'm late to this but my input: we have walked from Le Petit to restaurant row in the past but didn't feel comfortable with all the traffic and no sidewalks. Better to take their shuttle. Our last trip was the year before Irma and W at Grand Case Beach Club. We walked every night and felt very comfortable. I know that they also offer a shuttle. We're staying again in June and so looking forward to it.

Thanks, Nibs. It sounds like the Le Petit shuttle may be the way to go.

We stayed at Le Petit Hotel last year and Bleu Emeraude (basically next door) last month and I thought I could provide some additional input. We walked to/from the restaurants each night, and this year we did have my in-laws with us who are in their mid 80s. We never bothered with the shuttle last year. We were planning to arrange taxis for them each night (Bleu Emeraude does not have a shuttle) but they wanted to give walking a shot the first night and they were ok with it for the rest of our trip. Most of the restaurants are about 1 km from Le Petit Hotel - about 15-20 minutes walking at a leisurely pace, or about 10-15 minutes walking at our usual pace without my in-laws. They took a taxi one night back from Spiga ($10) as it's a little further away (1.5 km) but other than that they walked.

The first 400 m of the walk from the hotel to where the road splits (at Captain Frenchy) is the problem - the sidewalk is poor or very narrow in parts. Once on the one-way boulevard, the walking is easy. So on this 400 m, we just took it slowly and carefully. Some cars coming? We waited until they passed by and then proceeded a little further forward. We found the walk back a little easier because there is less traffic later at night.

But you do have the shuttle option, and it's easy to get taxis too. I think you will like Le Petit Hotel a lot, and Remy, Yamina and Myriam will take good care of you. As you know, as a guest there you can go over to Hotel L'Esplanade and use their pool area, which is certainly a nice place to relax and have lunch and drinks around the pool.

Our restaurants this trip were Spiga, Le Cottage, Bistrot Caraibes, La Villa, L'Auberge Gourmande, and Villa Royale (all excellent although Spiga and Le Cottage were my favorites). We also did a super-casual Friday pizza night takeout meal from Rotisserie/Pizzeria Les 3P which is just 200 m from Le Petit Hotel - it doesn't look like much but we had a great pizza, small rotisserie chicken and a big salad that we brought back to our hotel. I would suggest making some reservations before your trip, if you still have time. If you're there on a Tuesday night when Les Mardis de Grand Case goes, definitely make reservations for that night because it's busy. We happened to have reservations that night for 6:30pm at Bistrot Caraibes and when we were done, we walked out just in time to catch the parade.

Have a great trip!

Thank you so much, John W. Your post was very helpful. My husband and I enjoy walking…we walk a few miles each day. I don’t mind dodging traffic …. I was more concerned that the walk to/from restaurant row would be dark and desolate with the possibility of being a target for muggers. I gather from your post that is not the case. I know that walking along the beach at night is not a good idea, but if the road back to Le Petit is lighted and busy with traffic, I would feel safe walking.

I hope to try all the restaurants that you mentioned! Thanks for your help.

Hi susancat, although bad things can happen anywhere, we never felt unsafe from that perspective. We exercised the typical caution we would when traveling - stay confident and alert, just carry valuables needed rather than everything (some cash and a credit card is all that's needed when out for dinner, the rest is in the hotel safe) and don't talk loudly while comparing your new Patek Philippe watches.