Beautifully designed apartment in restful seaside colours and with an imaginative and thoughful attention to detail. We had a wonderful three days at Bleu Marine exploring Grand Case Beach. Although we were there during the height of the 'summer season', it rained a couple of times and we were also happy to just relax in the apartment because it was so nice; there's a lovely covered patio area with a table and chairs (including a wooden rocking chair) from which you can survey the beach and the ever changing skyline. Full marks for comfort and cleanliness too - a very comfortable bed, fully equipped kitchen, washing machine - and a decent hairdryer!!! The Grand Case Beach is one of the best on St Maarten. There are several really good restaurants and we particularly liked Le Pressoir. Also worth walking up to Grand Case Beach Club right at the top of Grand Case for lunch or cocktails. It was our first time in the West Indies and I was fascinated by the wildlife. We saw several Iguanas in trees (who knew they could climb?!? ) and an absolutely massive - and very tame - Iguana on the beach.

The main town in the French part of the Island is Marigot. On the way back from St Barths we had a couple of hours in between arriving on the ferry and catching the plane home from the airport. I assumed that it would be a good opportunity to explore Marigot and to find somewhere nice for lunch. It wasn't - Marigot is best avoided unless you are only planning to catch the ferry from the port area!