Karibea La Valmeniere Hotel & Spa

“Karibea Valmeniere as an exemplary hotel”

I'd chosen the Karibea Valmeniere initially because it was the only one within walking distance (30 minutes uphill along a busy road) of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Martinique (CHUM) in Fort-deFrance. My husband had been medically evacuated there for emergency heart bypass surgery foll… more

I'd chosen the Karibea Valmeniere initially because it was the only one within walking distance (30 minutes uphill along a busy road) of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Martinique (CHUM) in Fort-deFrance. My husband had been medically evacuated there for emergency heart bypass surgery following a heart attack while we'd been on what was supposed to have been a brief holiday in St. Maarten. I'd arrived on 22 April (a day after the surgery). I was there until my husband had recovered sufficiently to be discharged (on 7 May) and we were able to retur on n Saturday 9 May to our home in Toronto Canada. I loved this hotel and will be eternally grateful to all the staff--front desk, housekeeping, bar, restaurant--for being consistently gracious and supportive throughout. The only reason I could keep it together was because of their care and thoughtfulness as I navigated not only my husband's critical condition but the infrastructure; finding open pharmacies for instance, for items, including prescriptions the hospital required me to fill. . Because we'd left St. maarten with only what we could carry in knapsacks the hotel staff helped me find my way on foot to the local laundrette and the shopping centre. But I loved the hotel for its ambiance as well. Though I was focused on my husband, everything about the hotel made it a place to which I'd return. Every monring I was able to swim in the impossibly beautiful infinity pool on the roof and at night slip up to the roof garden for a moment to regroup. There is also a lovely hot tub on the roof. Because I couldn't go to the hospital until the afternoons, In the mornings I was able to sit at one of the tables tucked in behind the pool and work (I'm a professor and had a grant deadline too) and work. My room was perfect, comfortable and decorated with quiet understated elegance. The bathroom was perfect too with warm sandy-brown tiles in the walk-in shower (perfect for the last day of our stay when my husband was able to join me following his discharge from the hospital). The restaurant is excellent, the room itself is beautiful; elegant, understated, welcoming for people (like me) who were there alone. Breakfasts (included) were amazing, with delicious scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit, terrific coffees (I could see that the pastries were lovely and fresh but as I don't eat them I can't comment) and assortments of cold meats, cheeses and other thoughtfully-presented items. . At dinner the hotel had an easy, buzzy joy. There were French families and business people and small groups celebrating together. There was at least one other person who had also chosen the hotel for its proximity to the hospital. The food--and the wine--were also excellent at dinner. Although dining room was always busy it never felt overcrowded or rushed. Everyone working in the restaurant went out of their way to be kind as it was--painfully--obvious how distressed I was. Hotel Valmeniere will stand in my memory as the definition of a perfect hotel. I cannot thank them enough for making viable and comfortable what was otherwise a painfu and extremely difficult period.

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