A tropical break at La Créole Beach Hôtel Spa

Last October, I had the chance to visit Guadeloupe and one of its hotel jewels: La Créole Beach Hôtel Spa, located in the heart of a park full of palm trees and exotic flowers.

When I boarded the plane to fly to the dream-like butterfly-shaped island, I only had one thing in mind: to get away from the Belgian dreariness an enjoy the tropical Caribbean climate. And I was far from being disappointed. As soon as I arrived, after a brief 20-minute shuttle transfer, the warm welcome from the hotel staff quickly warmed my heart.

Quick and enthusiastic, the check-in was easily and cheerfully done! Before heading for my room, I took the time to walk through the hotel’s green alleys to immerse myself in this superb atmosphere and to discover the incredible picture depicted by the sunset over the Caribbean Sea.

At La Créole, we quickly realise that the sea never really leaves us. You can observe its calm waves from almost all the hotel’s observation points, and especially from certain rooms and suites. In fact, I lodged in the modern and sophisticated, but simple Sea View Room. The essentials for a relaxing weekend in the tropics. This is what attracted me the most, I would say, the combination of sobriety and Guadeloupean charm.

My room had a large king-size bed. Despite its undeniable comfort, it was not the place where I wanted to spend my time: the weather was so pleasant and the setting so peaceful that I spent most of my days outside.

The conception of La Créole Beach Hôtel Spa is attractive and ingenious: all its dwellings are organized around lush gardens. As such, you will get completely immersed in nature as soon as you open your door! This feeling of symbiosis with the Earth will be so strong that you will forget everything, and the worries of everyday life will be far away… that’s what holidays should be all about, right?

This is exactly the place where I would taking my children to, if in the future, I had to choose an exotic and rejuvenating travel destination. It was not surprising at all to see that the hotel was always fully booked throughout school holidays, the week after I had left. Although closed, while awaiting the toddlers to arrive, I was kindly shown through the kids-club. Reminiscent of the hotel facility, Club Ti’Moun is colourful, but very simple. The little ones can therefore freely have fun therein, and especially enjoy the outdoors, which is like a real-size playground! Between the huge swimming pool and the vast gardens, the mini adventurers will be ready to redesign the world.

I spent most of my time tapping off some much-needed vitamin D by the sumptuous infinity pool. Here, you can relax in all simplicity, while enjoying the breath-taking view of the sea, taking a few sweet or savoury breaks at the beach snack bar, or even reading a good book in the shade of palm trees.

However, my favourite spot was undoubtedly the private beach where I liked to walk in the morning after my breakfast which, by the way, was super exquisite. Being offered as a buffet at La Route des Épices, the first meal of the day at La Créole is nothing more than an explosion of flavours and fragrances. There is something for everyone and every palate, and this matters a lot, when you want to please your entire family.

Guadeloupe contains loads of treasures, and I refused to leave the territory without having seen them all. The island is so small that it only takes 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach the northwest from the southeast. To all families who would be tempted by the Guadeloupean experience, I highly recommend the Cousteau Reserve, a protected maritime and natural site where more than 1,000 hectares of seabed spreads out and which can be explored during a diving session. Just 20 minutes away, I also had the chance to explore the famous Crayfish Cascade, which is very much loved by visitors from around the world, as they love swimming in the Corossol River.

A little further north is the sumptuous Deshaies Botanical Garden. Thousands of tropical flowers, extraordinary vegetation, but also pink flamingos and parrots of all colors… words would not be enough to describe all the wonders of this garden. You need to see it, in order to believe it, so… when are you setting off to this great adventure?

With lots of love,

Lucile