Blue Diamond Paradise A little corner of paradise with a breathtaking sea view

Gated, just a block or so from the water (although hill is steep.) Everything we could have needed was provided in the kitchen, including basics like salt, pepper, oil, vinegar. No soap or shampoo in the shower, though. Know that the toilet is, like the bedrooms, accessible off the back wall of the open air living space, not directly accessible from the bedrooms, which have a shower and sink each. When the description says shower only, it literally means the shower and the sink, no toilet. Also A/C only works at night, if that is a consideration for you. We were certainly comfortable outside in the shade in January. The pool is cool so you can always take a cooling dip. Great ocean breeze. The view was incredible, perfect sunrises, and there are sun shades if the sun gets to be too much. Laundry just a few steps away, shared with the other unit. Hubert is very helpful. We hope to return some day!

We booked for three weeks and stayed for only one night because the apartment was simply not suitable for our needs and not as we had expected it based on description and pictures. Getting to the apartment was not easy because if you follow the googlemaps link on the webpage to apartment, it leads you to a wrong street which is a dead end on a pretty steep hill. It would have been helpful if there had been a better description of how to get there. The place is described as a villa but the layout is such that there are two separate rooms that are not connected to each other but only to the terrace. Essentially, it is the layout of two adjacent garages. Each room is very small, I would guess 8-10 square meters. In between these two rooms is the toilette. We were traveling with our baby. Leaving the baby in a room that is not at all attached to our sleeping room, which has a separate door to the outside and from where sound would not travel was not an option for us. The only option was to put the baby bed in our room which meant that you could no longer walk around the bed because the room was so small. Also, the owner programmed electricity in such a way that the aircon would only start operating from 8 pm onwards. Not a big deal if you are traveling with grown-ups but with a baby that sleeps before 8 pm, this was a problem. When we arrived at around 7 pm with a baby that was clearly tired, the owner did not offer to switch the aircon on. The rooms have no real windows. The side facing the terrace only had the door and no windows. The door was a wooden door so that neither light nor air would come through. On the backside of the room, there were two “windows” facing a ditch where some construction appeared to take place. These were not glass windows but essentially window shutters without an actual window. We were told this was the standard in Martinique but we did not find this to be true. This setting essentially meant that when inside, we felt like in a tiny pitch dark box - and unbearably hot anytime before 8 pm and after early morning. The terrace itself was nice with a nice view of the sea. But to us, the evening and sleeping situation was such that we decided to leave after one night. No refund was given even though we had paid for the full three weeks and the description had clearly been misleading and omitted crucial information. The owner did not accept this and kept the full prepayment, which was a lot of money.

We were fortunate to have been able to spend a month at Frangipanier. The villa was comfortable, well maintained and appointed with everything we needed and more for a perfect stay. It is in a perfect location and was very convenient for us to get to beaches, restaurants, the grocery store and bakery. We were also happy to just sit and relax on the expansive deck and enjoy the view and the pool. The villa had all the things necessary to be a home away from home for a month including a workout area. The internet and TV worked great and we never had a problem using our cell phones. Hubert was a wonderful host and he was always friendly and helpful, available and considerate. Frangipanier was a great place to stay and we highly recommend it.

Stayed here with another couple for a fantastic holiday. The location is perfect, after traveling around the southern half of the island, I never once wished we were staying elsewhere. Its the perfect mix of being close to everything, but totally private and secluded from anyhting other than the tradewinds and sound of the ocean. It's a short walk to a decent bar/cafe and restaurant and only a short drive to Diamante for grocery, bakery and market. Hubert was a kind and gracious host, everything we needed was provided in the house. Seriously everything, snorkeling gear, a cooler, proper wine glasses, beach towels, plus a bbq grill! The only word of caution I would give to those not familiar driving a manual, the house is located up a fairly steep, narrow drive, so consider renting an automatic. (this applies to many roads in martinique however)