Hotel Bambou

The entrance to the Hotel Bambou is not very inviting -- there's a concrete parking lot and a worn-looking sign along the main road  --- but once inside the lobby, the atmosphere transforms. The two-story space, with vaulted ceilings and exposed wood beams, is alive with color and the warmth of natural wood. On the walls, fat letters painted in Martinique's signature madras print spell out "Reception," a row of signed photographs display celebrity visitors, and wooden cutouts depict French fishermen and sea creatures. There's a small computer station for basic Web searches, a bulletin board advertising numerous activities, and a front desk staff that's willing to assist.

The low-key, playful vibe initiated at check-in sets the stage for what guests can expect during their stay. With keys in hand, guests begin their journeys to their rooms by following sidewalks lined with blooming flowers and petite banana trees past neat rows of tiny wooden bungalows in varying shades of coral, lime green, yellow, and blue. The sprawling property, designed to resemble a Creole village, is traversed via sidewalks marked with signs in Creole leading to the pool and out a locked gate and through a parking lot to the beachfront restaurant.

During the day, the center of guest activity is the pool, a walled and gated facility with bathrooms, a ping-pong table, and a smattering of slightly worn blue lounge chairs and tables beneath tiki umbrellas. There's also a water-sports facility where guests can sign out kayaks and paddle boards. The hotel borders a stretch of Anse Mitan beach, a serene white-sand beach with calm water that's ideal for floating and swimming.

In the evenings, the huge restaurant and bar area features nightly entertainment that ranges from karaoke to dance performances. Other restaurants and cafes are close by in Point de Bout (about a 15-minute walk). The sights and shops of Fort de France are also within easy reach via a 20-minute ferry ride from the dock adjacent to the restaurant.

Hotel Bambou is set in the tourist town of Trois-Ilets along the shores of Anse Mitan beach. While the hotel is not in the heart of the Village Creole with its many shops and cafes, getting there is an easy five-minute drive.

• Two-minute walk to the Anse Mitan ferry dock 
• Five-minute drive to Village Creole
• Seven-minute drive to Martinique Golf and Country Club
• 20-minute ferry ride to Fort de France
• 30-minute drive to Le Diamant Beach
• 40-minute drive to Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport
• 50-minute drive to Habitation Clément
• 70-minute drive to the Caravelle Peninsula
• Two-hour drive to Mount Pelee

Hotel Bambou's 132 bungalows all have the same footprint, differing only in the size and number of beds. Rooms are rustic and basic with pine-paneled walls and natural-wood furnishings that include platform-style beds with wooden headboards, small desks, and platform sofa/beds that are equipped with twin mattresses.

The rooms can accommodate up to three people, offering either two twin beds or one king plus the option of an additional twin bed. The beds are finished with basic white sheets and pillows as well as throws in colorful tropical fish or floral prints that coordinate with bed skirts, window treatments, and tropical artwork framed in driftwood. Bathrooms are located at the back of the bungalows and are finished with either white or terra-cotta color tiles and pedestal sinks or natural wood vanities with vessel sinks. Open closets with safes and hanging storage are located in the bathrooms.

In addition to the bungalows, the hotel features 21 rooms in the pink, three-story Gran Key Building that cater to larger families with two bedrooms and one bath. All rooms come with safes, flat-screen TVs, and mini-fridges.

The grounds surrounding Hotel Bambou's colorful, Creole-style village are maintained without pesticides, resulting in an imperfect, authentic landscape covered with flowering shrubs, tall palms, and little banana trees. Guests can relax on their small porches and terraces overlooking the grounds, but they will have to walk to the restaurant to reach the beach. The huge beachfront structure, with dark-wood floors and a wooden boat hanging from the ceiling, houses the Bod Lan Me restaurant and a bar as well as a stage where there is nightly entertainment for guests ranging from steel bands to karaoke.