4 Best Hotels in Guadeloupe

You'll feel like the king of the hill as you rock yourself to sleep in a hammock on the terrace of your apartment or gaze down on the sea below. The apartments (for four to six people) with terrace kitchens are appealing and well-maintained. Couples should ask for the newest studios, which have handcrafted stone and tile work. Tricolor bougainvillea surrounds the pool, and the beach is a 10-minute walk away. Guests share the barbecue grills and picnic table—the English-speaking manager has a fresh fish and lobster connection. Bicycles are rented out.

Le Touloulou offers four simple stucco one-bedroom bungalows, two of which have kitchenettes, as well as a two-bedroom bungalow, also with a kitchenette; most importantly, you can roll out of your terrace hammock onto the beach. The restaurant here puts out exceptional seafood; overnight and weekly guests can also get breakfast here for an extra charge. The restaurant can be a happening place, with atmospheric music from the beach bar vying with the slapping of the waves. An adjacent disco gets busy Friday and Saturday nights.

The decades-old complex offers studios, bungalows, and apartments, some with sea views and a pool but no beach (though one is close by). You won't find a lot of style here, but the rooms do have private terraces. Many guests are Canadian—so, naturally, English is spoken. This complex is well-managed and a safe haven for families with children. Le Ballet, the largest cottage, has attractive woodwork on the walls and ceiling of the bedroom. Unfortunately, there's no restaurant on-site.

This rental complex is in a small market town in the heart of Basse-Terre—the mountainous, wild side of Guadeloupe, where eco-sports and scuba diving are the main draws. The architecture is meant to resemble a plantation great house (it’s a stretch, though) and deluxe apartments are connected by a water installation that is a modern take on a distillery’s aqueduct and water wheel. It's just 20 minutes from Guadeloupe’s international airport; but, alas, it's 30 minutes from any beach. The villas are named after rum punches (liqueurs). Villa Coco, which includes three bedrooms, has a terrace that overlooks a private pool. Weekly rentals are the norm.