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... Luxurious comfort at the heart of a Vallée d’Or plantation.
LA PLANTATION RESORT GOLF & SPA
Sainte Marthe Center
97118 Saint Francois
Guadeloupe
Tel: 33 (0) 5 90 210 210
Fax: 33 (0) 5 90 48 96 10
E-mail : contact@laplantationresort.fr
Offering a remarkable blend of tradition and modernity, Saint François has become one of the island's main seaside resorts – yet has retained the charm and authenticity of a fishing village.
Authentic Saint-François:
The heart of town, known here as centre bourg (market town) seems to view the commotion of tourists from afar. Explore its narrow streets, lined with beautiful old wooden huts with roofs covered in sheet metal, before these last remaining ones are demolished and replaced by “standard” construction. A classically traditional area, it was heavily impacted by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, giving it an almost melancholic appearance. But as you approach the market covered by a spiral shaped roof, the greetings of local women and spice merchants, the beautiful shelves of exotic fruits and vegetables and the constant coming and going of onlookers quickly makes you forget this melancholy side. Surrounding the market, a multitude of small shops of every kind and lolos* give it an old-fashioned charm without seeming outdated. Numerous streets lead towards different destinations from the central roundabout.
The town hall can’t be missed, one of the minor architectural masterpieces which spread throughout the commune and the island during the 1930s. Other such buildings include the police station, the school buildings and the public treasury. And the church… Heavily damaged in the Hurricane of 1928, it was not restored until 1932. Religious objects donated by the Pauvert family when it still owned the Sainte Marthe plant also disappeared in the hurricane. Nevertheless, art lovers can still admire the 208 m2 fresco by Marie Adomi Israel, which depicts the life of St. Francis and the village, a risen Christ and a manger. Heading off towards the sea, just a stone’s throw from the central square and protected by a large sea wall, the multi-purpose fishing port is well protected and lively as you might expect, especially in the mornings. Here, the sea is a religion, and fishing is its symbol - typical for a village whose residents were once mostly fishermen. Come and watch the pipirit chantant (daybreak in Creole), as the fishermen arrive on board their small dinghies and colourful fishing boats (saintoises) to unload newly-caught fish and rock lobsters. The bidding then begins… A variety of fish are displayed and purchased at small market stalls (don’t question the prices!), with names like parrot-fish, mahi-mahi, king mackerel, red tuna and red snapper. If the display of fish and shellfish arouses your appetite, a variety of small and restaurants can be found along the banks which compete to offer the finest West Indian cuisine like nowhere else.
Alongside the town’s wooden huts, market and spectacular fishing, Saint François has developed another face, with fine beaches, a casino, a golf course and marina offering many opportunities for recreation and relaxation. Its hotels and tourist apartments, along with a variety of bed and breakfasts, can accommodate more than 100,000 foreign tourists and residents each year. Lined with boutiques and restaurants – the picture of a successful shopping district – Avenue de l’Europe is a must for those devoted to shopping. Summer collections are often available a season in advance, and are often less expensive than in mainland France. Most tourist activities are concentrated in this area. The marina provides an enjoyable setting for a sunset stroll, followed by dinner in one of the nearby charming restaurants. In addition to accommodations and dining, holiday travellers can enjoy a variety of water sports, such as sailing, scuba diving, water skiing and much more.
The roots of this exceptional tourism opportunities in this seaside town can be found in the 1970s. Key figures such as then-mayor Lucien Bernier, visionary developer Jean-François Rozan and a béké (a descendant of the first European settlers), Amédée Huyghues Despointes, who was a local manufacturer and aviation pioneer, gave rise to the idea of hotel and tourism development. A bit of history… In 1969, the Sainte-Marthe plant was the only business operating on the site, with 50 employees. But it was already destined for closure, which finally occurred in 1971. The result of private investment that also benefited from tax exemptions implemented by then-minister Pierre Messmer, this tourism development would have been questionable if not for the development of four-engine aircraft that could cross the Atlantic non-stop in eight hours. Before then, it took 17 hours to travel from Paris to Pointe-à-Pitre, with a stop in the Azores. At the time, tourism was concentrated in three hotels: the Vieille Tour in Gosier, the Caravelle in Sainte-Anne which has since become Club Med, and the Fort Royal in Deshaies. While the Vieille Tour was doing well, the other two hotels were in rapid decline.
This was the moment that Saint-François launched its turnaround, making this fishing village a tourist destination. The new Saint-François began to flourish. The golf course, marina and new hotels opened, including the Hamac, the jewel of the tourist industry at the time. The Hamac hosted the 1979 summit of four major world leaders, James Callaghan, Helmut Schmidt, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and Jimmy Carter, whose armoured limousine travelled down Avenue de l’Europe. This provided excellent publicity for a small town destined for a great future! Development continued with the opening of the Hotel Meridien and partnership with Air France, an international airfield to attract American tourists, a variety of tourist apartments such as La Coursive, the 3 Mâts… and finally, in 1976, the Casino which was financed through local investments. It was a winning recipe. As further evidence, La Ciboulette, the restaurant run by Jean-Pierre Coffe (yes, the famous J.P.C.) soon became the gourmet meeting place for all of Guadeloupe.
Today, the city is vigorously moving forward to maintain its top billing, with construction of a new and larger casino that will include a theatre, access to the marina through a new port with a building devoted to pleasure boating, moving shuttles to neighbouring islands to a multi-use port, developing a pedestrian walkway along the golf course, and finalizing operations at the Pointe des Chateaux site.
The lolo is part of Guadeloupe’s heritage. It is a small neighbourhood grocery where items are sold in large or small lots – the origin of the term “lolo” - and where sale on credit is permitted. Here, you can sample the famous ti’punchs at any time and be part of the traditional “departure” of the elders early each morning.
Source : www.guadeloupe-fr.com
