I knew EXACTLY where I wanted to stay on my too-short trip to St. Martin, French West Indies. I knew exactly what I wanted, and The Grand Case Beach Club fit the bill perfectly.

Small (70 rooms), intimate, quiet, peaceful, secluded, and so reasonably priced, this beachfront resort offers studios, studios with lofts, and one and two bedroom suites, all with color satellite TV and full kitchens.

The "Urban Beach" side...

Located on a spit of land just beyond the town of Grand Case (the "culinary capitol of the Caribbean"), GCBC sits nestled between two beaches, one facing the town of Grand Case, the other facing the island of Anguilla, a scant 5 miles away.

The resort isn't luxurious. You won't find turndown service or a Godiva chocolate on your pillow; you won't find Gilchrist and Soames shampoo or soap in the bathrooms. There are no elegant antiques, Liberty or Waverly fabrics; just clean, simply furnished airconditioned rooms and suites with Caribbean rattan furniture and light Caribbean-design textiles. Flooring is white ceramic tile with the occasional throw rug. The bathrooms are simple, tiled, with bath and shower, soap and conditioning shampoo, hairdryers, and -- BLESS this place! -- incandescent rather than fluorescent lighting.

Upstairs Bedroom in Townhouse

Some of the rooms (loft suites, for example, or the upstairs bedroom in a two-bedroom townhouse unit) have high vaulted ceilings. All have generous patios or terraces. Most have sea views, although some face the colorful gardens.

We arrived at the airport hot, sweaty, and tired. A lovely young man from Prestige Car Rental was waiting for us, holding a sign with my name on it. (On the Dutch side, where the airport is located, Prestige Car Rental is named Value Rent a Car; on the French side, it's Prestige). We were driven to the rental office, quickly had our paperwork taken care of, reviewed the bumps and scratches already on our vehicle before we took it, and then were on our way. There are many car rental options in St. Maarten/St. Martin, but the combination of the excellent price and customer service from Prestige/Value drove our decision to rent from them, and I would recommend no other.

The road from the airport is fairly easy to negotiate over to the French side of the island; clearly marked signs guide the way to Marigot, the major city, and then beyond to Grand Case.

Once through Grand Case,

Marigot

the sign to GCBC leads to a dirt road climbing a mountain. While the first thought might be "ooops, I have gone the wrong way," keep going. This is the right place. An electronic security gate requires you to ring for entrance or punch in your room number if you are already a guest.

Inside the compound you are surrounded by lush gardens and the accommodation buildings, all are 3 stories or less. The staff at check-in is delightful, welcoming and very informative. "Don't use the phone very much," we were told. "It's very expensive." A call to the U.S. or Canada costs $4 USD a minute. To France it's only $3 a minute, to the rest of Europe, $5 a minute.

Parking is provided near the actual units, so once we got our keys we drove to the parking area

Petit Plage in the Morning

closest to our room. We had a seaview unit facing Petit Plage and Anguilla, with the tops of the seagrape from the shade garden just visible from the room.

The Sunset Cafe provides a complimentary continental breakfast, très francais, with croissants, hunks of baguette, butter, coffee and orange juice. There is also a menu for hot breakfast items.

Chaises with pads, palapas, and cloth umbrellas dot the beach on both sides of the complex. The shade garden includes hammocks strung up between the seagrapes, a perfect place to laze.

Sea kayaks and sunfish sailing boats are offered complimentary, as are other non-motorized watersports. Excursions can be purchased from the tour desk. A gift/sundry shop and tennis court (lit for night play) round out the resort amenities.

"We are far from perfect," Steve Wright, the congenial General Manager, said to me, "but we are working towards that goal."

"Perfection has many faces, " I replied, as I watched my daughter, fresh from a grueling semester in architecture school, roll over on her beachfront chaise, the turquoise Caribbean sea lapping at the shore, the sun just going down.

Yes, this was perfect, perfect, perfect.

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