My friend and I Visited Dominica for a week in April 2011 to experience the myriad hiking and scenery. We stayed for Four days at Sutton Place in Roseau, then moved up north to Portsmouth for three days.

Sutton Place is in the heart of Roseau, which, unless there is a cruise ship berthed at the dock, is a quiet little town that you can navigate easily on foot. The staff at Sutton place was extremely friendly and very helpful with suggestions about what attractions to visit both in and outside of Roseau. We had a suite with two queen sized beds, a little kitchen, and a bathroom. The room was well appointed with A/C, cable TV, hot water, and heavy curtains that you could pull to close out the noise, heat, and sounds of the city. We also had a full-length balcony, although it overlooked an alleyway. Surprisingly, maybe because of the time we visited, we didn't have any issues with mosquitoes in the room or in the city.

The location of Sutton place is very convenient. We rented a car (best choice we made) from Best Deal Rental car, which is right behind the hotel. Because the city is rather quiet, it can be difficult to find restaurants that are open late, so we usually ended up eating at a little joint called The Garage, which is only a block away. We always felt safe in the hotel since they close the front gates at night and have a security guard stationed at the front. We also parked our car for free directly in front of the hotel.

Also, the staff at the hotel was good at trying to connect us with guides who could drive us around to the different waterfalls, hikes, etc. However, we found that it was much, much more efficient and economical to rent a car and visit these ourselves. We did use Peter Green (Bushman Tours) to take us to Boiling Lake. He is an amazing guide, fair-priced, and well worth it. Roseau is a great base camp for all of the major hikes and waterfalls. Morne Trois Pitons National Park (Boiling Lake, Middleham Falls, Trafalgar Falls, etc) is only a 30 min drive away, and we were able to explore the entire south-eastern portion of Dominica during an afternoon trip.

I would definitely recommend staying a Sutton Place. During our search for lodging, we considered some of the eco-lodges that were farther up in the mountains, but were very glad that we decided to stay in the city of Roseau; that is not to say that the eco-lodges aren't great - we stopped by one and it was gorgeous, but very secluded and quiet (probably good for a romantic getaway where you're fine with staying cozy in a lodge). We were looking for more eating/drinking/nightlife options, which the city afforded (sort of). Finally, we did not eat or drink at the hotel - we always went out, but the dining area looked quite nice. There is also a Cellar Bar, but like I said, Roseau is a quiet town and the bar never opened while we were there.

I was never to dominica staying at the sutton place hotel made me feel welcomed that I could even say it felt likie home.its perfectly in a tourist zone a super market is two minutes walking distance,restaurant on premises with lots of others around the area,shopping all around and very clean.The only two things I was concerned about but not too much was that there was a kicthenette in my suite with pots and pans and no stove,and the airconditioning could have been alittle colder in the day.Other than that its great !!!

Our Room (#2) has french doors opening up over the street. Room #1 is larger but with smaller shower. The breakfast buffet is very sparse but good; fresh local fruit (one or two types), two types of fresh local fruit juices, coffee, tea, toast (white and wheat), butter and jam. The staff is very friendly.

Big, clean and attractive rooms. Complimentary breakfast. Friendly service.

The only downside was that the receptionists on different shifts did not seem to talk to each other - our taxi was sent away, and we nearly missed our flight as a result.