At the Pointe de Pitre airport, after making an easy money exchange, a nice cab driver was waiting to accomodate me. The hotel was not far. I was greeted at the Sofitel with a refreshing cloth and a rum punch (you may request it without alcohol). The view was awesome. The grounds were lush with enchanting iguanas during the day, and the musical cricket sounds at night. The beach was so nice, I couldn't get enough of it. Sometimes I enjoyed a lounge chair near the short cliffs, just for some privacy. The breakfast was wonderful with lots of choices. But be careful, the birds like the breakfast bar too. Other than that, and a daily brief thunderstorm, it was a terrific vacation experience. The staff was friendly, and eager to try to understand our poor French. We did not eat in the restaurant due to the expense. The restaurant atmosphere was not exciting or inviting when I peeked in. The lobby and lounge have a beautiful view day and night! I had a great photo of the cliff from the lounge chair but it was too big to send.

We stayed one week at the Auberge de la Vieille Tour in November 2000 through Air Canada Vacations. At the airport, we were kept waiting over 30 minutes for the prepaid shuttle. Apparently, we were waiting for more guests that never showed up.

At the hotel, the clerk welcomed us with a cold face cloth which we really appreciated. It was very hot and humid even in the lobby. Then, we were told that we'd have to wait for a room. It was frustrating that the clerk didn't know when the room would be ready. In the meantime, the hotel offered a locked storage room near the main desk for everybody's luggage.

There are lots of small hills on the property. The rooms are a good up and down hill walk from everything else on the property, so bring your running shoes.

The hotel has transportation by van from the main lobby to the hotel rooms. Unfortunately, we could not find a non-smoking room. Our search was exhausting! The cleaning staff and driver of the hotel van were unfriendly and uncooperative. Hotel staff informed us that "it is a non-smoking room if you don't smoke in it", so we took the ashtray out of the room and opened the sliding door for a couple of hours. Also, we noticed a lot of smoking in the lobby, especially by airline staff staying at the hotel.

The outdoor breakfast buffet was very good and had a lot of selections, i.e. crepes, omelettes, fruits, croissants, breads, juices, etc. Coffee with hot milk was really good. However, by the second day, we found that our table was still not receiving prompt coffee service. We thought that this was due to our speaking English. To remedy this, after I caught the server's attention, I shrugged my shoulders and raised my palms in the air a couple of times to make her laugh, (universal language) and from then on she started serving us coffee at breakfast promptly.

The manager's welcome cocktail involved a personal introduction, handshake with the manager, and a selection of hors d'oeuvres and wine.

The hotel beach area was cleaned every morning. A strange loud noise coming from the beach woke us up one night. We never figured out what caused the noise.

The hotel restaurant was very expensive, including drinks and desserts. Also, we couldn't find anyone from the staff who could speak English. Most of the guests were from France. If you can speak French, then it's a good place to stay.

Our experience at Auberge de la Vielle Tour was excellent. The hotel is VERY CLEAN, the staff is very helpful, and the gardens that surround the hotel are beautiful. The hotel offers a fabulous breakfast, including all the tropical fruits that you can imagine (and/or eat!). Be aware, however, that your dining options are limited to the outrageously expensive restaurants at the hotel.

You should be prepared to spend almost all of your time within the hotel area; outside it is another world, which may appear not to be very safe. The hotel room which we had was not top of the line, but was still huge, with a beautiful bathroom and a gorgeous ocean view. All the rooms in this hotel have ocean views. The caretaking staff is doing a very good job, except for one lady, who comes and begs at the door late in the evening (with the excuse that she is offering you chocolate). The manager of the hotel offers an absolutely outstanding cocktail evening for all of the guests; it appeared to us that he is keeping everything under control.

We enjoyed the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. We will definitely go back to the Auberge of the Vielle Tour.