Villa Crystal Beach
Saint-François · Guadeloupe
French West Indies
How we fell for the place
Why the rope chair and the planter's punch?
We're Josée and Fabien, Quebecers by birth and devoted visitors to the French West Indies for the past decade. The place that stole our hearts: Saint-François, and especially the area around Raisins Clairs beach. That's where we discovered the Résidence Crystal Beach — and where, a few stays later, chance handed us a one-of-a-kind opportunity: the finest villa of them all was for sale. We couldn't resist.
“Here, there will never be a neighbour — only regular visits from the farmer's goats and cows, on the other side of the low wall.”
Its location is what makes it so special: the last of the seven beachfront buildings, right next to a protected natural area. Our emblem tells the rest. The round rope chair — it really exists, and it's waiting for you on the deck — because here, life happens facing the sea, in the shade of the sea almond trees. The planter's punch — le planteur, as it's called here — because it's the taste of the islands at the hour when the day winds down. We first wanted this villa for our family and friends; we're happy to share it with visitors who, like us, have fallen under Guadeloupe's spell.
Despite its English name, the Résidence Crystal Beach is neither in Ontario nor in Texas: it's in Saint-François, Guadeloupe, in the French West Indies — right on Raisins Clairs beach (plage des Raisins Clairs), facing the island of Marie-Galante.
