For those who love all-inclusive accommodation, there is only one choice in the French West Indies island of Martinique. Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek was the first of the brand in the Americas in 1969. At the end of 2024, the hotel completed renovations, and these days it pops with fresh tropical décor and spruced-up public spaces.
Close by is Dominica, also an island known for its natural beauty and interesting accommodation.
I was on Martinique to soak up some sun and explore its many UNESCO sites. And yes, I did something at Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek that fit the criteria.
In the open-air lobby, I was offered a cool drink and a damp cloth to wipe away the day’s travel grit. Then I headed to my room.
Walking through the tropical gardens, I was surrounded by bright blooms and coconut palms. Martinique is the Island of Flowers, after all.
Renovated Rooms at Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek
My Superior room with a Queen bed shone with sunny golden drapes and wallpaper. A striped settee sat near the sliding door to the balcony. It was a lovely spot to sit and unwind. The balcony was great too, with a view across an expansive green lawn and out to sea.
The room had a flat-screen TV, free Wi-fi, a coffee/tea maker, and a mini fridge. I was told you could request a baby bed if needed.
Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek is a popular spot for couples, groups, and families. Room types ranged from a Superior like mine that could accommodate three, to a Superior Family room with a separate children’s bedroom that sleeps up to four. There are also Junior Suites for one or two people in the seaside Village Creole section of the resort, or at the Tour du Port, also by the sea.
Watersports Rule at Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek
A freshwater pool looked out over the ocean, with lounge chairs and umbrellas. Close by was a covered pool bar and open-air space with comfy pillowed chairs and love seats.
- Get a Car Rental
- Get a universal plug adapter
- Buy Travel Insurance
- Get an eSim to be able to use your smartphone abroad.
For adrenaline junkies, Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek had a barrel full of activities. You could waterski, wakeboard, snorkel, windsurf, kayak, or do stand-up paddleboarding. A long, curved dock, a signature structure for the hotel, was where you caught most of the water sports.
They also had bocce ball, table tennis, cardio training, yoga, and fitness classes.
My certified UNESCO activity was an outing on a yole. It’s a boat designed by Martinique fishermen in the 1940s. It has no keel and a single square sail. Participants hoist themselves up on long poles stretching out in the water to balance the vessel.
When the captain tacks, you shove the pole across to the other side and hop up. The yole rocked quite a bit when we changed course (and seating positions), but we were in a shallow bay and wore life jackets. Thankfully, none of our six-person group fell in.
The 2020 UNESCO designation for yole boating was for a practice that safeguards “intangible cultural heritage.” My hat is off to those innovative fishermen who invented this way to ply Martinique’s waters.
Yole excursions are booked through local companies such as Alizes Yole, which will meet you at various locations, including the beach in front of Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek. In Martinique, all beaches are public.
Excellent Buffet Choices for Three Meals at Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek
Breakfast was a sumptuous buffet in Pays Mélés, the main restaurant. Hot egg dishes were available, including fried, scrambled, or boiled. Also, there were French cheeses, charcuterie, pastries, fruit, freshly squeezed juices, coffee, and tea. Nescafe machines were lined up with guests making cappuccinos and lattes.
Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek is all-inclusive with three meals a day plus snacks. The lunch buffet included grilled fish, sandwiches, soups, and desserts.
Dinner was also served in Paye Mélés. I found the grilled fish, beef steaks, tuna tartar, and creole dishes with spicy sauces and salads all delicious.
An open-air restaurant, there was seating with water views, as well as a section overlooking the gardens.
Places to Visit on the Island
Rum, for visitors and locals alike, is the drink of choice. Habitation Clement is probably the most visited rum distillery, where you can learn about the manufacturing process and the brand’s history, wander the gardens, and taste the products made with fresh sugar cane juice.
If you drive north, Habitation Depaz near Mount Pelee is a must. It is an active distilling site, and you can watch truckloads of cane being dumped and readied for processing. The site has been the home of the Depaz family since the 1800s, and daily tours end with a tasting of their quality products.
A sobering and important place I visited was La Savane des Exclaves in Trois Islets. Founder Gilbert Larose showed me his collection of huts, gardens, and dioramas that illustrated the unvarnished reality of slavery in Martinique during colonial times.
Also, the museum covered the story of the Kalinago indigenous people, known as Caribs. Sadly, none of these indigenous peoples remain on the island.
“I was in touch with some Kalinago who still live in Dominica. I visited them when I first started building in 1999 to make sure my facts were correct. Today I give a Euro for every coloring book I sell in the gift shop to them,” explained Larose.
To get a taste of the island’s tropical lushness, I visited Habitation Céron. A restaurant on an old sugar plantation near the town of Precheur and Mount Pelee, its property was filled with magnificent hibiscus, bird of paradise, and frangipani. It also had a massive 300-year-old Zamana tree or monkey tree. I even saw a couple of the resident tarantulas.
Mount Pelee is an active volcano that erupted in 1902 and killed 28,000 people in Sainte-Pierre. These days, the area is calm, and the devastated town is slowly attracting inhabitants again. In 2023, UNESCO added the volcano and forests of Mount Pelee, plus the pitons of the north, to its World Heritage list.
Things to Consider
Martinique is an overseas region of the French Republic and part of the Lesser Antilles island chain. French is the first language, and not a lot of English is spoken. Although there are many French guests at Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek, you’ll find that the front desk staff speak English.
The currency is the Euro.
To get there, Air Canada flies direct from Toronto seasonally from mid-December to mid-April, and direct from Montreal year-round. American Airlines offers non-stop flights to Martinique from Miami International Airport.
Rates at Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek
Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek Superior rooms start at $780 per night for two people. Suites start at around $1,100 per night for two people. As an all-inclusive, the price includes sports activities, a full board (breakfast, lunch, dinner), beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and snacks.
Hotel feature by Toronto-based travel writer Maureen Littlejohn. Photos © Maureen Littlejohn. The Martinique Tourism Authority arranged for her stay as she researched a larger piece. As always, her thoughts and opinions are her own.
