It all began with a family - mine!

I'm Julie, the daughter, the eldest of the siblings, and through this blog and its articles I hope to take you a little further each week to discover our ecolodges "Les Bananes Vertes", in Guadeloupe.

First of all, let's locate us in space:

Our accommodation, located at the foot of the Soufrière volcano, just a few meters from the village of Saint-Claude, has grown year after year at the same pace as my brothers and me. Starting with three studios facing the swimming pool, lodges have gradually sprung up on the plot next door. And the latter has been transformed into a magnificent tropical garden. At certain times of the year, as you stroll between fruit trees and tropical flowers at dusk, you can smell a sweet fragrance in the air, reminiscent of freshly picked lily of the valley: it comes from the Sandragon flowers that border the property.

And here we are today with a total of eight tourist accommodations, ranging from the simplest to the most unusual. The latest of these is a hut perched in the mango trees at the very top of the estate, where you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of our friend the racoon, Alphonse to his friends, who has made it his home.

As our family hails from mountainous regions, nature has always been a symbol of escape and tranquillity for us. So it was only natural that Les Bananes Vertes should evolve in such a way as to preserve and respect the environment around them, and obtain the European Ecolabel. To achieve this, we had to adapt a little and make the surrounding nature a major ally. We opted to install solar panels throughout the estate, as well as cisterns with a drinking-water system enabling us to recover and reuse rainwater for showers and toilets. This is our first step towards ecotourism.

Even our swimming pool has had a makeover! Originally treated with chlorine, it was no longer in keeping with the image of eco-responsible tourism we wanted to project. And so, in November 2022, our beautiful pool switched to magnesium. Much better for the environment, but also for our bodies, it would be such a shame to go without. Especially after a long day out, because isn't it said that "after effort comes comfort"?

And speaking of comfort, why not end another of your days with a drink at Barakann, the bar at Bananes Vertes. My brother Paul and Diane are waiting for you several evenings a week, and will be delighted to help you discover and taste rums from the Guadeloupe archipelago, accompanied by a variety of local aperitifs.

As you can imagine, as well as being nature lovers, we love our beautiful Guadeloupe and want to share it with you.

Whether you're a family, a couple or a group of friends, we'll be delighted to advise you once you're here and help you organize your daily escapades. In the meantime, you can always follow us on this blog, where I'll try to give you as much information, tips and ideas as possible in each of my articles.

See you soon!