54 APRIL 2018 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
/ the primer /
FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF LE DOMAINE DES BULLES; COURTESY OF HÔTEL PLEIN SOLEILIT’S AN ENCLAVE OF CUTTING-EDGE ART.
People don’t typically think of the Caribbean
for contemporary art, but visitors to
Martinique can see an impressive collection of
works—all housed in a rum distillery.
Habitation Clément (rhum clementusa.com), in
Le François, comprises a historic plantation
house, a 16-hectare sculpture park, and a sleek
gallery showcasing artists from the region.
The works can be provocative: one of the most
striking sculptures is the word Blood in
enormous red letters, a reference to slavery’s
brutal impact on the island. In addition to the
art, most come here to taste rhum agricole,
Martinique’s signature spirit, which is made
from pressed sugarcane instead of molasses,
giving it a lighter, less syrupy taste. The
original Clément distillery, which dates from
1917, is preserved like a site-specific artwork in
itself, and the rum is stored in sweet-perfumed
cellars. I was delighted to find that the last stop
was an elegant tasting room.IT’S A GASTRONOME’S PARADISE.
Food is taken seriously on the island, but the
culinary style quotient was cranked up a notchAnd so I headed south for my own crash
course on all things Martinican. Here are a few
of the island’s avant-garde charms I discovered
along the way.
IT’S GOT SCI-FI GLAMPING.
I’ve been accused of being self-absorbed before,
but on my first night I was literally living in a
bubble. The inventive Le Domaine des Bulles
(ledomainedesbulles.com; doubles from €145)
is an excellent example of how Martinique does
things the unexpected way: these three
transparent bubbles, set in the forest near the
town of Le Vauclin, offer camping as Jules Verne
might have imagined it. My high-tech globule
was air-conditioned, with a huge bed perfect for
stargazing. Outside was an open-air shower
and a stone plunge pool replenished by a cool
mountain stream. For dinner, I called on a
walkie-talkie to have a fine French meal and
a bottle of Côtes du Rhône delivered to my
outdoor table. Exhibitionists may be
disappointed, however: each bubble is kept
private by fences and thick foliage. Martinique
is very French, but there are limits to
self-exposure.
FROM LEFT: Ta k e i n
360-degree
garden views in the
bubble rooms at Le
Domaine des
Bulles; the
restaurant at Hôtel
Plein Soleil serves
Franco-Carribean
cuisine with ocean
views.