A gamble on the cliff
Some destinies are shaped by a sudden passion. The story of La Toubana began in 1983, on a cliff in Sainte-Anne, a piece of land suspended above the Caribbean Sea, which someone had the audacity to transform into a hotel when Guadeloupe was still finding its way.
It was in the 1970s that Robert Vial Collet made his mark. This man from the mountains of Savoy, who had married a Guadeloupean woman and learned to love this island in a different way, set his eyes on this place and decided to acquire it — against all logic.
At that time, investing in Guadeloupe meant agricultural land. Sugarcane, bananas — that's where the future was being built. A steep cliff, facing the ocean, with no road or infrastructure, was worthless in anyone's eyes. No one, except Robert. He bought the land, he built, he developed. Twelve bungalows nestled in the tropical vegetation, a name inherited from the Arawak language — Toubana, the small hut — and a simple vision: to offer his guests the most beautiful view on the island. A rock at the top of a cliff that no one wanted. That's where it all began.
More than 40 years later, La Toubana has become the only five-star hotel in Guadeloupe. The bungalows have grown, the gardens have bloomed, generations have come and gone. But the soul of the place has remained intact — that of a crazy gamble, a love between two worlds, and a view of the Caribbean Sea that Robert had chosen when no one else believed in it.
The little hut, vast horizon
There are places that stop you in your tracks. Not because they try to impress, but because they have an undeniable quality — as if nature and humanity conspired to create exactly what was needed, exactly where it was needed.
La Toubana is one of those places.
Perched on its cliff, the hotel opens onto one of the most breathtaking panoramas in the Antilles. Opposite, the islands of les Saintes, further away, Marie-Galante floats in the blue mist like a distant promise. Between the two, the Caribbean Sea — sometimes turquoise, sometimes indigo — changes color with the hours and the light.
It's from the infinity pool that this spectacle takes on its full dimension. Suspended in the air, on the edge of the void, it gives the illusion of swimming in the sky. In the morning, when the sun rises over the ocean and the water's surface gleams with gold, you understand why Robert Vial Collet had seen something others hadn't.
La Toubana doesn't try to do too much. No excess, no ostentation.
Just tropical gardens, bungalows nestled in the vegetation. The luxury here is discreet, almost natural — that of a place that knows exactly what it is and has nothing to prove.
Toubana: the little hut. The name says it all.
Here, you don't just come to be dazzled by the scenery. You come to feel at home, truly at home…
Tomorrow
Lasting stories always have a beginning no one could have predicted.
My grandfather, a Savoyard. My grandmother, a Guadeloupean. A piece of cliff that no one wanted. That's where it all began.
And today, more than forty years after my grandfather first laid eyes on this horizon and decided to believe in it, La Toubana is still a family story.
My mother Corinne came to La Toubana out of love — first for my father Patrick, then for this unique place that became as much hers as it was the Vial Collet family's.
It was she who, with Patrick, carried the hotel from one generation to the next. She expanded it, transformed it, elevated it to the status of Guadeloupe's only five-star hotel, without ever betraying the spirit of the place.
And my brother Aston, who grew up here like me — among the gardens, bungalows, and familiar faces — before dedicating five years of his life to it. La Toubana's DNA runs in his veins, and perhaps that's the most beautiful thing: that one can leave, and still remain connected.
Preserving the soul of what Robert had created while giving it a new ambition — that is perhaps the most beautiful form of loyalty.
Then it was I, their daughter Chloé, who took over.
Today, as General Manager, I carry La Toubana with the dual legitimacy of those who have the place in their blood and high standards in their character.
Growing up in a hotel means learning very early on that nothing is achieved without others — that the beauty of a place is always the result of collective, discreet, daily work.
My children, Arthus and Kortho, are growing up at La Toubana like others grow up in a family home — with the quiet freedom of those who know every face, every habit, every story.
They already know what many adults take years to understand: that a place's value comes only from the people who bring it to life.
Will they take over one day? The question remains open, and that's perfectly fine. But one thing is certain — La Toubana already runs in their veins. It's part of who they are.
My ambition remains the same as on day one: to make this piece of cliff a place where people feel good, where they return, where they create memories that stay with them long after they leave. Not a race for stars or rankings — just the quiet dedication of those who deeply love what they do.
My grandfather had seen something on this cliff that no one else had yet seen. That vision, that ability to believe in a place and give it a soul — perhaps that's the true legacy of La Toubana. And it's passed down, from generation to generation, as a matter of course.