Just a couple of years after finishing Hotel L'Esplanade in 1992, Andre Petrelluzzi had the opportunity to build a sister hotel on a perfect little piece of beachfront property in Grand Case and he couldn't resist. Designed by the same architect as L'Esplanade, the Mediterranean style echoes its bigger sibling. Absolutely unique for the island at the time, the look of these two hotels remains distinctive to this day.

While still nameless, the staff of L'Esplanade would refer to the new property as simply "the little hotel" or "le petit hotel." The name captured its essence—a complete hotel in miniature—and it stuck.

The hotel opened for business in November of 1996, just as Kristin and Marc Petrelluzzi arrived on the island for a two-month vacation. As happens so often on St. Martin, that two months has yet to end. Kristin and Marc spent four years as resident managers of Le Petit Hotel before heading up to L'Esplanade to oversee both properties.