La Pirogue Review

Overall Rating

Excellent location. Great recently refurnished rooms. Very nice food. Very kind staff. Wonderful swimming pool and white sandy beach. Great entertainment. Good value for money.

Extras like drinks, are quite expensive. Unstable weather conditions.

Although married for 29 years now, the beautiful and lovely Hotel La Pirogue resort at le Maurice, makes us feeling like honeymooners again!

On arrival, and after a tiring 11 hour flight in a charter like Air France Jumbo seat pitch (not at all acceptable since we were paying for a regular airline flight), we were very well received at the magnificent La Pirogue Hotel, with a tasty and colorful welcome drink. After checking-in we were offered a delicious breakfast at the "Thatches" buffet restaurant. Surrounded by plenty of flowers, palm-trees and many birds singing and flying around, along with the hotel's very kind and well trained staff, we were certain we had arrived in paradise, with a truly tropical ambiance! Then we were driven to our recently refurbished room (the hotel was totally rebuilt and refurnished in November 2003), a volcanic rock Pirogue format cottage, wonderfully decorated with coral and marine colors, superbly furnished with a large king size bed and a nice shiny bathroom, with its separate shower and bath-tub, strewn with small flowers everywhere. The room's cleaning as well as all other public areas, including the majestic garden, and the large seaside swimming pool and beach maintenance, were perfect.

We only left the hotel for two half day tours on the island with a very kind private guide, and for a one day we went on a Catamaran visit to " les aux Cerfs", which we enjoyed very much.

For the last two days we were invited to change to a superior room, in the seaside. Unlike the previous standard room (2 rooms on each cottage), this superior room was the whole "Pirogue", with a fabulous view of the palm-tree garden, nicely flowered, with the beach just in front. Although the standard rooms are great, I believe it is worth paying the difference for the superior rooms (120 Euros per day during the prime season according to the hotels internet rates).

Although we didn't use them, the sea related activities looked great, and many of them are free of charge. Also the night entertainment was very good and romantic, with an almost daily show (at La Pirogue or at the neighboring Sugar Beach resort, that you can use as it belongs to the same company), followed by great bands, with very nice and romantic dance music until midnight.

We also had a great lobster dinner at the "Paul and Virginie" restaurant near the large pool, and the extremely white sandy beach, with live music, at an extra charge (about 50 Euros per person).

Since all the drinks and snacks are very expensive at the hotel, it may be worth paying to go AI (all inclusive). We paid about 60 Euros per day for light daily snacks at the beach bar, and some drinks at the bar and at the beach. Although we never shopped there, you may find a supermarket to buy some drinks and snacks within 5 minutes walking distance from the resort.

If it wasn't for the poor weather conditions, with some clouds and some scattered rain, I would say this unforgettable week staying at La Pirogue would be one of the best holidays we have ever had.