Casuarina Hotel

Casuarina Hotel- Everything was great about the hotel - first and foremost, the people! I was helped with online booking of the hotel room without any hassle. The location of the hotel is great. The hotel is fantastic with beautiful adobe architechture. The food was excellent as well.

FANTASTIC HOLIDAY - worth the money.

This is a rather long holiday review of our time in Mauritius at the Casuarina Hotel. A little background, we were a party of 6 including 2 adults, 4 teenagers, a daughter aged 18 and 3 boys 16, 16, 15. We flew from Glasgow to Mauritius via Dubai, a journey time of about 24 hours as we live 3 hours from Glasgow and then had to get to the North of the Island.

We were a little weary on arrival but found that we had a private mini bus to take us to the hotel, we booked through Mercury Direct. The driver spoke good English and was able to give us an interesting commentary about our route. We had been a little concerned as just before we left the hotel the reviews had been less complimentary but first impressions were positive.

A warm welcome was extended by all staff. Our cases were unloaded and dispatched to our rooms as we were taken to a lovely seating area by the guest relations staff and given a welcoming fruit cocktail. There are a number of guest relations staff but we were lucky to be received by Narvada who spoke very good English and attended to us very well. She told us all the usual introductory stuff and showed us to our rooms

ROOMS

On booking I had requested rooms beside each other but at that time I had not realised that the rooms were spread around the gardens of the hotel. We were allocated 3 rooms in a block of 6 and I would recommend requesting rooms on the first floor as the ground floor rooms are more public.

We felt that the rooms, though in a nice situation, were rather basic and worn. I suppose that it depends on what you expect for the price but my feeling is that the rooms let the place down, as everything else about the hotel seemed to be of a better standard. That said, they would be fine with some renovation. I did query with reception a couple of times, as to whether we were in the standard or superior rooms, as we had booked superior rooms. We were assured they were superior rooms but who knows, they didn't look like the brochure but were very clean and in a very good situation within the grounds. We decided to let it be.

We did have a issue with our bed being so hard that we could not get a good sleep. I have to admit that it took a couple of days to sort, as there seemed to be a breakdown in communications but we did end up with mattress toppers and a comfy bed. There was a safe in the wardrobe at no extra charge and a mini bar that was not in the all inclusive package but the prices were reasonable.

There were small portable TVs with local channels and BBC World.

GARDENS

The gardens are mature and well kept. At this point I feel that I should reinforce the point that this place is rated as a 3 star hotel and if you are expecting expanses of tropical paradise on this budget then you may well be disappointed. In fact, we were all very pleasantly surprised and felt that the grounds, about 6 hectares, were beautiful.

PUBLIC AREAS

We were impressed with all public areas. They were all of a good standard and kept very clean and tidy. There are minimal walls and the space between the reception, various seating areas, bar and restaurants flowed well. There were nice touches, such as flower arrangements on coffee tables and newspapers to read but in French. The bar was well stocked and offered table and poolside service, this could be a little slow at times, especially in the evenings.

There were two restaurants, the main one was partially walled, otherwise they were open with bamboo blinds to close as necessary. This is the one we used and is where breakfast and lunch are also served. As has been mentioned in other reports, birds are present in the restaurant and it is advisable not to leave your bread roll unattended. This is unavoidable as there are so few walls but the waiters do their best to shoo them away. The other restaurant is the treetops. It is a la carte and we did not use it as we were all inclusive and found there to be plenty of choice in the main restaurant.

There are two pools separated by the bar and a seating area, a smaller, shallower and quieter one that overlooks the gardens and a larger one with jacuzzi overlooking the beach, which is across the road but the pool is higher so you don't see the road. Both pools were in good order and clean. There were plenty of sunbeds around both pools and the larger pool also had patio tables and chairs. There are the usual few guests who reserved sunbeds with towels but not many. We arrived poolside at various times of the day and were never short of somewhere to sit. There are plenty of seating areas around the public space and there was always space available.

There is a games room with table tennis, they provide bats you need to buy balls from the shop, they cost R40 each, a small snooker table and some arcade machines. Next to the games room is a small gym. We did not go in but it looked to have 4 or 5 pieces of equipment and there was an exercise class in the late afternoons. They also have two tennis courts, again they provide racquets and you need to buy balls, otherwise they just go missing.

FOOD

We were on an all inclusive package and having not been on one before were a little unsure how it would work for us but felt that with four teenagers it could only make life easier. All meals and a good selection of drinks were included. There were plenty of soft drinks, fruit cocktails both alcoholic and soft, local spirits (my gin and tonic tasted a bit different), aperitifs (fantastic coco punch), wine which was OK, beer, local Phoenix brew that my husband said was good but quite strong, tea/coffee and bottled water. Different tour companies had different drinks lists but ours was pretty comprehensive. Other drinks were available at a cost but we felt that contrary to our expectations, they were not over priced.

Breakfasts were good with cereals, fruit, yoghurt, cheese/cold meat, cakes, croissant, chocolate/raisin pain, rolls, toast and the usual cooked food with eggs cooked to order.

We did not really get to grips with the lunches at first. Each day there was a board with the menu, 1 or 2 choices of main with buffet starter and desert. It was mainly fish and we did struggle a bit as we are not big fish eaters. One day we were offered a different menu to the all inclusive menu, which was available in addition to the menu board. This kept the more unadventurous in the group happy as it included such things as grilled chicken, mini beef steaks, omelettes, pasta, curry, baguettes and chips.

Evening meals varied between buffet style and table service. All food was of good quality and cooked and presented well, there was plenty of choice. One or two of our group are picky eaters and do not like spicy food but no one went hungry.

For guests not on the all inclusive or if you wanted to pay, lunch was available at the bar and evening meals at the treetops restaurant in addition to the main restaurant.

BEACH

As described in the hotel brochure, the beach is across a small road. This was not a big problem for us but does mean that you do not get the totally tropical experience of an on the beach hotel. We did take this into consideration when making our hotel choice and as we wanted to be at Trou aux Biches for the beach and proximity to Grand Baie but did not want to pay the prices of the neighbouring Beachcomber hotel, this was the compromise to be made. The hotel provides a security guard to assist across the road, not because it is terribly busy but because when trying to cross from the hotel visibility is poor as it is on a corner. The beach itself is small in comparison to the neighbouring ones but is perfectly acceptable and we never had problems finding a lounger or even six! The sand is white but does have some broken coral in it, we didn't always wear beach shoes but if I had small children then I would make sure they had footwear. The beach is cleaned of seaweed each morning. There is a man there to help and he will move the beds wherever you want, into the shade in our case. Watersports were good with no difficulty getting equipment. We were able to water ski, snorkel, kayak, sail, wind surf and pedalo. A glass bottom boat heads out to the reef twice a day and you can snorkel off that. Our only other snorkelling experience was in the Caribbean and this was disappointing in comparison. Perhaps we were in a poor location that day. We did not snorkel again as the children did the PADI diving course and saw more with that. Other activities we tried at the beach were parasailing at R1000 each and tubing behind a speedboat which cost R200 each. All participants had a great time. Beach towels are provided by the hotel for a deposit of R500.

ENTERTAINMENT

We arrived on a Friday and as the hotel manager cannot meet all the guests individually, there is a cocktail party on Fridays. The hotel team were introduced to us with a selection of cocktails, before we went into dinner. This evening was Sega dancing and there was an opportunity for guests to join in. It was a nice start to our holiday.

The other interesting evening was the Indian evening, held on a Saturday when we were there, not to be missed. The rest of the evening entertainment, bands and singers, was not quite as good. It was more like lounge music, which I happen to like, with the opportunity to dance. I must admit that we tended to exhaust ourselves during the day so rarely stayed up long, perhaps things were livelier later.

Our teenagers are not into going out clubbing and did find the evenings in the hotel a bit quiet, they tended to play cards.

SPA

My daughter and I each had a couple of spa sessions. The spa is relatively new and is amongst coconut trees at the back of the hotel. We were impressed with the beautiful rooms, pool and relaxing areas. The staff were very helpful and good at their jobs. We both felt totally pampered and relaxed. Prices were similar to home, 2 massages, a deluxe manicure and a deluxe pedicure for £90. We booked with a discount available on Mondays and Wednesdays, 10% if you book your appointment on that day and 15% off if you have more than 3 treatments.

DIVING

One of the main reasons we went to Mauritius was the children wanted to learn to scuba dive, having had taster sessions on Caribbean Cruises. The hotel has an on-site diving school though it is independently run by Kevin Cock. I had some email contact with Kevin before booking and he offered the diving that we were looking for. First there was a pool session, which was free to hotel guests, then if and when the instructor felt you were competent, they took you on a boat into the sea and let you dive there so you could feed the fish etc., this bit did cost R1200.

This was a big hit with the children and 3 of the 4 decided to go ahead and take the PADI open water course, cost was R12000. The other child and my husband decided to just continue with the sea dives, of which they did 2 more, seeing lots of fish and even going onto a wreck.

The PADI group had a book to learn and an exam at the end of it. Kevin and his team pulled the stops out to make sure the children had enough dives to complete the course by opening on Sunday just for us. They run an excellent 46 foot dive vessel with a canopy and seating area up top in the flying bridge style. We had the boat to ourselves one morning, plus Kevin, a crew member and Thierry the children's PADI instructor accompanied them on the vessel when they went on the dive. It is also possible to hire the boat privately but I'm not sure of the cost, probably not cheap. The dive centre was very busy but not that many hotel guests used it.

All 3 children passed the course with our daughter getting 98% and sons not far behind. They were delighted. It was a bit rushed for them as we were only there for 10 days and weren't able to start the pool session until day 3. I would advise that if you want to do this then phone or email Kevin to get booked in before you arrive. My husband, whose father dives and used to be an instructor, was happy with the team and their equipment. They have got a decent website with pictures of the vessel etc on the following link: http://www.geocities.com/padgraphics/prodive.html

OUT AND ABOUT

As in all families, we all want different things from holidays. I am the only one who enjoys sightseeing and have to approach days out carefully, making sure that all references to museums and buildings are kept to a minimum. Here it was a little easier to persuade the troops to get out and about ie if you don't sightsee with Mum then there will be no diving, worked well and also there were plenty trips available that would be of interest to them.

We took a whole day over it so we hired a bus and driver for R3000. We basically followed the same route that is offered by all the tour companies but at more of our own pace.

Our driver was good at giving commentary and telling us a little about life for the locals.

We did the shops at Floreal, which was a disappointment, expensive and too much hassle by staff. I like to just browse a bit and I think that perhaps the driver just took us to the shops set up for the tourists. Having said that, we did enjoy the boat factory there and bought a meter long ship for my father-in-laws birthday, it got home in one piece. Then it was off to the Trou aux Cerfs extinct volcano, which allows some good views of the island, then the Hindu temple and sacred lake at Grand Bassin, great to see the locals offering to the gods. We went to the Black River Gorges, which were a surprise in their size and beauty and saw some lovely waterfalls. After lunch we went to Chamerel to see the waterfalls and the seven coloured earth. We had been thinking of stopping off at Cassala Bird Park but felt we did not have the time to do it justice, as we were all a little weary. The negative of this trip was the lunch. We did tell the driver that we wanted somewhere that would offer food that was not fishy or too spicy. He took us to a place just before Chamerel which was basic. The menu seemed to be mainly fish and was a set 3 course meal. There was however also the choice of grilled chicken and chips, which was fine but it did cost us over R4000. We felt that this was an inflated price for the captive tourist market and that there was probably an arrangement between driver and restaurant owner for us to be taken there. It was an expensive lunch for what it was. Other than that, the trip was great and gave us the chance to see some of the country.

We also managed to get to Pamplemoose Gardens, which were lovely, we booked a minibus and driver for R1000 for half a day. It did rain on us a little here but it was soon dry again. Entry was free. We made use of a guide there, which enhanced the trip as we learnt so much more about the plants. There was no mention of a fee for the guide at the gardens but I had read in the lonely planet guide to pay R50 per person, which I did at the end of the tour. There were two other couples on the tour with us, the only one of which offered the guide payment.

We caught the bus into Grand Baie a few times, which was a bit of a blast from the past, as they use conductors and inspectors. The bus stop is just a short walk from the hotel and the single fare to Grand Baie is R14. Some of the buses are pretty old and the drivers are very fast but it was good to see how the locals travelled. We could have taken a taxi if we wished but only did so once when on the way home from an evening meal out. We needed two taxis at R300 each. The fares are less in the day.

Grand Baie was good for a visit and has plenty of shops, a supermarket, money exchange and lots of bars and restaurants. We had a lovely meal out at Don Camillo Pizzeria. We also visited the market, which was interesting but to be avoided if you don't like to be hassled. There were loads of stalls and everything was cheap but you do need to haggle.

We would have liked to do more trips but the PADI lessons took up quite a bit of time. We'll just have to go back again!

OVERALL

This holiday had a lot to do, in that we are 6 people all looking for different things from a holiday. As we prepared to leave, we were faced with four teenagers, all of whom wanted to stay longer as they were having such a good time and had heaps more things they wanted to do. We wanted to stay, as our holiday had been a success, both because we loved the place and because there were no moans from the family. Mauritius is a beautiful country with so much to offer and it's people are friendly and welcoming. The hotel is clean, has great facilities and is beside a lovely beach. The staff are excellent. Mauritius is not a cheap destination but this hotel offered through Mercury Direct provided good value for money. This holiday ticked all the boxes and we would all like to return.

Sorry this is so long but once I got started there seemed lots to say.

A very good hotel and experience. They just need to sort out their rules and professionalism.