1. He is old, very old. I read somewhere that this is almost the oldest hotel on the island - it was founded in 1972. And since then, little has changed.
2. Monotonous breakfasts and dinners. Half of the food is impossible to eat because it is very spicy. Dinners without drinks.
3. Useless cleaning of the rooms, the maximum - they remove the garbage, but the dirt remains. And you have to ask for towels.
4. Pofigistically tuned staff without the slightest desire to help. With all your appearance, employees show that you are an extra irritant for them.
5. Disgusting, constantly disappearing Wi-Fi.
6. Small and at the same time very dirty pool on site. The child was only enough for 1 time.
7. The problem with sun loungers and towels on the beach.
8. Ora from the bar under the windows every other day until one in the morning.
9. For a 4-ki expensive menu in a restaurant and bar. A bottle of water in a stall outside the gate costs 5 (! ) times cheaper.
ten.
Attempt to cheat with the score (a couple of times)
In addition, one must visit such a paradise on Earth while such an opportunity has fallen.
The Emirates flight was a little long, since the connection in Dubai takes 3 hours in addition to the time of the main flight (5 5 hours), but in general it is quite tolerable.
We landed in Mahe early in the morning, got off the plane, and..... it started to rain against the backdrop of fog and mountains, the two of us were taken to the hotel in a minibus, it took about 20 minutes to go.
Upon arrival at the reception, they said that we had to wait a bit until the room was prepared and we went to the beach to contemplate the endless ocean. The rain stopped and all over the sky we saw a big beautiful rainbow over the sea and the sun, which was rising from behind a nearby mountain.
While we were enjoying what we saw, we were already called to the reception in order to give out the keys to the room, everything was already ready in less than 20 minutes. The room was on the 4th floor and turned out to be a two-room suite (although a standard was paid in Moscow) and with a sea view.
The hotel is simple, but everything you need is there. The rooms are cleaned every day, there are absolutely no complaints about the service.
The beach of Beau Valon, where the hotel is located, turned out to be really very wide, gentle, long...... the ocean in this place is very calm, gentle, very convenient entrance to the sea. Then, traveling around the island and stopping at different beaches, I came to this conclusion.
The only inconvenience: the hotel costs only about 12 sunbeds, which the hotel staff does not allow to be transferred to the shore (on the sand) or to a convenient place, for example, in the shade. In the place where half of these trestle beds are located, the scorching sun comes by 11-00, there are no sun umbrellas in the hotel, and therefore you have to quickly figure out where to hide from the sweltering heat.
The territory of the hotel is very small, a patio with a pool and bars and that's practically all, but there is such a beauty and a continuous extraordinary beach around that it's simply pointless to sit in the hotel.
Meals: we only had breakfast, not very varied, but quite decent to have a snack in the morning. The rest of the time we ate at various cafes. There are about 6 cafes around the hotel, that is, there is plenty to choose from, all cafes are about the same price range, but everything is very expensive, a meal for two cost from 100 to 150 euros. On Wednesdays, next to the hotel, there is a bazaar in the evening, where they sell various souvenirs, as well as various national and not only food - fried fish, vegetables, curry octopus and all other victuals, all food in the bazaar costs a penny. We bought fish and went to the room on the balcony to eat.
As for the impressions, I agree with the opinion of the majority - if you don’t stay in a hotel, then the Seychelles is simply wonderful and unique!! ! Nature is mesmerizing!
We rented a car three times. Right-hand drive and left-hand traffic, as well as endless mountain passes and serpentines, did not bother at all, it was scary and unusual only for the first time and the first 15 minutes, but given the fact that on Mahe there is one road around the island and several passes connecting 2 coasts - there were no traffic problems.
We traveled around the island three times, stopped at different beaches that we met along the way, swam, had a snack in a cafe...... I can say one thing - the beaches are all very different, not similar to each other. There is with big waves - Intendance - everyone who visited it is delighted!
There are small secluded lagoons, beaches with boulders, Takamaka beach, where palm trees hang down in the ocean blue. Each is beautiful in its own way.
By the way, when there was a car, we went to dinner in the La Corsair restaurant in the evening - a very pleasant atmosphere and delicious dishes. I also liked the Black Pearl cafe - across the street from the hotel.
We bought fresh fish from fishermen several times, along the coast towards the La Mer restaurant, just a little further away, and the chef at the hotel baked this fish for us, and in the evening we savored warm air and beauty of the Seychelles. An indescribable atmosphere. Incredible impressions.
Captain Rost, whom everyone writes about and admires, did not offer us the program that we would like to see in the Seychelles. Therefore, we decided to take an excursion to Prala and La Digue through a tour operator.
They never regretted it, the islands are not alike, you should visit both.
We also went fishing almost 2 times cheaper than Rost offered, moreover, Rost offers on the same yacht with the same crew. This program was organized for us by Natalia at the reception. A very friendly woman, she has been living in the Seychelles for a long time, helped us in all matters, organized excursions, suggested where to go, where not. Thank you very much - it helped a lot.
With her help, we flew for a day to Bird Island, from which Rost dissuaded us so much, it turned out that this is an extraordinary island from beginning to end, it is simply impossible to describe it - it must be seen !!! ! It's just a wonder of the world, it's not for nothing that it is included in the top 10 geographical achievements of the world!! ! So if you have the opportunity (this is not a cheap pleasure, but it includes an overnight stay at a hotel and meals), then be sure to go, do not listen to Rost.
In general, there were more than enough impressions from the trip, the main thing is not to sit in the hotel! This is not a place where you need to sit in one place, you need to have time to see as much of this crazy beauty around as possible.
We took the standard room. It turned out to be small, but quite acceptable for a 3 *, 4th floor, there was no TV and refrigerator, but the air conditioner worked. The furniture is wicker, the curtains and bedspreads are rather shabby. For several evenings there were problems with the faucet or water, because I had to take a very contrast shower))) We cleaned the room every day. According to what scheme they changed linen and towels, I did not understand, according to my calculations, 1 time for all the time. The staff is very(! ) unobtrusive, sometimes I had to call the waitress several times.
The pool is small, but almost always free. The beach is good, but it is not cleaned from algae and other debris. Everyone has access to it, and not just hotel residents. Therefore, locals often walk there and try to sell excursions and drugs, especially in the evenings. There was a problem with sunbeds and beach towels, because probably a lot of people came. 3 big turtles live on the territory, the biggest one is called Daniel : ) they can be treated with different goodies, apples, bananas...You can have lunch or dinner in a restaurant no more than 2 times, because the food is monotonous, you get bored quickly . Outside the hotel, 5 steps away, there are several restaurants where you can pleasantly diversify your menu, but they work according to their own schedule. Dinner for 2 without frills will cost about 70-80 euros.
In the evenings, the hotel bar has live music until 11 pm, and quite loud, incl.
going to bed early was difficult. If you want to enjoy your stay on Mahe to the fullest, then it is better to rent a car. A small Chinese car will cost 60-85 euros per day. But in a couple of days you can go around the whole island, see different beaches. See all the local sights, we looked for them on the local map, they are marked there. Taxi will cost much more. For example, getting to the city (it's 5-7 minutes) is about 20 euros. I highly recommend visiting the waterfall, we were alone there, you can swim in fresh water, it is not cold, admire the beauty. We also found Grand Anse beach, it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen! Huge empty beach, white clean sand, always clean water and no people, not at all! ) You can also hire a boat or a catamaran (we ordered through our guide, individually) and visit the neighboring islands.
The local population is indifferent to tourists, everyone understands English. It is more convenient to buy alcohol and other drinks in a shop 300 meters to the right of the hotel, because the prices in the bar are sooooo high. For rum lovers, I recommend trying the local dark Takamaka! : ) What is convenient is that it is not necessary to walk around the hotel with cash, all expenses in the bar and restaurant can be paid to your room, upon departure it will be necessary to pay. The hotel is a solid 3+!
Have a nice rest and an ocean of impressions! : )
The hotel itself is good, the food is also for three stars, the beach is wonderful - the best of everything that hotels have on Mahe.
Disadvantages:
BUT, despite the Russian management, the hotel has a Gang of maids, along with other natives who STEAL vacationers' money from safes and suitcases. We must pay tribute that THIVES do not take everything, we have "left" 200 dollars from one wallet, and 150 euros from the second. Our neighbors were less "lucky" - they lost 100 and 300 euros each. It is noteworthy that this happens in the hotel almost daily. The police, called by the neighbors, only took statements from the victims, and that was the end of the "investigation". When planning a vacation in this hotel, plan for such unplanned expenses. . .
Near the hotel there is a good restaurant La pearl noire, and in the city of rendez vous opposite the local big ben (portions are very large) one is enough to eat.
The nature is just amazing, the prices vary in the restaurants. There is a very good restaurant with food that you cook yourself (inexpensive about 30 euros for two), a lot of carved wood ornaments and there is a museum of Antonio for 50 rupees of theirs will show his house, in a rock, where a lot of objects are carved from wood and the leader sits Ilyich in a cage.
I strongly advise you to go to the beach of the Bananian tree hotel. VERY BEAUTIFUL and just huge waves.