Me and my husband stayed at Sofitel L'Imperial from the 11th till the 20th January,we both work in the Airline Industry so we're used to travel around and when on vacation we normally choose to stay at Sofitel hotels.From all the Sofitel hotels this one is definitely not a 5* (4* in a good day) and probably the worst.

Hotel: The Hotel is ok.Nice Thai inspired decoration, however the hallways are plain and look a little old.But compared to everything the hotel decoration is the least to be concerned.

Staff:

First :You can count the number of staff that would say Hello,Thank You or even return a smile.You make eye contact to ask for something and you can feel their eyes go away and just ignore you.

Second:Before we went on this vacation we saw some comments that the service was slow, and I just thought I am on vacation so no rush!!!They are SO slow and so bad organised that it really turns to be a painful experience.You arrive at the buffet, they seat you and ask what do you like to drink?we always ask for a coke and a Watermelon Juice (learn this in French,I always asked for Watermelon Juice with no Ice and ended up with a Melon Juice with Ice),you can finish you meal and NO DRINKS, now try to eat spicy Curry with no drink and 32degreed outside!No patience for that!

Third:The Reception Staff,you pay for a 5* and you are treated like you pay for a Motel.
The hotel from the 18th looked like 40% of the rooms were empty,so since our flight was leaving on the 20th but only at 1845h we asked if instead of checking out at 12h it would be possible to check out a little later,like 13h00 so we could go to the beach and than take a shower.The answer was NO!But the solution was : If you come here between 12h and 13h with your luggage we can try to find you an empty room for you to take a shower!(If they didn't find, which they didn't 'cause they don't really care,I would be 24h looking like Robison Crusoe!)
Anyway at 12h sharp we received a phone call asking if our luggage was ready,at 1210h we got housekeeping knocking at our door (they kicked us out) and I felt so bad for being 10 minuted late because( NOW they're are in a rush!) that when we left to the airport not even a Good Bye and Thank You, or hope to see you Soon we received!!Thank You for the wonderful Costumer Service!!!!

The Room: The Room was the only thing that looked like a 5* hotel, they are Big and Comfy!
The down part:THE CLEANING!!!they say they change the sheets every day!Just not true!Hey I don't mind you don't change the sheets every day, but at least don't say you do.
The bathroom towels,be careful!Ours were changed after 7days, you just put them on the floor and hope they will be changed but surprised they are back on the towel rack, I even bother to mark the towels with a little mark just to double check and the marked towels were there for 3 more days.

The Buffet:If you are on a Full Board basis, the buffet is ok.However if you're only on Bed and Breakfast basis Buffet is terrible specially because of the price,you will pay a European Gourmet Restaurant price for plain rice.It is truly outrageous 90 euros for 2 with NO drinks just for some plain rice and chicken.

Mauritius is magical and I am definitely coming back just not sure Sofitel will be the right place to stay.

Stayed at Sofitel Imperial a few times.Nothing extraordinary for a 5 star hotel in Mauritius.The hotel is quite old over 20 years of age.Actually, the hotel is doing some renovations regarding the roof.Nothing more.The hotel really needs a good refurbishment overall.A lot of selection of 5 star hotels now.So,lots of choices now.The new one is St Regis Hotel.May be not in the same turf.Improvements also must be made in the restaurants.Not much choices.One main restaurant serving local & international food & on the first floor, Chinese & Japanese restaurants.Limited choices of fresh fruits for breakfast at the main restaurant.Don't understand why water melons and papayas are served in limited quantity as they are not expensive.The last time we stayed in December, we forgot our Mac Book adaptor there when we checked out.The next day, I phoned to see if they have found an adaptor in the room. I was quite certain they would say, the adaptor was found but to our surprise NOT.I also wrote a letter to the director but in vain.Small disappointment which spoiled your stay for sure.

We have just spent a fantastic week in Mauritius. We took the helicopter ride from the airport which was a great idea and gave us the opportunity to see Mauritius very well from the start. Riad, our butler, met us at the landing pad and onwards was constantly paying attention to our needs. Service in the restaurant was not as efficient but riad was never far making sure our dietary requirements were met.
The NYE was just fabulous, it was the first time for both of us we were celebrating dancing on a beach with over 30c!
Spa was good too. I tried the coco treatment and my other half did accupuncture. Both of us found the staff to be very kind and professional.
We visited a few things on the island and all went smoothly through our butler. The boat house offers lots of complimentary activities, so i went water skiing !
I read recent comments and was quite surprised as i was not experiencing the same. I asked the staff and was told that many employees just disappeared at year end which put the team under duress. We didnt real feel it but were told that some large families were disappointed.
I would definitely recommend the sofitel for couples but not at all for families.