We arrived at Angsana Balaclava for our second week of being in Mauritius. It's in the middle of nowhere so be warned but we were extremely impressed with how we were welcomed.
We were taken to our adjoining Garden Suites (as we had our daughters with us). And they were absolutely beautiful. Big, clean, modern, really lovely. There is Wi-Fi and movie channels.
We had a walk around the resort which is very small and it was very, very quiet, there are 52 rooms I think and only 19 were occupied whilst we were there (according to several staff members). The beach is very small and nothing exciting, the water isn't a beautiful colour like I expected and the outlook tends to be dominated by container ships out at sea.
I think because it was so quiet we felt there was not much atmosphere. Most of the time we were the only people sitting around the pool. A pianist played one night out of the seven we were there and was the only entertainment for the whole week although there was one night when an astronomer came with a high powered telescope on the beach and talked to us about the moon and stars which was quite interesting.
The food in the evening was brilliant, there was a good menu and even if you didn't want something off the menu then they were happy to do something else or change it. Can't fault the chef at all! Lunch time food bar was also lovely with good food. The service at breakfast and dinner was also excellent. Complimentary snacks were brought to us around the pool very occasionally which was nice.
We saw some really appalling service a few times while we were there for other guests, particularly around the pool. It seemed that a young girl was responsible for putting the mattresses on the sun beds but she was rarely around so we saw guests sitting on hard beds with no offer of help despite groups of staff who basically had nothing to do standing around talking to each other.
Unfortunately for us when it rained on about the second day and we returned to our rooms they smelt very 'drainy', we called reception and they immediately came over and put some nice smelling oil down the drains in the toilet and shower which masked the smell. But the same happened over the next few days. Eventually about two days before we were leaving the smell became so bad we couldn't stand to be in the room. So they decided to move us up a level, I was concerned that as we were just going up that it might still smell but they insisted the rooms above were fine so we packed everything up and moved up into another two adjoining rooms. We moved in and went to plug something into a plug socket and all the power went off in the room! Once again though they came immediately to sort it out so we were looking forward to enjoying the last couple of days of our holiday. The next day though the smell was back, so we were very disappointed to say the least! It was strange that they didn't move us into another block, even if it would have been an upgrade. It's not like they were full.
My wife used the spa once which is very expensive but she said it was nice. We used the gym a couple of times but that wasn't a nice experience. It was small but the equipment was very new but they turn the air conditioning off if no one is there. Consequently you have to turn it on when you get there and it starts to cool down just as you are finishing your workout. Not great.
Our balconies in our first adjoining rooms were really lovely, with a table and chairs and lovely sofa and cushions to sit out on which we did a lot. But when we moved up a level there was nothing out there but a table and two hard chairs. That was a real shame and we couldn't understand why. We were tired of complaining by that stage because we go on holiday to relax and complaining is mentally draining.
A couple of other things that could be done better - evening turn down inevitably arrived just when we were getting ready for dinner, I have seen that this has been a problem for other people in earlier reviews. Fogging for mosquito prevention was done just before dinner time, we had to be moved because the restaurant floor was left so slippery and having it so fresh in the air can't be that good for you either.
Overall the staff are mostly very pleasant, the food was good, the rooms were beautiful but with issues. The resort manager gave us a little gift of pot pourri to apologize but that didn't really make up for our experience. We couldn't even take that back to Australia due to customs restrictions.....
We've rated the resort at average overall but really some aspects were excellent and some were terrible.
- Also Known As:
- Angsana Balaclava Hotel Balaclava
- Angsana Balaclava Hotel
- Angsana Balaclava Mauritius
Region:
Mauritius >
Pamplemousses District >
Balaclava
Amenities:
Bar/Lounge
Beach
Fitness Center
Free High-Speed Internet
Free Parking
Restaurant
Room Service
Suites
Swimming Pool
Wheelchair access
#2 Family Hotels in Balaclava
#2 Luxury Hotels in Balaclava
#2 On the Beach Hotels in Balaclava
Price Range:
$$$$
Hotel Class:5 star (5*)
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
-
Nestled on the northwest coast of Mauritius, in the secluded area of Turtle Bay, Angsana Balaclava offers a hideaway ideal for travellers looking for privacy and relaxation. Angsana Balaclava is the island’s premier boutique resort – the latest 5-star resort on the Mauritian landscape.
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