I would Highly recommend a deluxe room towards the Sirrius restaurant/bar. The sirrus restaurant is perhaps the most peaceful with the adult only thai restaurant just behind it. During our 10 day stay there was absolutely no problems with reservations and the staff were quite accommodating when we changed our mind at late notice. A top tip for those that still want to try the thai menu but have kids, they'll serve it in the sirrius. In 10 days we didn't have a bad meal. The food was plenty full and of excellent quality. Occasionally the food was slow to arrive, but who's in a rush. Staff were attentive and always topping up the wine! Outside the dining hours substantial bar snacks are available. Try the sirrus pool for these. As well as the bar snacks there is a very underused afternoon tea. Whilst I tried not to over eat, it is next to impossible.
This place is very well run. During our stay tropical storm Felleng passed to the north and then down the west of the island. With it plenty of rain showers. As each one finished the staff were straight out mopping the floors and wiping down the tables.
The only criticism I have is regarding the sailing equipment. The hobies and the lasors all need servicing. As soon as the wind came up sails ripped and equipment broke. However that needn't ruin your holiday as availability is excellent as you just come in and get another one.
Regarding the proximity to the airport, well we chose it because of the 10 mins transfer and are happy we did. I didn't find aircraft noise a problem but it is worth bearing in mind if you book a resort so close to an airport.
During the stay I used the medical facilities. Both the nurse and the doctor were very good.

Reading many of the reviews of the Shandrani here, my wife and I were very excited about our January trip. Unfortunately, the resort is more like the three-star experiences you will get for much less money in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or other places. If you are flying here quickly and cheaply from South Africa, then I can see where you might think it a quick, nice weekend hop.But to come here from any significant distance away (I live in the U.S.) is a waste of time and money.

The beaches are nice, as they are throughout much of Mauritius and the Indian Ocean, just bring some shoes ahead of time so you can walk out into the water without stabbing your feet on rocks.

The real letdown with the hotel is in the quality of staff and accomodations. The staff has been poorly trained and lacks the ability to properly handle situations or communicate with guests. We had a couple of run-ins with the breakfast staff at the buffet restaurant, who are indifferent and rude. My wife once put a table napkin under her legs because she was wearing shorts and the bamboo wood chair was making her skin sore. Immediately, two waiters came running up and made her take the napkin away, loudly proclaiming that it was unhygenic. I'm sorry, but that's not how any well-trained staff is supposed to handle a situation like that. Not in a so-called five-star resort charging a king's ransom per night.

That experience, I'm afraid, is rather typical of the "rough around the edges" people working the resort. Some of them were very nice, though they all got nicer when you greased their palms with extra cash and freebies, which is typical of any three-star all-inclusive in the world.

The real problem with the resort right off the bat was the quality of their rooms. The superior beachfront rooms look like they haven't been renovated in 20 years. Everything from the linens, to the furniture and decor was outdated. They still have old 1990s tube televisions, which no high end resort in the world dares to put in rooms anymore. Our tile floor was always greasy with condensation because the air conditioner did not work efficiently.

Had we paid $150 for this room at a Courtyard by Marriott in the US, we'd be OK with it, I suppose. But not for several times that amount.

I had to go online to discover that a portion of the hotel had actually been upgraded -- flat screens, new furniture, modern look -- in some higher category rooms. I went and complained to the hotel's manager, Jean-Paul, about this and asked to change. He initially said he'd only do it for 40 euros per night and it took two arguments on different days with him before he relented. The hotel was barely a third full. Any decent high-end hotel manager would be mortified about a guest complaining about 20-year old designs in a room charging five-star rates, but Jean-Paul continued to argue that nothing was broken and that everything worked.

Well, everything works in a Holiday Inn, too. But that chain at least offers flat-screen TVs and charges five times less than Shandrani. Just as an aside, we barely watched TV on this beach trip. It's the symbol the TV offers as to how little the hotel cares about the state of its rooms.

So, the big problem at this hotel: everything's a fight beforehand just to try to get things up to anacceptable level of service and accomodation.

If you are not from South Africa, be prepared for a big fight over you selection of restaurants. The hotel tries to steer everybody into the terrible dinner buffet multiple times per week and will do so unless you battle them for it. We booked through a South African tour operator and were allowed to book restaurants 2 weeks in advance (other countries' guests are not afforded that) and still had to fight tooth and nail to avoid the buffet.

The a la carte restaurants are good (Le Boucannier was best) but the food portions are tiny and it's not all due to a gourmet style of presentation. The hotel has the feel of a place hit by hard times and that is trying to skimp and cut corners where possible. The breakfast buffet is terrible and the staff badly trained. You'd think an island resort would have a decent fresh fruit selection, but there is nothing here you couldn't find at any mid-level US hotel.

Best part of the all-inclusive? You get a good selection of South African wines on the menu as well as some French ones. The French champagne is a nice treat. But Americans, beware, in this part of the world, those things are not as cost-prohibitive as they are in the U.S. You can get champagne at most hotels and restaurants for a minimal cost -- the Shandrani isn't pouring Veuve or Crystal.

To summarize: while the hotel bills itself as 5-star, it is at best a 3-star experience. If you're OK with that and don't mind paying 5-star prices (or can score a huge discount) then this place might be for you. And judging by the positive reviews on Trip Advisor, some people -- often with small children -- do like it.

If you must come here, insist on paying for the Superior (upgraded) rooms. All rooms here have some type of ocean view. The "beachfront" rooms merely face a beach used for docking boats and you can't directly swim off it in any event.

My sincere advice, for those seeking a five-star experience, is to go someplace else. If you are used to the Ritz-Carlton, or the St. Regis, or some of the many beautiful safari lodgings in South Africa, or boutique hotels like the Manolo in Cape Town, or Quartier Francais in Franschhoek, you will not enjoy the Shandrani. You will experience the "Sham-drani" which promises a five-star resort with choices and gives you a three-star experience with plenty of stress and arguments in store.

It starts with bad management and filters on down to the staff. I wish I could be more positive, but having read the handful of negative reviews of this place, I can tell you they are spot-on right down to the last detail. I hope those who read this gain something from it. I'd hate to see anybody travel halfway around the world to visit this beautiful country, only to havean experience thatcould easily be replicated in any budget all-inclusive in the Carribbean.

We are Americans who traveled halfway around the world to experience Mauritius in mid-January, 2013. We were extremely disappointed by the Shandrani. The facility is a 3 star property at best largely due to its location (despite the resort's defense of its 5 star capability) and lacked polish in the grounds, amenities and staff interactions.

Regarding our "Superior Beachfront Room".....we were initially given a tiny room in what we incorrectly assumed was of top quality based on its designation as superior. What a total let down. It was in such desperate need of renovation it was pathetic--from the size, to the decor, to the moldy smell, to the slippery tile floor that stayed slick due to the ancient air conditioning system, to the malfunctioning balcony door that closed and locked while we were outside and stranded us for 45 minutes before we were able to flag down help.

We went online and discovered that a portion of the property's rooms had recently undergone renovation. My husband had two tense exchanges with the manager, Jean-Paul that resulted in us moving to a newer room (in the Deluxe category) with no view for no additional tariff (initially, Jean-Paul claimed they needed to charge us a 40 Euros/night tariff to which we strongly and successfully objected despite his extreme defensives of the caliber of his Superior Beachfront rooms).

Regarding the food and the Serenity Plus all-inclusive program. The food and staff at the Grand Port buffet were beyond subpar even at breakfast. Anyone who feels the need to proceed with a stay at the Shandrani after reading my review must persist in securing dining reservations with the hotel two weeks before arriving...else be prepared for ample experiences at the awful Grand Port. We did so through our South African tour operator and had to grapple with Jean-Paul via email over reservations even before we started our holiday. Foreshadowing of what would be in store for us. Take note that you will need a South African contact to secure your dinner reservations in advance as this option is not open to Europeans or Americans for that matter. Jean-Paul initially tried to excuse our request for early reservations until our South African agent pushed back on him insisting that she guided us to the Shandrani, etc. Even after all of this reservation battle, the food at those restaurants was sparse and of average quality. The resort was only 30% full during our stay, but we heard horror stories from some of the more socially-adjusted staff of hour-plus waits for lunch during "busy season".

It's unfortunate that the Shandrani was our introduction to Mauritius as we do not have positive impressions of the country at all based on our experience. We are disappointed that we missed out on the splendor of the island that other properties could have offered.

We stayed at the Shandrani between 22nd January to February 1st. When we arrived the hotel was incredibly quiet, only I believe about 25% occupied. Towards the end of our holiday it began to increase its occupancy, mainly with young families.

Of course I had carefully researched the Shandrani before we booked and there are many excellent features this hotel possesses. It is set amongst lovely tropical gardens, probably the best we have stayed in. The lobby area and infinity pool and view of the lagoon beyond it are truly beautiful. The food was some of the best we have had, and my wife is a vegetarian who delighted in the food available to her. The staff are really so very friendly, including the reception staff, the superb staff in the Blue Bay Bar and the staff in the main buffet area. Our room was not a refurbished one as we requested but it was very comfortable and was kept spotlessly clean by Farooge. The grounds of the hotel are really extensive and I particularly liked finishing my day fishing on the wild beach. The all-inclusive package is a really excellent given the quality of the food, the many opportunities to eat during the day and the premium wines and spirits available. The free Spa treatment was wonderful.

When we arrived at the hotel it was mainly French people there all good mannered and polite, with a sprinkling of Australian, English and German. Later families with young children arrived. This changed the ethos of the place but children were good mannered with parents who involved themselves with them. We had over a week of good weather and then a cyclone many miles to the north of the island created a front, which made it windier, wetter and cloudy. I would have been really disappointed if this weather had been the norm for the whole of our stay. Sadly, it looked likely to continue beyond our departure.

Were there any negatives to Shandrani? Of course, as there is to all hotels. It is in the take off path of the airport and at first this shocks you and spoils the notion of a ‘paradise.’ However, there are not that many flights and as has been said before you do get very used to it. What effect the airport expansion will have I do not know, but they are anticipating many more flights. Compared to a stay in the Maldives we had the snorkeling is not that good. Motor boat traffic and low tides seriously restrict swimming from the shore and the free snorkeling trips from the boat still limit what you can see due to currents and boat traffic. At this time of year the weather in Mauritius, especially the south east, can be unstable and it’s a long way to go on holiday to have this risk, though it is always warm. Also had the number of children when we left been the norm for our full stay it would have changed my perspective of the holiday, but remember the grounds are vast and finding a quiet area round the Sirius bar and pool is no problem. Also specifically for me, south east Mauritius is not a good fishing area, despite two boat trips and many sessions from the shore I had little success. On the question of coral preservation why is it that areas like Cuba and Mauritius allow fish feeding. This is totally banned in Egypt and the Red Sea for if you feed the fish they no longer clean the coral effectively and the coral can die. My advice would be don’t kill the goose that provides the golden egg – look after your fish stocks (keep out foreign long liners and trawlers) - and do what is necessary to preserve the coral!

I would suspect that the provision of a great all-inclusive package is Beachcombers attraction to combat some of the negatives I have mentioned. But I would like to stress we really thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We did not do any trips for once but those who did boat trips and other excursions spoke well of them. There are some sellers on the beach but this is not high-pressure stuff and some sellers were real characters. Unfortunately one party of Russians in the Sirius restaurant one evening were appalling in their attitude to the staff and other guests – utterly rude and selfish but thankfully this was an isolated incident. The staff are wonderful and deserve respect and appreciation. The al la carte restaurants were really nice but we preferred the informality of the main buffet. However, this was closed for several evenings during our stay. The official reason for this was supposedly some refurbishment but it appears the real reason was the low residency for much of our stay made it uneconomic – this was disappointing but believe me you do not go hungry at Shandrani.

To finish I would like to thank all of the staff for their genuine friendliness, efficiency and grace, greatly helping us to have a lovely holiday – we really appreciated it.

Mick and Chris Addison