Just returned from a 10 night all inclusive (AI) stay in a junior suite (room 4127) at Preskil.
On the whole we had a decent stay, largely due to the amazing location right in the beach of the lagoon overlooking île aux Aigrettes.
However, I think it’s only right to provide a clear picture of Preskil Island Resort to assist others looking to stay there in the future as the dining experience left a lot to be desired.
This was not our first AI holiday in Mauritius (Victoria Beachcomber - 4 star so should be similar to the 4 star Preskil experience) and we’ve also done AI at various price points in other places (Spain, Dubai, Egypt & Bali) so I’d say that we have a good idea of the positives and negatives of AI holidays.
Here goes….
ROOM
Shower leaking into living area. Turn down service adhoc, some nights yes, some nights no. Room booked for 3, yet preparation was done based on 2: 2 robes, 2 large towels, sofa bed not made up. Amazing view made up for room niggles.
RESTAURANTS
Rendezvous: This is the main buffet restaurant which had a number of dining rooms running off of it. These rooms provided a degree of separation from the buffet area which helped keep it from having a canteen feel. Unfortunately however, it goes down hill from here…
Hot food: the vast majority, if not all, of the hot food containers either had broken hinges or they original lids had been replaced with ill fitting plastic lids, many of which don’t have handles and don’t fit the container. As most had no handles, you ended up putting your plate down and then used both hands to lift the lift and then try and find somewhere for it to balance without falling on the floor. First world problems, but when you’re having to do this every time you get food, it starts to be an issue.
Cereals area: no cereal bowls - informed a member of staff who proceeded to disappear and return with nothing! Few mins later another member of staff brought out 5 bowls!!!! This happened 5 days on the bounce. I saw other guests putting their cereals in coffee cups…I went with putting mine in a juice glass….4 star all inclusive this is not!
Food - half decent variety and taste, but poorly presented and delivered. Unless you had something made for you fresh (eg omelette, noodles etc) you were lucky if the food was warm let alone hot.
Chicken in fish dishes and fish in chicken dishes : what appeared to be oriental night - sweet & sour fish clearly marked as such had numerous pieces of chickens (in batter like the fish so had clearly been prepared and cooked together).
Refrigerators: These either stored salad items or cold desserts. All of the fridges had large hinged doors which don’t stay open, so you end up holding the doors open with a part of your body (most people used an elbow or their backside!) whilst you had your plate in one hand and cutlery tongs in the other to pick up the food. This was all really unhygienic.
Mosaic: ended up going there every other night due to Rendezvous being poor. Mosaic is an ala carte / table service- decent menu and all food we had there was really nice. But, too many things in the menu were in addition to AI which seems unfair - much of the additional supplementary cost was for sea food which felt odd given our location and local reliance on sea
Again, poor service on occasion - eg: ordered 3 desserts. 2 arrived only to be told at that point that the 3rd, a crème brûlée was not available!! Haphazard approach to service throughout. That said, Dylan looked after us for the most part.
1810: We didn’t use it as the menu didn’t look great which was strange as it’s a sea food restaurant and we’re big fans of seafood. It always seemed quiet and often staff came round during the course of the day to see if we wanted to book there. Whilst you get a voucher for use at Mosaic it was only effectively one for one main meal, so isn’t worth it as everything is at additional cost to the AI package. I’d expect to pay on top of AI for branded / imported spirits, but it in 1810 and to an extent Mosaic much of the menu was at additional cost which felt unfair, particularly given how poor Rendezvous was.
Medley Bar: good size bar numerous differing seating areas and outside area. But, again service was generally poor. Also, all of the cushioned loungers are disgustingly dirty with marks and stains everywhere. One, pushed up against a wall sat directly under a birds nest that was sitting on top of the bamboo/wooden pole false roof (you can see the nesting material sticking through the roof) bird poo a plenty onto the backrest of the cushion.
OVERALL SERVICE ACROSS ALL RESTAURANTS
Level of service is generally very poor. Many staff in each dining room area, but nobody appearing to supervise so it feels like there is no control of each room. Staff seen pushing chairs in around a table & giving the seat a wipe (birds!), but appearing to be completely oblivious to the food waste at their feet and so it was just left. Daughter dropped a samosa (or variation of) on the floor. I picked it up and made eye contact with a lady staff member stood to the side with brush and pan in hand and she just looked at me, so I put the samosa on the side of a unit not being used and it was still there when I returned some 15/20mins later to get dessert.
Tables: inconsistent layout throughout each dining area. Morning : many tables don’t have sugars / sweeteners & most don’t have spoons so you end up roaming around searching. Yet the odd table had spoons.
When we asked staff for missing cutlery they don’t go and get more cutlery, they just took it from other tables already made up. Talk about making life hard for yourselves!
Clearup of tables was for the most part really poor. Oriental night I counted 8 tables where people had finished and left and the plates / glasses hadn’t been cleared up. Staff walked past and would clearly have seen them, yet did nothing. Saw one guest taking his own dirty plates to the waste area.
The majority of internal food / bar areas have a false ceiling of wooden poles/bamboo where is appears that many birds nest (see Medley Bar comments).
FINAL SUMMARY
A stunning location let down dramatically by the poor level of service and food experience. This was by some way the poorest AI experience we have had and would therefore not recommend Preskil and we wouldn’t stay there again.
