we have just returned from a wonderful 14 day stay at the Veranda Palmer Beach Hotel, and can honestly say they should be proud of the service and overall atmosphere , the biggest asset to this hotel are the staff, every single one was polite , friendly and courtious from the moment we arrived to the moment we left, special thanks must go to Kashi for organising some extra treats for our anniversary, and to Faisal and Tanya from guest relations for all thier help with where to visit on the island and answering any questions we had.
The transfer from the airport takes approx 1 hour, but it was a lovely trip along the coastal road the our taxi driver Jason pointing out all the sights along the way.
Check-in was smooth and efficient , we were greeted with cool towels and a welcome drink , which were a nice touch after a 12 hour flight, then we were taken on a tour of the hotel to point out the restaurants, bars. the spa and how to access the beach and watersports activities, before being shown to our room.
The rooms are spacious and cleaned daily ( special thanks to Poonam for the towel animals and keping us topped up with mosquito replant tablets) they are well appointed with air conditioning, toileties and towels changed daily, the minibar was stocked with local beer, coke, juice cartons, and water and replenished daily.
(Top Tip: the water is supposed to be ok to drink but we were told that the quality varies greatly, we recommend you drink the BE-EAU bottled water available from the bar and reception)
If possible try and get a room in the 500,600,or 700 numbers as these have the best view and are a little further from the bar so a bit quieter when the entertainment is on.
The Food.
I myself work in the food service industry and have done so for over 30 years and can say that the quaility of the fod at the Veranda is as good as any hotel i have stayed before, and in some cases better than hotels with i higher star rating, however with that said you must understand that as a smaller boutique 3 star hotel you are not going to get the range of choices that you might expect from a larger establishment.
The choices on occation can be a little too mauritian / indian based but you should always find something to try (unless of course you you are one of those really fussy types), however if you really struggle then do not be affraid to ask any of the staff and they will do all they can to get the kitchen to make you something.
We enjoyed every meal and would like to give special thanks to all the kitchen and waiting staff for their service , always greeting us with a smile and ensuring we had everything we needed, extra thanks goes to Nikesh and Deepah in the restaurant , and Nellie in the kitchen for the excellent breakfast omelettes.
Another nice touch are the picnic lunch boxes available for free from reception by ordering before 8pm the day before, you will get the choice of sandwich or baguette, plus salad , fruit, cake, juice and water.
Also don't forget about getting yourself an afternoon snack of fresh pancakes, pastries and local street food from 3pm-5pm at the snack hut in the gardens.
The second restaurant called Horizon is right on the beach it has a bar for drinks during the day and you can also have lunch and dinner there , but it is not included in the Ai, you get a discount of 400rupees per person for lunch and 700 rupees at dinner but i would highly reeommend that you have at least one meal here as the food is excellent, especially the lobster
( dinner meals must be booked at reception 24hrs in advance as you have a choice of 4 set menus including Lobster , Seafood and BBQ)
The main bar ( Baracuda) is open from 11am - 11pm daily , the selection of Ai drinks is ok but some of the more popular cocktails are not included, but you can get them for a small cost.
The beer and Ai spirits are just local but thats normal in most Ai bars anyway.
The bar can get quite busy at times especially before dinner but the staff do their best to keep up, so just remember courtesy cost you nothing and your on holiday whats the rush anyway.( something that our friends from across the channel definitely have forgotten)
With that in mind , many thanks to Kushal on the bar , always happy and smiling and ready with a whisky sour.
The entertianment was ok and really as expected from a 3 star , with local mauritian dancing and african groups, it usually goes on untill 11pm so if you have a roon near the bar area you won't be getting an early night, also as with a lot of hotels the entertainment was not always suitable for the clientele in the hotel, a DJ night playing loud dance music to an older 50plus age group is never going to work, and quite a few guests did say so at the time.
There are plenty of watersports available for free including pedalo, kayak, paddleboard, and even a hobbykat if you know how to sail, the hotel also has its own glass bottom boat that goes out at 10.30am for about 1 hr and at 3pm for a snorkling trip , both well worth it.
We hired a car for a few days to get out and see the island , i would reccomend Hertz Mauritius , i sorted it all out online before we flew out and had the car delivered and collcted from the hotel.
A couple of thingto think of as well , for UK drivers they do drive on the correct side of the road but if you are not a confident driver abroad you might find thier driving style a little aggressive, they will overtake at some silly moments if you don't keep with traffic ,but you will get a beep from behind to let you know they are coming, and some of the roads are not the best but overall i would reccomend getting out on your own as its a lot cheaper than taking the tours or the taxi trips, That said DO NOT drive into Port Louis , traffic is terrible and parking is very hard to find, the better way is to have an adventure and get a taxi into Central Flacq and catch the number 176 bus.
Overall all i can really say is that this hotel in my opinion far exceeds its 3 star rating for service and hospitality, it is not perfect by any means and there are a few rough edges and things that do need work but thats the same everywhere, so if your used to lots of choice and lots for noise this hotel is not for you, but if you like peace and quiet , beautiful beaches, friendly people and your not fussy and boring , i cannot reccomend this hotel enough and we will be going back again one day.
