Zilwa Attitude

Zilwa Attitude, Mauritius — An In-Depth Review Our stay: 15–29 September We stayed at Zilwa Attitude for two weeks in September for our Honeymoon, and overall, it was a genuinely memorable experience and one of our best holidays. Mauritius itself is an incredible island, but what really stood out for us about Zilwa was the people and the level of personal service. Our highlights include the incredible food at each of the restaurants, the hospitality from staff and the range of things to do both inside at the hotel and the wider island too. The first thing you notice when you arrive at Zilwa Attitude is the view. The hotel has been designed to make the most of its surroundings; it feels like you’ve arrived in a tropical paradise. For an all-inclusive hotel, I thought the food selection was top-notch. At breakfast, there was a very well-stocked buffet with plenty of variety, including a made-to-order egg station. The selection was diverse enough that breakfast never felt repetitive during our two-week stay. At lunchtime you have the choice of the main buffet or an à la carte option. Both are worth trying, and there is plenty of choice. Additionally, after lunch there are pizzas available to order (the Zilwa signature octopus pizza was one of our favourites!). However, it was actually the à la carte restaurant that led to what became one of the most memorable parts of our holiday, and where we found beyond-expectation service at Zilwa Attitude. After being overlooked for 30 minutes at the lunchtime à la carte restaurant, we left for the beach buffet. Before we could even raise the issue, Nitish, the service manager, approached us to apologise. What impressed us most was that the hotel had identified the problem themselves. To make amends, Nitish arranged a special dinner that evening at Lor Disab restaurant, including complimentary premium dishes (delicious langoustines and lamb skewers), turning an unfortunate experience into one of the highlights of our stay – fantastic service. After resolving the initial issue, Nitish continued to exceed expectations. During a later dinner at Kot Nou, our romantic evening was enhanced with complimentary traditional Mauritian dishes and desserts. Nitish continued to check-in with us through the remainder of our stay, organising a cooking session (so fun!) with Chef Vick where we learnt to make Mauritian chicken curry, and caramel flambe bananas. What was especially generous was that we were even a packet of the specific curry powder used by the hotel to take home, along with some garlic pickles, (which are absolutely fantastic and can be found at the main buffet, so delicious). Another day we were also especially grateful to try further Mauritian dishes, like the aubergines with beef, as prepared by Chef Sanjeet – all because my wife said how much she loved the aubergines at Mannau, the Thai restaurant). All this to say that we will remember the exceptional customer service and wonderful experiences long after our holiday has finished. For me, this was the biggest difference between Zilwa and simply staying at a nice all-inclusive hotel. In additional to the superb restaurants, the staff are one of the main reasons I’d return to Zilwa. Everyone was friendly, attentive and genuinely focused on making guests feel welcome. Nitish and Chefs Vick and Sanjeet deserve special recognition, but the excellent service was consistent across the entire team. The bartenders were particularly impressive, creating inventive cocktails and happily surprising us with their own recommendations. With regards to facilities, Zilwa’s beach is divided into three distinct areas, each with its own character, and there were always plenty of sunbeds available. The turquoise sea and beautiful surroundings lived up to the brochure photos. With several well-maintained pools, including one for an adults-only, there were plenty of places to relax and enjoy the views. We also enjoyed a few treatments at the spa, the Ti-Zil couples massage was escellent as was the full body scrub and use of the steam room. My wife also really enjoyed a detoxing facial. The staff at the spa were equally lovely and attentive during our visit. Zilwa offers a great range of complimentary water activities, including kayaking, paddle boarding, windsurfing, sailing, snorkelling and a glass-bottom boat trip. The snorkelling trip is well worth trying, particularly as it is free, with access to a beautiful reef, although visibility and sea conditions can vary. We had pretty choppy conditions snorkelling, one of the drawbacks was that getting back onto the boat could be challenging in rough seas and there was a sense of indifference from the skipper. Overall, the activities add plenty of variety, and there are options to suit different interests and experience levels. Wildlife is another highlight of Zilwa, with geckos, birds, fish and fruit bats regularly seen around the resort. The grounds are also home to several friendly dogs and cats that appear well cared for, adding to the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere for animal lovers. I’d highly recommend hiring a car to explore the rest of Mauritius. The island is stunning, and having your own transport gives you the freedom to discover it at your own pace. The hotel supports this with early breakfasts and packed lunches, making it an excellent base for sightseeing. Even after two weeks, we felt there was still plenty left to explore. There were a few minor things that could be improved, which I’ll cover honestly, but they don’t take away from what was an excellent holiday. We arrived several hours before check-in, but the staff were extremely accommodating, providing access to a shower room so we could freshen up and start enjoying the resort straight away. An area for improvement was luggage storage, which could benefit from stronger security for guests arriving early or departing late. Also when using the beach, a notable downside was the frequent approach from beach sellers promoting excursions and souvenirs. While a minor issue, the repeated interruptions could detract from the otherwise relaxing beach experience, and better management of this would further enhance guests' enjoyment. We left Mauritius wanting to come back — and we still have plenty of the island left to explore. I would happily return to Zilwa Attitude. Mauritius itself is an unbelievable destination, and Zilwa made a fantastic base from which to experience it. For us, the combination of the setting, the facilities, the food and, above all, the genuinely warm hospitality made Zilwa Attitude an unforgettable holiday. Read less

We spent 8 nights at this hotel, and looking back at our holiday, we are genuinely very happy that we chose this place. It gave us a great combination of relaxation, good food, beautiful surroundings, activities and the opportunity to explore Mauritius. Most importantly for us personally, it became the place where we got engaged, so we will definitely remember this hotel for the rest of our lives. The location and views are absolutely beautiful. The hotel has a large, very well-maintained territory, and you constantly see the staff taking care of it. Everything feels clean, green and looked after. The swimming pools were clean, warm and very comfortable. We especially enjoyed the pools near the bar — the view from there is fantastic, and it was one of our favourite places to simply swim and relax. Our room was spacious and comfortable, and we slept very well. The housekeeping was also good. One thing worth mentioning is that the staff here are generally very unobtrusive, so if you would like something specific, it is better simply to ask. For example, we asked to have our towels changed every day, and after that it was done without any problem. The same applies to the service around the beach and pool areas. The staff are always friendly and happy to help, but in our experience they did not often approach us proactively to ask if we wanted drinks. Usually, we simply called someone over or went to the bar ourselves. Once you ask, however, the service is friendly and helpful. So my advice would be: don’t hesitate to ask — the staff are there and happy to help, they are just not intrusive. The drinks were very good, with plenty of classic cocktails available. One of the bartenders also surprised us with some of his own creations, which we really enjoyed. And, of course, the local rum was excellent. Food & All Inclusive If you are staying here for a holiday, I would personally recommend going all inclusive, especially because of the variety of dining options. Breakfast is served buffet-style, with a good selection and plenty of choice. Lunch feels more like a restaurant experience: instead of a large buffet, you order from a smaller menu, and the food was consistently very good. For dinner, you can either choose the buffet or make a reservation at one of the five restaurants around the resort. During our stay, we tried all five: BBQ, Mauritian, seafood, Indian and Asian. For us, booking the restaurants was definitely the better experience. You sit down, order from the menu, drinks are brought to your table, and the whole evening feels much more like going out to a proper restaurant. The dinner buffet is perfectly fine, but in our opinion the individual restaurants offer a much better overall experience. The biggest surprise was the Indian restaurant. Before this holiday, we had very little experience with Indian cuisine, so we did not expect it to become one of our favourites. The food was incredibly flavourful and delicious, and it was honestly one of the culinary highlights of our stay. A special thank you to Gregory The person I would particularly like to recognize is Gregory. From the beginning, Gregory went out of his way to help us. He was always friendly, welcoming and attentive, and whenever we saw him around the hotel, he would come over, say hello and make sure everything was going well. This holiday was particularly important to me because I was planning to propose to my girlfriend during our stay. Gregory helped me organize the special dinner and plan everything around the proposal. Everything was prepared beautifully, including the flowers and all the little details. The whole evening was organized to an extremely high standard and turned into exactly the kind of special moment I had hoped for. She said yes, and this will obviously remain one of the most important memories of our lives. Gregory played a big part in making that possible, and I am genuinely grateful for the effort, attention and care he put into helping me organize it. He also recommended several places outside the hotel, including a restaurant serving authentic Mauritian cuisine. Unfortunately, I cannot remember its name anymore, but it was excellent and gave us the opportunity to experience something much more local. If you stay here, ask Gregory which local Mauritian restaurant he recommends and give it a try — we were very glad we did. Activities and exploring Mauritius We are not the type of travellers who want to spend the entire holiday lying on the beach, so this hotel suited us very well. There are plenty of activities available, but the atmosphere never felt overly busy. It was also a great base for exploring the island. During our eight nights, we had the opportunity to travel around Mauritius and visit many beautiful places, while still having a comfortable and relaxing hotel to return to afterwards. The one area we would improve If there is one thing we would improve, it would be the beach itself. The surroundings and views are beautiful, but there are quite a lot of pieces of coral in the beach and shallow-water area. We think this area could be maintained a little better and cleared more regularly, which would make entering the water more comfortable and safer for swimming. This did not ruin our holiday in any way, but it is probably the clearest area where we felt there was room for improvement. Overall What really stood out throughout our stay was the attitude of the staff. People smile, they are kind, friendly and willing to help, but they are never pushy or intrusive. Once you understand that style of service, the atmosphere becomes very comfortable. After eight nights, we left Mauritius with a lot of wonderful memories — great food, beautiful views, trips around the island, relaxing days by the pool, and most importantly, our engagement. We came here expecting a beautiful holiday and left with something much more memorable. We are genuinely happy that we chose this hotel, and if we have the opportunity to return to Mauritius, we would happily stay here again. Thank you to the entire team for making our stay so enjoyable, and a very special thank you to Gregory for helping turn an already beautiful holiday into one of the most important trips of our lives. ❤️ Read less

We had an absolutely wonderful experience at Kot Nou Restaurant at Zilwa Attitude, and the outstanding service from the entire team made our visit truly special. A very special mention goes to Mohun, the Supervisor, who deserves particular recognition. His service was truly first-class. Mohun was exceptionally attentive, professional, friendly and welcoming. He always made sure that everything was perfect and that we felt comfortable and well looked after. His warm and professional manner really stood out and made a big difference to our experience. We would also like to sincerely thank our two wonderful waiters, Bibek and Emran. Both provided excellent service, were extremely friendly, attentive and professional, and always made us feel welcome. A big thank you as well to Krishna, our barman, who was incredibly friendly and provided excellent service throughout our visit. And of course, a huge compliment to our chefs, Shristy and Vick. The food was absolutely delicious, beautifully prepared and full of flavour. Their dedication and passion were clearly reflected in every dish. Together, Mohun, Bibek, Emran, Krishna, Shristy and Vick made our experience at Kot Nou truly memorable. Every single one of them provided outstanding service, and their friendliness and professionalism were exceptional. We would definitely come back again and would be delighted to meet and be served by this fantastic team again. Thank you all for making our stay so special! 🇲🇺❤️ Absolutely fantastic service, delicious food and wonderful people. Highly recommended! Read less