OUTRIGGER Mauritius Beach Resort

Before travelling to Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort, I requested a ground-floor room because I am an ambulant wheelchair user and knew there were no lifts. I emailed the hotel directly to check that the request from my travel agent had been received. They confirmed it had, but explained that they were “not an accessible hotel” and would do their best to allocate a ground-floor room with minimal steps, subject to availability. Around three weeks before we arrived, I also asked about a ground-floor Junior Suite, as we were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. I was told someone would get back to me, but I didn’t hear anything. We were happy with the room we had, so it wasn’t a big issue. It just would have been nice to know either way. The hotel was honest about its accessibility. The staff were wonderful throughout our stay: friendly, helpful and willing to go the extra mile. I’ll mention a few people by name, but I don’t want that to take away from everyone else. The whole team made us feel welcome. We stayed in room 3016, a Standard Ocean View Room, about four minutes from reception. It was spacious, clean and comfortable, with a beautiful ocean view. There was one step up from the path into the room and two steps from the bedroom up to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, there was step-free access to the shower. The toilet was in a separate cubicle, but there were no grab rails by the toilet, in the shower or elsewhere in the room or bathroom. There are no accessible toilets in the resort’s public areas either. The accommodation is spread across four blocks over a large site. The paths around blocks 1, 2 and 3 are mostly step-free, but that doesn’t mean they are easy to navigate in a wheelchair. The route up towards block 1 is a little hilly, and I needed help to get up the bank. Elsewhere, ramps vary in steepness and the pathways have potholes and areas of soft sand. Pushing myself was difficult in places, so I often needed support. I could reach reception, Le Bleu Bar, Edgewater restaurant, Mercado and the upper part of the main pool area. There are ramps from the drop-off area to reception and down towards the accommodation, and Reuben’s Wine Bar and Tapas can be reached by taking the ramped route through the restaurant. However, there are steps from Le Bleu and Edgewater down towards the beach, and the lower part of the main pool area was difficult for me to access. The gym, tennis court, beach, spa area and some guest rooms also have steps. A buggy can take guests around the resort, and reception has a manual wheelchair to borrow, but mobility equipment is not available to hire there. Although I could get into Mercado, the main buffet restaurant, its layout was difficult to manage in a wheelchair. The food was spread across different areas, so seeing what was on offer meant going up and down ramps and navigating around tables close to the food. I ended up sending my husband and parents on recon missions to tell me what was where. Even the toast involved a journey: the butter was upstairs with the bread, while the toaster was downstairs with no butter nearby. Breakfast shouldn’t need that much planning. We spent plenty of time by the pool and beach. Drinks were brought over to us, often by Om and Firdous, who were both lovely. Having that service made it much easier to relax without having to keep navigating the paths. One small room frustration was the hotel app. I could request tea and water through it, but not coffee, sugar or creamer. A small thing, but an odd one when the app is meant to make requests easier. I’d read on travel forums that guests could prebook 45 minutes a day to use the spa facilities, including the sauna and steam room. When we asked the spa manager, we were told that the 45 minutes was only available with a massage and that we couldn’t use those facilities separately. It was disappointing, although I appreciate that the information I’d read was on forums rather than from the hotel. The most frustrating part of the holiday involved the complimentary snorkelling trip. My parents, who travelled with us, were told places were first come, first served and that they needed to ask at 9 am on the day they wanted to go. My mother was among the first people there, but was told it was already fully booked. She was then offered a private snorkelling session for €135. Perhaps places had been taken by other guests, but it was hard to understand how the free trip had filled up so quickly when she followed the booking instructions. Being offered a paid trip immediately afterwards made it all the more irritating. We had booked Dinner Under the Stars, but it was cancelled because of poor weather, so I can’t comment on that experience. We also requested a Mauritian cooking and cocktail-making class through the GHA Discovery app. The email gave us a date, time, reference number and price, which made it look like a confirmed booking. We had not paid; I expected to pay at the lesson or have it added to our room. Much further down the email, it said the hotel still needed to confirm the reservation and would contact us. That message needed to be near the top. When we first arrived at the Plantation Club, a waiter told us it was a private club, said there was no such lesson and sent us back to reception. That was the one interaction during our stay that felt rude. Reception also seemed unsure about the booking, but Vic and Joseph stepped in and, with help from the front of house team, organised the experience for us. And I’m so glad they did. Mr Dinson, the Plantation Club manager, was warm, friendly and engaging. Chef Rutun was fantastic, with Kousum helping him in the kitchen, and Damini was exceptional too. We had chicken and prawn curry, fish salad, roti and a curried-style coleslaw, followed by a mango mojito that was very generous with the rum! The food was delicious and we had such a good time. The booking process needs sorting out, but the team turned it into one of our favourite holiday memories. I understand that this is a beach resort and that sandy pathways come with the setting. Even so, there are changes that could make more of it accessible. A ramp down to the beach would remove the steps that currently block access, while handrails into the pool would help guests get in and out more safely. The Plantation Club has around ten steps and no wheelchair access at all. I appreciate that it is a heritage building, but it is worth exploring whether a suitable step-free entrance could be added. This would help wheelchair users, older guests and anyone else who struggles with steps. The staff were the highlight of our stay, including the many whose names I haven’t mentioned. They helped when things went wrong and gave us some lovely memories. With practical changes to the resort itself, more guests could enjoy it with greater independence.

It was a good stay. Food wise, as a club lounge member, it was really nice - freshly prepared and very interesting and unique foods. Dinson, Damini, Vedant & team really looked after us. Dinson is a magician when it comes to making drinks. Great atmosphere in the club lounge. Also very clean. Although the room did not reflect 5 star feel, the service certainly did. Every staff member is very polite and helpful. Every corner of the hotel has a nature feel to it especially with the birds’ singing sounds - so peaceful.

We had a wonderful holiday at this lovely resort. The room was impressive and the service provided by the staff, particularly the manager at the Plantation Club ,Dinson and also Demi and other staff members that made the whole experience a delightful one. We wouldn’t have any hesitation in recommending this resort or coming here again in the future.

Endless Thanks To the Whole Outrigger Mauritius best part the bar le bleu Merci nishta ,diksha,sharon ,sandy, Runga ,chaitanya, krishna & the whole bar team who was there till we checked out .Food and Beverage bhavika ,kalyani also Vardhan at edgewater. The chefs despite being back of the house made amazing dishes highlight to the lady who added taste to our omelette daily by her beautiful smile. Team Front office Kooshal,Thishan & Nitish. Team housekeeping a lady came to do the room she was so kind despite we being drunk merci madam forgot to ask her her name . Bar 9.5/10

I had a wonderful experience at Outrigger Hotel. The service was excellent, and I would especially like to mention Pravesh in Wateredge restaurant who was extremely friendly, attentive, and professional. He made sure everything was taken care of and went out of his way to make our experience enjoyable. His warm and helpful attitude truly made a difference. Thank you, Pravesh, and the whole team at Outrigger for the great service. I would definitely recommend the hotel and look forward to visiting again! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐