The Ravenala Attitude

A fabulous holiday. Beautiful setting with great restaurants. Parvan was a great waiter who made us feel very welcome. The Neilson staff were amazing and really made a positive difference to our holiday experience in Mauritius. A big thanks.

Very nice family friendly resort, convenient and staff very friendly. Can improve on room cleanliness and service during breakfast, lunch and dinner

Had the best 2 weeks holiday ALL staff were amazing, too many to mention but a special thanks to Rudy and his team at the boathouse for keeping us safe while out on the water and a special thanks to Will from Neilson for an amazing bike ride, we will definitely be coming back one day

My wife and I first stayed at The Ravenala Attitude four years ago and, with just a week to escape the real world, we decided to return. After all, we knew the hotel, knew the layout and thought, why complicate life? Sometimes familiarity is exactly what you want from a holiday. Although, as we discovered, familiarity doesn’t always mean everything has aged quite as gracefully as we’d hoped! Let’s start with the positives, because there are plenty. The hotel enjoys a fabulous beachfront setting, and for us, this is undoubtedly its greatest asset. The beach is beautiful, the atmosphere relaxed and the service genuinely exceptional. A special mention must go to the beach attendants, particularly one gentleman who apparently clocks up an astonishing 30 kilometres a day looking after guests, six days a week! Impeccably dressed, unfailingly polite and seemingly powered by something considerably stronger than the coffee served at breakfast. If there were an Olympic event for delivering drinks across sand, he’d be bringing home gold for Mauritius! His name, I rather ashamingly will fail to spell correctly, but the whiskers on his moustache will leave you in no doubt who I mean! Food – a bit of a mixed menu! The evening buffet offers a decent variety of dishes, with something to suit most tastes. Lunchtime, however, was a different story. We found the buffet rather uninspiring and quickly discovered that lunch at the O’Beach was a far better proposition. Evening too. Lamb shank was delicious! A huge shout-out here to Shetiz (aka Donna), who looked after us brilliantly and helped make our beachside lunch and supper such a pleasure. Staff like him really do make a difference. Raja too. Of the speciality restaurants, the Mauritian was excellent, as was the Italian Beach earlier mentioned). Both delivered enjoyable meals and a lovely atmosphere. Unfortunately, the Asian restaurant didn’t quite hit the same heights. The food was excessively oily and, compared with its culinary neighbours, rather missed the mark. A rather memorable dining experience, but not for its food, but instead its entertainment when a group of singers came in a sung a couple of songs which really was, very good. Breakfast – The Great Egg Scramble! And then there’s the egg and omelette station, which deserves a special mention, although perhaps not for the right reasons! Friday morning’s attempt to secure a simple fried egg felt more like competing in an Olympic event than enjoying a relaxing breakfast. The queues were chaotic, the organisation seemingly non-existent, and after watching the spectacle unfold, I eventually admitted defeat and retreated eggless. The poor staff were working frantically, and I genuinely felt sorry for them. They must feel completely battered(!) by the end of their shift. Frankly, I was exhausted just watching! A little better organisation here would make an enormous difference. After all, nobody should have to fight quite so hard for a fried egg whilst on holiday! The adults-only section – peaceful, but in need of a little TLC. We stayed in the adults-only section, which is a lovely concept and generally a relaxing place to spend the day. Recommended. However, our sunbed looked as though it had enjoyed a considerably harder life than we had. While some beds had clearly been replaced, ours appeared to have survived several decades of enthusiastic use without troubling the cleaning department! I have an old piece of blanket at home that I slide underneath the car when doing the occasional oil change, and I’m not entirely convinced it would have looked much different! Not quite the luxury lounging experience we’d envisaged. The swimming pools could also benefit from some attention. They appear to have developed a rather loyal following amongst the local duck population, who seem absolutely delighted with the arrangements. To be fair, the ducks looked considerably more enthusiastic about using the pools than many of the guests. Perhaps they know something we don’t! They certainly seem to have secured themselves a very agreeable all-inclusive package, without the inconvenience of a wristband. The staff – the hotel’s greatest strength. Throughout our stay, the overwhelming majority of staff were warm, courteous, hardworking and genuinely keen to help. They are, without question, what makes this hotel special. There is a friendliness here that feels authentic rather than rehearsed, and it goes a long way towards compensating for some of the shortcomings elsewhere. Would we return for a third visit? Probably not, but that isn’t entirely a criticism of the hotel. During our stay, we booked an excellent excursion through GetYourGuide to explore the southwest of Mauritius. For less than £100, we enjoyed a fantastic day visiting some of the island’s most memorable landmarks and attractions. We also took a catamaran trip along the northern coast. Fab coastline and akin to some scenes we’ve seen from watching Jurassic Park! Both experiences reminded us just how beautiful and varied Mauritius really is, and how much more there is to discover beyond the comfort of a familiar hotel sunbed — particularly one that might benefit from an industrial degreaser! Next time, we’d like to explore a different part of the island and experience another hotel. Our verdict The Ravenala Attitude remains an enjoyable hotel in a beautiful bay, with a safe, welcoming environment and some genuinely outstanding staff. The entrainment of an evening, likewise. There are certainly areas that need improvement, particularly around cleanliness, maintenance and consistency of dining. It’s not a bad hotel by any stretch, but it does feel as though a little more investment and attention to detail would go a long way. Easy fix too if management are reading! There is much more we could say, although plenty of other reviewers have already covered the finer details. We came for a relaxing week, enjoyed ourselves, ate some lovely food, met some wonderful people and returned home with happy memories. And ultimately, that’s what a holiday should be about. Would we recommend it? Yes, with a few reservations. Would we return? No. Would the ducks? Absolutely. They’ve already booked for next year! 🦆

Stunning hotel. Love like the layout of the restaurants surrounding the pool which creates a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Staff are lovely and you can really feel the effort they put towards you. Pawan served us over several days and he remembered my favourite drinks order!