Amazing 5 star hotel with unbeatable service
Our two week stay at the Oberoi Beach Resort, Mauritius came on the tail of a two year holiday hiatus due to covid, and what a fantastic place to rediscover travel and hospitality. The Oberoi is, as most other reviewers say- beautiful, tranquil, and luxurious. But what stands out the most is the service, to which I will come onto shortly.
We stayed in a pool villa, and spent a significant proportion of our two weeks there. The pool was gloriously warm, surrounded by a well-tended garden and visited by local birds. The villa was large, decorated with elegant taste, and with a dressing room and large bathroom at our disposal, including a sunken bath big enough for two.
The beaches are lovely- not the best in the local area, but you get drinks/ snacks brought to your sun beds when you order, and the boat house offers lots of different water sports. We chose the boat trip to swim/ snorkel with sea turtles (this came at an extra cost), which I highly recommend. The swimming pools are fantastic, especially the main one overlooking the On the Rocks restaurant. The other adult only pool is lovely, but we didn't spent any time there unfortunately. (Something to go back for, though!!)
Food: breakfast included a large selection of continental buffet foods and fruits, followed by cooked-to-order hot food, with the menus changing twice a week. We were spoilt for choice, but I particularly enjoyed the Turkish eggs and the Indian and Mauritian choices. We didn't always have lunch, as breakfast was so filling, but on the days we did we went to 'On the Rocks', and enjoyed salads and other light lunches, washed down with wine or local beer. The fresh tuna was a favourite of mine. We were lucky enough to try all the dinner options at the resort, including the Herb Trail, the Gunpowder room, and main restaurant and On the Rocks. There is no such thing as a bad meal at this resort and I would recommend all four dining options, but the Herb trail was a particular highlight for us, particularly one of the courses, a fishtail soup. Which brings me onto the service...
We loved the fishtail soup so much that we mentioned it the next time we saw Mevin, who waited on us (and just two others) at the Herb trail. Mevin asked us if we would like the soup to be cooked for us again on another evening, going off piste from the main restaurant menu. We were delighted with this offer and indeed enjoyed the same soup cooked especially for us a couple of nights later. Mevin served us several times throughout our holiday, including at On the Rocks, and I have to give special mention to his amazing dedication to ensuring we were enjoying; he was a star and he really made our holiday.
Other members of staff we particularly would like to mention for stand out service were: Pranaw, at the bar for making us many chilli ginger mojitos (my favourite) with a smile and good conversation; Singh Gusham for his amazing cookery; Maya and Hancy at the Spa- it was truly relaxing; Than, for also going out of his way to liaise with the chefs to create a bespoke dinner for us one evening (an excellent chicken Biryani); to Amanda, for always checking in with us when she saw us, and ensuring we were enjoying; and Natascha, the duty manager who chased the taxi who was late for our airport transfer on our last day, and had sorted out a back up plan just as the taxi turned up. We do recognise however that all the staff at the hotel work incredibly hard, including those who are visible in the bars and restaurants, and those working more behind the scenes, such as in housekeeping, pool/ gardening, laundry, and in the kitchens. They seamlessly kept the place clean, tidy and operational, to guest satisfaction. We were very happy with the hotel's policy of guests leaving a collective tip at the end of the holiday, rather than individual tips throughout, as this means everyone gets recognised.
We highly recommend the Oberoi. We did half board and felt thoroughly spoilt. It is not cheap, but I think because it doesn't do 'all inclusive' like many of the other resorts around the island, it has a more sophisticated and tranquil feel. We would love to return at some point in the future.