Veranda Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

Just come back from a 14-night stay at the Veranda Hotel and Spa in Grand Baie, Mauritius. This hotel is rated as 3 stars but my husband and I were very disappointed.
On the surface everything seems fine and pleasant but you soon realise that not all the staff are friendly and helpful and the food was a massive disappointment. Having stayed in Mauritius before in a 5-star hotel we thought maybe we were expecting a bit too much but it was apparent that a lot of the other guests felt the same.
The food is simply awful and pretty much the same every evening. Plain boiled rice, tasteless chicken and fish curry, shredded cabbage, carrot and beetroot and the most boring boiled vegetables I have ever eaten. The desserts were really poor, one night we had marshmallows! The quality of the meals was very poor, both my husband and I are real foodies and I am afraid that we were shocked by the poor choice and quality of dishes on offer. Breakfast was OK but the croissants and pastries are the most disgusting I have ever tasted.
The hotel has a "spa"; however I would class this to be a beauty salon rather than a spa. The service was very good here and the staff very nice.
Overall, I would not recommend this hotel to anyone with children, it is overrated, overpriced and not worth the money. We made enquires to move to another hotel and it took the customer liaison officer almost a week to give us a reply by which time we told him it was too late. A disaster!

1 reader found this review helpful

Went to the Veranda for our honeymoon, stayed for 18 days and enjoyed every minute of it, the staff were fantastic (especially Rishi and Bob) and got treated like royalty.
We opted for the deluxe room and we were very pleased, our room was cleaned everyday, including all of our clothes being folded up which we had thrown on the floor! Lovely big bathroom, sitting area and separate dressing area with 2 big wardrobes and a well stocked mini bar (free for all inclusive). The pool was very clean if a bit on the cold side. The only thing that let the hotel down was the food, 9/10 it was cold and had to send it back.
More choice would be good in the evening as very samey, especially when you're there for 18 days. Overall a very good hotel and would be more than happy to go back again and again. Great position too as only 5 minute walk from the town. Super U supermarket good for shampoo, sun cream etc don't buy this from shop at hotel as I did it was very expensive. Banana bar good for a drink in evening, sunset bar good for pizza and great view overlooking the bay and palais de chine fantastic for Chinese.
Ille aux cerf a great day out but organise it yourself and don't bother with the waterfall trip by ille aux cerf it's a waste of time, stay on the island and enjoy it. Gabriel island is an amazing day out on the catamaran with fab food and the most gorgeous beach, don't pay more than 1000 rupees though. Hope this helps anyone booked to go, we loved it.

1 reader found this review helpful

Have just come back from 10 nights half board. The Verandah is a slice of paradise and although does not have the splendour of the five star resorts, is far ahead on charm and friendliness. What's best is that you never feel like you are in a big hotel. Everything is so spaced out and there is no big building of rooms or reception areas. We had a standard room overlooking the pool.
Breakfast is excellent with a wide variety of fresh fruits. Dinner is ok but more variety of meats, fish would be welcome.
Mona who runs water sports is a brilliant contact and organised some great trips for us. The best was a day trip to snorkel and swim with dolphins. If you can afford it, don't go with the masses, hire a speed boat between four or six and stop off wherever you like.
We visited other hotels in Mauritius but always agreed that the intimacy and atmosphere of the Verandah outweighed everything.

2 readers found this review helpful

I'm sorry to disappoint anyone who has booked into the Veranda hotel but there are more than a few issues myself and my wife had with the hotel.
1) Food
Not alot of choice, and in my opinion, the quality wasn't that great.
2) Room.
The rooms seem quite quaint to start with, with the shutters etc. - until you realise that the only way to lock the room is to close them all - leaving you in a very dark room. Added onto this, the staff were walking past at 06:30 every morning making alot of noise which woke us up. Finally - it was crawling with ants.. Maybe we just got unlucky with our room!
3) "Entertainment"
Every night, Veranda prides itself on the entertainment it provides. For me, this was the real final straw. It was awful. If you live in the UK, think 60s Butlins. As the bar, "entertainment" area and restaurant areas are right next to each other (the hotel is small) you cannot escape from such classics as 3 girls dressed in gold dancing to Madonna’s Like a Prayer, or, for those of you celebrating something, the compeer singing "congratulations" with all the staff unenthusiastically clap along. Now, if, like me, you were looking for something relaxing and romantic, then this is not the place for you.
4) The Beach
As with all other beaches in Mauritius, it is a public beahc, meaning that if you decide to sunbathe there (maybe to get away from the aqua-aerobics in the pool), you will be constantly pestered by trinket and trip sellers.
Having spoken to other couples who were in Mauritius and staying at the Vernda, their thoughts were very much similar to ours.
So, not a great picture. Indeed, after 24 hours, we asked to see our rep (Gina), who I cannot thank enough. We explained that it wasn't really what we were after. Without hesitation (which leads me to believe that others have said the same), we were offered rooms at their sister hotel, the Paul et Virginie. Took a quick taxi over to have a look, and considering they are supposed to be the same standard of hotel, you cannot compare at all. So, we moved, and had a nice relaxing time. If this option had not been presented to us, I feel that I would have just checked out and asked for my money back.
So, finally, as far as I am concerned, Vernda is an overpriced, over-rated (should be max 2 star) class of hotel. If you feel as we do - take my advice - ask to move to the Paul et Virginie - it doesn't cost any more, and by far a superior hotel.