Riu Palace Mauritius - All Inclusive - Adults Only

This was our first visit to Mauritius and we weren’t disappointed. The hotel wasn’t that busy which definitely worked in our favour so we probably saw it in a good light. The hotel and the location were great and the place was spotless and the grounds were very well maintained and situated right next to a lovely beach. The staff were all fantastic and really attentive and very helpful always with a nice greeting and a smile. We could name many but Kadish, Vikish and Lill were probably worthy of a special mention. The quality of the food and drink was very good with plenty of choice in the main buffet. It was always nice to start the day with a lovely breakfast washed down with some fizz! We paid extra for the Elite Club which had some benefits but the priority booking offered for the a la carte restaurants didn’t seem to exist and while offering a later 1.00pm checkout we were locked out of our room without any notice at midday! It was worth it though for the excellent Elite Beach Bar and pool and the dedicated exclusive breakfast area was a lovely way to start the day. The transfer from the airport at 75 minutes is quite long but proved worthwhile in seeing some of the island with a good part of the journey along the coast road. We managed two bookings at the a la carte restaurants one in the Elite Club Restaurant and one at Krystal. It was nice to be waited on and the meals were great but you do need to persevere in trying to get a booking as it’s difficult to book and don’t bother with the App and ask at reception. They don’t do bookings at the two restaurants at the adjacent RIU Turquoise hotel the Steak House and Bangalore you just have to take pot luck and turn up to find no vacancies! Unfortunately during our stay a Category 3 Cyclone was tracking close to the island. It went safely by with minimal damage but it did cause some disruption with the hotel having to follow certain protocols to ensure the safety of all guests. This included the closure of some facilities. We were disappointed with the lack of communication from management during the 48 hour period. It wouldn’t have been too hard to post updates on the App or in reception. Once cyclone had passed it took at least 24 hours for normal service to be resumed and all the facilities to be reopened with no real sense of urgency. We lost 2 days of our holiday for what turned out to be a big storm. It took 3 days for all the leaves to be cleared from around the Elite pool and for the cabanas to be reconstructed. Why some of the bars and the a la carte restaurants remained closed 24 hours after the storm had passed the island remained a mystery but was presumably down to staffing levels. While appreciating the need to take care and follow mandated guidelines better communication and an increased sense of urgency to get things back to normal would have been appreciated. We had a lovely time and would certainly return but would look to try and avoid any further cyclones!

Great holiday at a wonderful hotel- highly recommend Upgraded to elite club room and was well Worth it Welcoming and lovely team with special call out to the ones who went above and beyond to make out stay such a great stay Bar -Vashish Elite club bar - Lill Elite breakfast lady - Temitayo Manager Danny Reception -Vikish

The hotel is still new and modern. The rooms are spacious and clean! The food is delicious as always in RIU hotels. But the service is toooo slow! If we need do ask for a towel or any amenities, it takes forever. More than an hour to get it. The view is stunning but it is windy around this area! Keep this in mind