Hamurabi2008

@yuppietraveler
We are now at the property.
If you want to spend time outside of the resort I do recommend a rental car.

Roads are Ok on this Island but you will need much more time and patience here. Also note that they drive on the left here - and depending on your practice in driving left you might want to rent automatic gear. We paid approx. 450 EUR/week (booked via internet ahead of stay).

Property is great but still quite some shortcomings in service execution. We are very happy with value/money on C&P as Plat.

Consider half board option if on room only rate.

CalFlyer

We are at the property as well, upgraded to a beachfront junior suite (as Platinum).

The hotel is great, I must say. My quick assessment after only having been here briefly:

+ Beautiful landscaping, hotel finished/no construction anymore
+ Food very good ... Pick the "free breakfast" as your Platinum benefit (alternatives: 500 SPG miles, or some voucher booklet)
+ Very nice beach, never feels overcrowded, quiet resort (despite many children)
+ Very friendly staff (although still in soft start mode)
+ Great gym, modern machines, and some Olympian as instructor
+ Free basic wifi (but slow connection only) ... there are also options for pay ("standard" or "premium"). Does anyone know if one of these options is free for Platinums?
+ Kids' Club offering

- Food generally expensive in the restaurants.
- Resort far away from any village

I suggest you rent a car at the airport since it is quite a drive to the hotel, and otherwise you are stuck in the premises. Taxis seem to be relatively expensive, but I have no personal experience.

The occupancy this week is at 65%, next week it will be at 80%, sold out only over New Year's eve. The management will start marketing the resort in January.

Overall, a great value for money on Starpoints!

Hamurabi2008

@CalFlyer:
Have been told upgraded Internet fees will be taken off at check-out for Plats (check with staff in Pavillions as they will process billing). Enjoy your stay!

Have to agree that the property is great value on points (especially so on C&P). But i talked to multiple very very unhappy guests paying the cash rate of EUR 600+.
The service execution and -quality delivered is far from the required level at that price point.

I think they skipped soft opening to cash-in on year-end peak season.

At least Management is aware of the gaps and work it...

Hamurabi2008

Forgot:
Room only to half board is 90 EUR per Person/day. As Plat w B'fast we decided against it.

Prices quoted at the Resort are incl. 5% service charge and 15% VAT.

Other resorts on Mauritius (eg IC) add VAT on quoted prices.

CalFlyer

This is very interesting information. As Plat w B'fast, this doesn't work for me, either. I am wondering if this is worthwhile for paying guests. At dinner, expect to pay EUR 50 for a three course meal (w/o drinks). Does the breakfast cost EUR 40? For halfboard, EUR 90 sounds stiff.

CalFlyer

I am on C&P as well, so no complaint from me at all. Interesting you say that paying guests are very unhappy. If I did not know that the resort has just been open for a month, I would not guess so. Staff is friendly and generally knowledgeable. Processes are astonishingly smooth. Maybe a rate of EUR 600+ is setting the wrong expectations (it is ridiculously high for any emerging market, and I would never pay that much for any resort).

schley

Would like more information on the half board option. How much do they charge for breakfast to start? Places like this where you are secluded more of less hold you captive and reasonable half board options make sense. However, if plats get breakfast as your amenity there is no way in hell dinner is 90 euros without drinks.

olivierATW

Hello

@CalFlyer, thanks for all the pieces of info on the property. I have a few questions for you.

Did you secure the upgrade using the suite night awards or was it just given to you at check-in?

My friend and I are going there for Valentine day + the following week and I wonder what the occupancy will be from the 14th of feb and onward. Any chance you could get the info from management?
Starting at 80% I'd say our chance for an upgrade would start to fade given the competition between Plats.

Agreed! @150 USD + points per night, factoring in the Plat breakfast benefit, it is indeed a steal. For us, this will be our first St Regis, hopefully not the last :-)


Thanks,
Olivier

Hamurabi2008

They changed b'fast setup a few days ago to reduce load to service staff during peak season. Back then the residential b'fast was listed EUR ~55EUR per Person in the menue.

They introduced now lunch buffets with approx. 15Eur for pasta or salad.

Some example food prices at restaurants at the resort (approx. per memory and based on FX of 1 EUR = 40 RS)

Lunch:
Club sandwich w fries ~16 EUR
Simple salad ~12EUR
Spaghetti Bolognese ~13 EUR
Burger @Boathouse ~27 EUR
Camarons @ Boathouse ~30 EUR

Dinner
Starter ~15+ EUR
Main ~25+ EUR
Dessert 15+ EUR
Wine per Glas @12 EUR for basic Rose or for basic french sauv. blanc and 19EUR for Chardonnay

Japanese dishes are much more expansive than the above.

Good deal (compared to other upscale resorts on the island) is seafood at Boathouse (camarons for lunch/dinner or lobster for dinner - ~1100/1400 Rs respectively).

Prices vary by dish obviously...

Half and Full board guests get appetizer/main/dessert but will need to pay extra for premium dishes (most mains).

Hamurabi2008

This Plat was upgraded approx. 1 week in advance to Junior Suite beachfront. I could see that on the spg app. And this was for 7+ nights on C&P...

Maybe contact property if upgrade is critical to you?
Aside the Beachfront location (which is NOT private as everyone walks in front of it) junior suites only have a bigger terrace/balcony. We are located on first floor (ie not ground floor) which adds some privacy. But ground floor is also a junior suite (with direct beach access).

CalFlyer

We were given the upgrade at check-in, actually without even asking for it. As a surprise, we also had a bottle of champagne in our room as well as two small sample bottles of Mauritian rum.

I will ask some staff members about it. I agree, at occupancy somewhere above 80%, and for longer stays, upgrade chances probably come down. Although i am not sure how many people will be willing to cough up the budget for paying for a junior suite. UPDATE (edited): Indeed upgrades seem to be scarce. A colleague of mine (who arrived at the resort with his family a day before we left) is an SPG Platinum as well, with many more nights than I have. He did not get an upgrade, although he even tried to use a guaranteed upgrade voucher.

By the way, similar to Hamurabi2008 I overheard some paying guests complaining about the resort. About service issues, but also about the layout of the resort (if you have a room far away from the main building where e.g. breakfast is served, it is quite a walk).

CalFlyer

Agree. We have a first floor junior suite as well. The large balcony is great, like an extra room (and somehow "private" due to intelligently installed sidewards shades). Yesterday it was raining, and my wife and I hung out on the covered balcony all day, with cozy sofa, deck chair, champagne supplies, etc. ... Also, you can open the glass front towards the room almost completely (four door elements can be folded away).

I have to say, I like the first floor suite a lot.

CalFlyer

The price ranges provided by Hamurabi2008 capture the reality of the menu well.

After having been here a couple of days now, I think the food is definitely overpriced. Quality is generally good, but not good enough for the prices quoted. Portions are small (I am always hungry after dinner) - while they offer bread on the side in the Le Manoir main restaurant, there is nothing offered in the Floating Market restaurant. The variety in the menu is limited: both in the Floating Market and in the Le Manoir, there are only six main dishes to choose from; and dishes have not changed since we arrived. I bet many people won't find anything they like on the menues. Generally, too much "haute cuisine"; especially in the main restaurant, some solid fare like Burgers, Curries & Co. is missing (hey, at the end of day SPG is an American chain, right?).

Breakfast is plentiful: it is buffet style, with a fruit-bread-cold platter buffet indoors and an egg-stand for omelettes, pancakes and the like outdoors. Especially the bread is really good, greetings from France it seems ... We have always found a table for breakfast right away, despite the 80% occupancy now it is never really crowded.

In the next few days, we will experiment with the restaurants next door in the Luxe resort.

Hamurabi2008

@OlivierATW:
Talked to the butler center during the light rain showers yesterday:
Occupancy is expected to go down to 50-60% from mid Feb onwards.
Despite having 25+ junior suites they currently struggle to give every Plat the upgrade.

@CalFlyer: there is a menue during the day with burger (not my cup of tea) and great Club sandwich. You can order at 1904 Bar or around the Pool. But it is not available during dinner. We did not try Luxe - so any shared experiences would be great!

Btw i guesstimate that less ten percent of the guests are from NAmerica. ~70 % Europeans at the moment. Mauritius is also a big destination for tourists from India so i would not be surprised if they target that market in the future... At the airport I also noted quite a few flights to Africa (especially South Africa).

We also received a bottle of Champagne and chocolate during arrival - but i thought the note said it was to apologize for the fact that the room was only ready after 6pm.

DCF

Sorry to show my ignorance, but what are "Camerons"?