Finally, I have a moment to write a review of the Zilwa Attitude hotel .My husband, our two children aged 4 and 6 and myself travelled to Mauritius during October half term - and stayed the entire...
Finally, I have a moment to write a review of the Zilwa Attitude hotel .My husband, our two children aged 4 and 6 and myself travelled to Mauritius during October half term - and stayed the entire time at Zilwa on all-inclusive basis. Apologies for this very lengthy review – this is for the nerds amongst you! Hopefully those who like detailed reviews will find this useful! Otherwise scroll on by!.
Transport
We flew direct with Air Mauritius from Gatwick. Comfortable standard economy flight lasting roughly 12 hours. Kids were fine with somewhat limited entertainment choices on board. Airline allowed inflatable foot rests which really helped with the overnight flight. Booked a taxi through Victor Persand (5000 rupees) and this too was very comfortable + invaluable after arriving. Mauritius has very good roads and it was smooth 1hr 20 min journey to the hotel.
Hotel
Arrival - as we arrived at 11am to the hotel, our room was of course not ready but reception did what they could to get it ready as quickly as possible. In the meantime we could avail of all the facilities so we had some food and the kids got quickly into the pool. We got into our room at 1pm. Note also that although we didn't leave our hotel until 6pm on our departure day, the all-inclusive rate continues until you actually leave, not when you check out. So we ate/swam/drank to our hearts content on our last day!
First impressions - wow - that view from the hotel lobby is something else. We never got bored of it!
Staff - Most staff were really attentive + kind. The breakast buffet can be quite busy and if you arrive after 9.30am for breakfast you might find it takes a long time to get your table set + hot drinks. I did find the first person I initially encountered at the 'guest experience' desk looked a bit fed up when I said I hadn't yet booked any meals in the a la cartes! She then booked me into the a la cartes one after the other without asking if these were suitable dates or times - I don't know if she was having a bad day. Certainly when I went back to the guest experience desk at other times, the ladies were absolutely lovely and accommodating. They also arranged a birthday cake for my son which was another kind/personal thing to do.
Room - We were in Rm 3202 - most families were down this end of the resort, a short walk from the Lor Disab pool, bar + restaurant. This was our kids favourite pool to play in so this was perfect for us. It was maybe an 8 min walk from the main bar in the hotel. The family room was made up of a super king size in one area + a smaller fold out sofa bed which the kids slept in and could be sectioned off. AC + fan kept to 24 degrees (although you could reduce the temp if needed) to be energy efficient. Room was rustic + spotless. I quite liked the 'eco' aspect of the mini-bar - you can fill it up with snacks + drinks from the shop beside the buffet restaurant if you are AI. The milk is powdered milk which might bother some people but it made no difference to us. We were ground floor which meant the kids could play on the beautifully kept lawn area if they liked. The whole area felt really secure for children. I’ve seen other reviews lamenting bugs in the rooms – we didn’t see anything except once when my daughter left sweets out, it attracted a lot of ants. This is what happens in a tropical climate anywhere in the world – it has nothing to do with the hygiene of the hotel.
Pools - There are 4 pools. The adults-only one is beside the main bar, there is a smaller paddling pool for kids ( maybe knee high for kids) and 2 other pools. The one at the end of the resort appeared to be heated for the first part of our stay - although this was not needed by the end of our trip! The pools are about 1.2m deep except the paddling pool. There aren’t any slides but we preferred this and our kids didn’t miss them at all. The pools all have little islands within them so our daughter who isn’t a strong swimmer could swim from one island to another.
Buffet restaurants – we used the buffet every morning for breakfast. Everything is available with a French slant towards pastries + crepes. We loved it! We also ate here at least 5 times for dinner and the kids absolutely loved this. We found that you would always find SOMETHING for dinner. The buffet did really lovely Indian-influenced food. Pizza and pasta available every night for the kids too. You can also have lunch at same restaurant (Karay) but a la carte (its mostly burgers, salads + chips). Last but definitely NOT least, you can avail of snacks AND crepes every day from the Taba-J snack bar (usually Pancake O’ Clock was around 3.30pm). We ate SO many pancakes, we now have a moratorium on pancakes until Pancake Tuesday 2025!
A la carte restaurants - do book these in advance especially if you are going in a busier period. There is Kot Nou – Mauritian food, Tadka – Indian, Lor Disab – beach restaurant, higher end a la carte and Manao - Thai. Each restaurant had something to recommend it. Manao had fantastically beautiful surroundings – try to sit outside + don’t miss the lovely starters. At Lor Disab which is adults-only in the evening, you can only sit in the separate beach tables near the shore if you pay a supplement, otherwise you will be in the covered area with about 7 other tables (I wish someone had told us about this in advance as I would have paid the supplement for that extra special meal. You can also head out on the boat to the tiny island (more of an outcropping) Gran Zil for a BBQ lunch; we did this one day with the kids + the food was so delicious. Our favorite restaurant was actually Kot Nou for it’s authenticity.
Drinks – most drinks are available. Drinks tended to be better (maybe fresher?) from the main bar. Many of the cocktails were from pre-mixed bottles but to be honest, they still tasted ok. Some were too strong though but that might just be my taste! I have seen others reviewers complaining that they had to get their own drinks – this was my expectation before going to Zilwa given that it is a 4 star hotel – we got our own drinks on every occasion and again, this didn’t bother me as service at the bar was fairly quick.
Activities – I read lots of worries about the beach previously. I would say the water is clear unless you walk through it but then the sand kicks up easily and its gets pretty murky. We wore sea shoes the whole time at the beach ( I probably would in Mauritius anyway with sea urchins + stonefish being a possibility). There is quite a lot of plant life near the shore. The water only really goes up to waist height for quite a long time. This is all perfect for children but perhaps not if you are a keen swimmer.
We used the water sports centre frequently. Times for each activity depends on tidal times + changes every few days. One frustration here is that you cannot book any activity in advance – you have to turn up and just wait. My husband was desperate to go out sailing one day and had to wait by the boat activity desk for 45 mins to ensure he was able to talk the boat out when bookings opened. I think a better idea would be for bookings to only open that day 1-2 hours before the activity was available, rather than making people wait around at the desk. We went out on the glass bottom boat and saw a turtle (I’ve done these before and never seen something so clearly!). We also went out to the reef for the snorkelling trip; the current was very strong here so I would not recommend this if you aren’t a good swimmer. We canoed with the children and also took the pedalos out with them – this is very easy to do and a lovely way to get in some exercise as well as see more of the open water. My husband did a sailing lesson to revive his sailing skills – this was worth doing but let’s just say the instructor was fairly relaxed!
Entertainment – we didn’t really do anything with the entertainment team as we were busy with the kids or the other activities on offer. There was music each evening at the main bar which finished at 11pm – again we were long gone with the kids!
Kids club – the kids club runs daily from 9am to 8pm + the schedule is available online for each week beforehand. You must register the kids before leaving them at kids club. If you are leaving them to have dinner there, you must let the team know a couple of hours in advance so they can arrange lunch. We didn’t use the club much but when we did the team were so excellent + kind; the whole operation felt very safe and our kids were happy there. The activities could be simple crafts like kite-making or going down to the shore to go crabbing.
Tipping – I was never sure what the etiquette was for tipping. I tipped every few days for housekeeping (a couple of hundred rupees), tipped in each a la carte restaurant and tipped larger tips at the buffet every few days.
Laundry – we felt the laundry fees were extortionate (£1.50 for a pair of childrens socks!?) so we took our laundry to one in Pereybere (less than £10 for a wash + dry of 5kg)
Excursions – We booked two trips through Victor Persand. One was to La Vanille crocodile Park. The kids absolutely loved this and certainly seeing all the crocodiles + giant tortoises was an experience they won’t forget. I would budget half a day here.
We also booked a 5 island tour – this is a tour down the east coast of the island to see 5 different islands, stopping + getting out at 2 islands + doing a little side excursion to a waterfall where there are some resident monkeys. We really enjoyed our cataspeed tour with Papa’s Dream and the team on the boat were really wonderful with the kids. We got to see some dolphins from afar + 2 sea turtles. The food aboard was also really good. However it did feel a bit rushed with less than 40 minutes to see Ile Aux Cerfs and a bit of a ‘party boat’ atmosphere (those days are behind me!) with loud blaring music at 10am limiting conversations with other passengers. The boat was also full with not enough seating indoors + at one point my son was so hot I had to bring him indoors to sit on a step. The staff were very helpful at trying to cool him down. If I was booking this again I think I (and the kids) would have preferred an excursion focusing more on nature + wildlife + a smaller group rather than a party boat.
Victor was excellent in terms of communication + flexibility as I chopped + changed a lot with our choices of what to do. He was very patient and again, a safe & competent driver. The drivers Victor arranged for us for airport collection + going to La Vanille were wonderfully informative and patient with our car-sick son too!
We also booked a smaller trip with Rada Ramachundran (another Zilwa affiliated taxi driver) to Pereybere beach (crystal clear water + incredible snorkelling the left side of the beach near the rocks!) and to the local laundromat. He too was wonderfully patient + keen to talk about his country and it’s history.
Weather – at this transitional time of year, we found that in late afternoon you might have some brief cloud cover but otherwise fairly clear skies, a bit of wind + lots of sunshine. I never needed a cardigan or anything for dinner. If I only I could bottle it all up and bring it back to the cold wintry UK!
Special shout outs
Zainab – in the kids club was one of the kindest + most dedicated people we met on our whole trip. Our kids loved her and she also made our kids feel truly welcomed and looked after.
Natalie – in the spa who arranged to redo my daughter’s very first manicure after it was ruined in the water.
Veronica – in the buffet restaurant, always on it + so helpful/kind.
Diwali at Zilwa – we were lucky enough to be at Zilwa for Diwali celebrations and this was truly special. There was an exceptional buffet dinner, some fabulous table settings + excellent Indian food along with some really entertaining dancers/drums. The atmosphere at the hotel was incredible and we were delighted to have been able to be present for this.
Summary:
Overall – we had an utterly fabulous time. We felt for an all-inclusive 4 star hotel, the food was really very good (and we are foodies). The chefs – in particular at the Karay buffet are a credit to the hotel. The hotel is quite spread out which meant we never felt like we were crowded in. Children are very much welcomed and included - we never felt we were 'in the way' with our kids as you can feel at other hotels. The staff are in general very good with some stand-out members going out of their way to make our trip really special. I truly appreciated the fact that Zilwa is Mauritian-owned and so more of the money going back into the local economy and I really appreciated the hotel’s eco credentials (it didn’t feel like green-washing but rather an authentic desire to preserve the island’s environment - there was no single-use plastic anywhere). The hotel has got so much on offer regardless of what kind of holiday you would like. Mauritius is a beautiful island with a rich and unique cultural history and Zilwa is the perfect place to see it from. We have created some incredible memories with the kids and one day, I hope we get to go back.
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Nov 19 2024
