LUX Saint Gilles

The hotel is about an hour drive from the airport and after a relaxed checked in, a guest relations advisor showed us around the hotel and to our room. Julie was the advisor who showed us around and she was amazingly helpful and friendly, making in-house restaurant bookings for us and helping with any inquiry the three days we were there.||Although I named checked Julie for excellent customer service, I must stress that all staff there provided excellent service. They were all very friendly and knowledgeable and although not all of them spoke English we manage to always communicate effectively.||The rooms in white blocks in lovely gardens were a little on the old side, for example, a fixed shower in the bath and no USB points in the room but they did have a separate toilet. The beds were very large with big soft pillows. There were other signs that the hotel was a little tired in places with some peeling paint and the area around the pool could be revamped but generally the hotel provided a sense of “old fashioned French chic”?||The 3 days we were there we tried all 3 restaurants, I note as per other reviewers the restaurants are opened on different days, but we had no problem booking then as guest relations did that for us. ||The La Cusine was the breakfast and buffet restaurant with a large choice at both times, they take your egg order at breakfast so no queuing up at the egg station.||The Orangine was a la carte and served one of the best meals we have ever had at a restaurant anywhere on our travels.||La Plage served traditional creol food on the beach along with delicious French style desserts.||We were on half-board but our only criticism of the food is that it is very, very expensive, for example 23 Euros for a club sandwich at lunch time (price list attached) and an extortionate wine list.||There are bits of coral on the beach and you definitely need pool shoes, there is a better beach , with less coral and better sand a couple hundred meters away. In the same direction, on a Sunday you can walk 15-20 mins along the beach to a large craft market next to a hypermarket.||In summary, excellent service and food but very expensive and could do with some TLC. We still gave it a 5* review due to the service.

THE HOTEL: Beautifully set among tropical trees, home to lots of colourful birds and lizards. Cobbled paths add to the colonial charm. LOCATION: It’s on a beautiful west-facing beach, which means plenty of sunsets to admire. Outside the resort, there’s not much within walking distance aside from a supermarket and some local cafes, but plenty of places to explore a short drive away. ACCOMMODATION: Yes, the rooms could do with updating for a 5-star resort, but it was perfectly fine for us. Most importantly, it was clean. AMENITIES: Plenty to do including a large pool, gym, tennis, table tennis, snorkelling and evening entertainment. FOOD: The breakfast buffet is great, with a wide selection of sweet and savoury options. We looked forward to this every day! Aside from breakfast, food prices are pretty steep (€22 for a Margarita pizza or a club sandwich), but to be expected. STAFF: Super friendly from the beginning, which included a guided tour of the grounds. They also treated us to a bottle of bubbly and a few other bits for our honeymoon, which was lovely. FAVOURITE PART: The snorkelling, which in my opinion is much better than several spots I tried in Mauritius. Expect to see varieties of butterflyfish, parrotfish, surgeonfish, pufferfish, triggerfish and more, all within metres of the shoreline 🐠 TIP: Try snorkelling just to the right of the resort, where the reef is slightly deeper and the current drifts you along the coast (you can then walk back to the resort). Super fun!

Let’s start with the positives: The staff are very friendly and helpful – great job, keep it up! The location is excellent, and the pool and beach are perfect for relaxing. The food is good, and while the prices are just about acceptable, €11 for a local 50cl beer and €12 for a basic glass of wine feels a bit much. There are plenty of activities for everyone, available almost anytime. Now for the less positive side: Rooms 19 and 21 (family rooms, traveling with kids) are in urgent need of renovation – they are definitely not up to 5-star standards. The bathrooms, in particular, need modernizing, and the buildings themselves could use some maintenance. The beach is okay, but very coral-heavy. The swimming area in the lagoon isn’t great for snorkeling – even at high tide it’s very shallow, which is difficult for taller people. At low tide, snorkeling is no fun at all. All in all, the hotel is decent, but the “5-star” rating really doesn’t reflect the actual experience in certain areas. Cheers 🙋🏼‍♂️

Positives: location- nice beach and snorkeling and sunsets with some of the best weather on the island. The concierge was very helpful and efficient. My husband was impressed by the quality of the coffee, including a cafetiere in the room to make coffee as you wish. Breakfast starts at 6am so you can grab a quick bite before going for a day's hiking. Negatives: poor wi-fi, especially in the room it was practically non-existent. The bathroom needs renovation- it was a tatty shower over the bath which didn't drain and had some mould around the tiles. The gym was a let down- they don't even have gym mats to do ab work and when I asked then the staff member was very unhelpful and didn't even want to give me a towel. The service was a long way from the 5 star service we've had elsewhere. We got no reply to an email we sent a couple of weeks prior to arrival. We were told we were "only bed and breakfast customers" and they "prioritise half board customers"!? We were told we couldn't book the buffet til 9pm one night which made no sense as it was never very busy but they just said "well that's the way it is", even though we'd booked earlier on other occasions. On that evening we walked past and saw they'd hired half of it out for a private function. A simple explanation of this would have made more sense and is surely better customer service. Overall the food is ok but we had better and cheaper meals at nearby restaurants. Drinks seem particularly overpriced, hence why most people seemed to be drinking their own drinks on their balconies/on the beach/by the pool. Having said all that, we did enjoy our stay- it's a peaceful and beautiful resort.

Overall, the hotel is lovely! Location: Situated on what is arguably one of the most beautiful beaches in Réunion, it’s perfect for relaxing and snorkelling. Staff: Exceptionally friendly and attentive, with service that was consistently excellent throughout our stay. Food: Very good, with a generous and diverse buffet that included vegan-friendly options That said, I’m giving the hotel a 3-star rating due to a significant downside. While it’s marketed as a destination for leisure and vacation, the property frequently hosts business meetings and team-building events. Personally, I found this quite disruptive. Encountering large groups—often 20 to 30 people in business attire—while walking through the only access route to my room made it hard to stay in a relaxed, vacation mindset. It created an atmosphere more reminiscent of a corporate venue than a resort. This seems to be a recurring issue, possibly due to management decisions. Other guests appeared to be affected as well, often avoiding the pool area during these events and only using it after the business groups had cleared out. If you're someone who works hard and is looking for a true escape to disconnect and unwind, this might not be the best option.

Some staff were really helpful, others less so. Their colourful sari type uniforms were beautiful. I was very disappointed that there was no recognition of my birthday the day after our arrival - despite me and my husband telling the reception staff on checking in. Compare that to Mauritius some days later, where the cleaners saw the birthday cards and prepared birthday messages. When we mentioned to the manager that La Reunion did not do anything on my birthday, the staff organised a special table for dinner with a birthday cake!|The room was nice and quiet. We were happy to be given a room at the very end of the garden, far away from reception and the restaurants. The soundproofing was good |Breakfast was a combination of a la carte and buffet. The food was all very high quality and the coffee excellent. The service at breakfast was really good and accompanied by smiles. Disappointing was the dinner choice. Restaurants were all expensive for quite small portions. It seemed there was a choice of places but apart from the (expensive) buffet, there were always one or two closed on certain days, which meant the choice was very limited. The best meal we had was lunch at the restaurant La Plage. |Waiters were helpful, regularly asking guests around the pool and on the beach if drinks were required. |The beach was well set out, with plenty of sofas, chairs, sun loungers, tables and parasols. Beach shoes recommended, as there is lots of dead coral on the sand. Great snorkelling from the beach, big variety of coral fish though watch out for strong currents and the Picasso triggerfish (aggressive and can bite)!

We stayed for 3 nights, we're not beach resort people but wanted a stopover break and we like to stay in 4/5 star if possible so chose this resort. Supposedly 5 star but I would say in comparison to other places we've stayed around the world, it's 4 star at most. ||No kids during time we stayed so nice and peaceful! We went mid week so not packed, good food (we loved the fish dishes and salads) although catering more for French tastes obviously (if you want a cup of tea it requires a spot of negotiation the French don't drink it really). We really enjoyed La Plage restaurant and ate there every night, also the restaurant by the bar was good for snacks and to just sit and relax, breakfast was buffet which was fine. ||French feel as expected, staff speak English (some better than others) so we got by also using some of our faltering French but it really wasn't a problem, all the staff we encountered were polite, friendly and helpful. We didn't find there was any issues being English in what is a French resort with predominantly French or French speaking Europeans. ||Rooms were okay, we had an upstairs suite away from the hotel looking across to the beach, which I liked better than being downstairs but there were a few issues. We didn't like the separate toilet with no washbasin and the bathroom had no shower, the bath was so deep that you need to be rather flexible to get into it to get under the shower attachment. Anyone elderly or with mobility problems would have had great difficulty getting in and out easily. Also the sink wasn't practical for doing anything more than washing your hands it was so shallow and water splashed everywhere. ||No usb ports anywhere in the room which I would expect (the one behind the TV didn't work) luckily I bought an adaptor which I could put into the shaver port to charge my phone and ipad but I would expect a 5 star hotel to have these fitted as standard these days. TV was limited, almost all French programmes, there was one English speaking news channel but that was it. ||There's a nice beach very close by with the lagoon protected by the reef so safe for swimming and if your idea of bliss is sitting by the pool or on the beach on a lounger all day then this place is for you, but it's looking a bit tired in some places and could do with a bit of a face lift (bathrooms should be refitted for example).

This hotel is nearly perfect. The facilities are great, the access to the beach was amazing and the staff were very helpful. The staff assisted us with an early check in and helped store our bags- very useful! The only thing I would change is the pillows and the restaurant- which was expensive and had tiny portions. Otherwise, an absolutely fantastic place to stay!