Royal Sakalava

Overall value for money is fair. I’ve seen other resorts in the bay and their value-for-money ratio is not better, despite their rating being so. Their rating is inflated. The following review is based on global travels that take into account country and/or regional economic idiosyncrasies. Location: - nice but comparable to the other resorts on the bay. - Pool is a plus. Rooms: simple and practical. - Big ceiling fan above the bed is a big plus. - the facility has solar panels which means round the clock electricity. Which means the fan is on at night. Which means this is pretty awesome. (Don’t take this for granted in Madagascar). - Mosquito nets on the windows is a big plus. - metal grate on the windows gives additional security and allows you to sleep with open windows. - no mini-bar to keep your drinks fresh. - cleaning team does a good job Service Kind waitresses that always greet you with a smile. Restaurant - salad is fresh, tasty and generous - shrimps wok is tasty - chips are overly fried, go for roasted potatoes if you’re picky - pizza oven was operational on the weekend only when more guests were around (perhaps due to end of season too) - chicken wrap (or vegetarian upon request) is good and abundant - penne Siciliana are okay Prices Room with half-board is comparable to the other hotels in the bay. Slightly cheaper but also simpler. Facility It feels a bit rustic rather than a resort. Hen, geese, cocks and zebus roam freely around the facility. You may or may not like it. If you need to wake up at 5 am, rest assured you won’t need to set your alarm clock. Nature will take care of that, which is a nice experience for a change. It’s a good hotel to spend your watersport (kitesurfing, wingfoiling) holidays. If you plan to kitesurf or wingfoil book an instructor with them. They are cheaper but as competent as the other schools. We did the mistake of opting for another school because we were told it was better. It was not and we paid more unnecessarily. Payment Cash only or bank transfer. The bay is generally speaking overrated. Prices are high and increasing in Madagascar, services do not grow at the same rate though.

I learnt to kitesurf here with Alex and his team in August 2013. Since then, we have returned twice and always had a fantastic time. ||||I do think that if you are not here for the watersports, whether you have a good time or not depends largely on what you look for in a holiday. The bungalows are by no means luxury (no A/C but with fan, OK large bed, hot shower but no curtain) but are more than one needs to be comfortable and the view is beautiful. It is not the easiest place to find and the last leg of the trip from Diego is on a very rough road so if you do not have a car, you can't really 'pop to Diego' very easily. That said, we always found that we were happy to stay and eat there for every meal during each two week stay - the food is good and fresh, the staff, especially Sabrina, are wonderful and for us, it was definitely preferable to the buzz of a big city. Therefore, if you are not there to kite surf, it may seem a little isolated with not much to do. The beach is gorgeous, however, and we have seen many a family enjoying the hotel.||||The kitesurfing is excellent - Alex is great and knows his stuff and at the end of a course with him I was happily going downwind and even beginning my upwind ventures. I am now jumping and all thanks to the great groundwork laid by the team at Sakalava. Compared to other kite-surfing locations we have visited, this one is the most unknown, and so, the least crowded with often 5-6 kiters on the water or less (excellent for beginners and advanced alike). There are not many rocks or corals so hurting yourself when wiping out is really rare.||||To top things off, a family of Crowned Lemurs often find their way to the hotel and happily take mango offerings from your hands - great for photo ops but also to watch and admire these wonderful, endangered creatures. Also, Google the resident Cocker Spaniel is a sweetie!||||Wifi in restaurant only but with the nature around you, you'll hardly notice the difference.

This is the best place for people who seek for a nice, friendly and comfortable place to stay in Diego with a good quality/price. The employees and owners were really welcoming and helpful. The hotel is situated in a clean a beautiful bay. Children would love this place where they can have some activities like trampoline, rabbits/guinea pea/ turtles parc, canoe... Adults would love it for the kite surfing (learning or just renting the material), pool, basket ball and trips (the hotel can organize it for you and provide car and food to the Ambre mountain, Emerald sea...). The rooms were comfortable and sound proof so we were able to sleep like babies without any outside noises disturbing us during the night. Hot water all day in the rooms. Safe room service everyday and laundry service if needed. Wifi in the restaurant and tv. The food were delicious (especially the pizza, a must-try). In addition, they could pick us up and send us to the airport with their private car. We stayed 5days in the hotel but we definitely want to go back there next time.

We only stayed here because of a double booking at Madakite. Jerome the owner from Madakite and Nadja the owner here work together. On the way to the restaurant bathroom I saw a dead cockroach in the bread basket. One can only pay with bank transfer or cash. In the meantime we found out that Nadja the owner was also very rude to many other guests and accused us of opening and trying a bottle of wine and then not wanting it. The only thing we drank and ordered there was mango juice. None of the staff speaks english, No wifi in our bungalows, lots of mosquitos and no coil in room, I killed 15 inside room and put on spray and still woke up with bites. Nice clean hot water. Clean room, Big pillows that smell very old and dusty and left us with neck pain in the morning, accessible by car and the staff helped with luggage, mostly tasty food but after seeing the cockroach in the food we didn’t eat there again. Kitesurf school on premises with lots of gear, big flat sandy area to play beach soccer or land kites, tennis court. Wouldn’t stay again because of lack of hygiene in kitchen and rudeness from owner. There are other places like ‘Tao Resort’ in esmerald bay for the similar price that is exceptional in every way and the hygiene standards are in place.

Overall lovely place - we stayed in the Bungalows right on the beach during low season. Clean and compfy rooms although there's no AC. Restaurant was good (yummy Coconut Shrimps) and decently prized. Staff was friendly and would definitely come back :)

Definitely the best choice in the Sakalava Bay (about 20km East of Diego). The bungalows are clean and nice; and the bed comfy; and right on the beach; with the kitesurf rental shop and lessons onsite. The restaurant is pretty good too, a nice choice of malagasy and internationsl dishes with of course a fresh seafood specialty; i saw the fisherman bringing the daily catch!.. Really tasty fishes and can't forget the langouste (lobster)...

Bungalows are basic concrete squares with beds covered by a mosquito net, bathrooms which work and reliable hot water. This is not a place of A/C luxury, but everything is adequate and your precious stuff is safe on this property. The common area is the best part of this property as you can sit in shade & breeze overlooking bay while connected to Wi-Fi bragging about your kiteboarding session. Food is offered a la carte or as full board and there are plenty choices to be excited for about a week. Guests are mostly French speaking, but staff understands enough English to get by. There are surprisingly many families with young kids having great time. Lemurs sometimes come to drink from outside shower. At night common area shuts down around 9pm and the locals bar just North of the hotel starts blasting Malagasy music - it is not to be missed !

Royal Sakalava is in the middle of nowhere, and if you do not have car transport at your disposal, you are reliant on eating all meals at their restaurant. There appears to be two classes of cabins with the better ones set on the breach. The others are set back further but we did not find this to be a problem.||||The lagoon is good for windsurfing and children bathing. There is also a family or two of friendly crown faced lemurs.||||Our room was a standard room that had poor lighting, small table and two wooden chairs. The bed was OK.