Reena Mungapen
Google
This is going to be my first very long review because there’s so much to say.
We arrived at the beach house and we were surprised to find the helper Joe waiting for us instead of the manager.
According to the website, the inspiration for the beach house is Mauritius, but clearly the warmth of Mauritian people was not present.
We got quite a small room for 5 nights. There was no air conditioning, no fridge and a broken safe. Anyhow we were excited about the architecture of the house, the aesthetics and the location.
At night after taking a well deserved shower, my daughter found a black scorpion in the bathroom. I went outside to look for help and there was no one except for 4 guests. Someone upstairs must have heard me because the next moment, the helper Joe miraculously appeared with a dustpan and a brush to get rid of the scorpion.
We decided to use a towel to block the big gap under the door because we didn’t want any more unpleasant surprises.
The next day, we met the manager Wendy who told us breakfast is served at 8.30 am.
That’s quite late especially if you want to go out for activities before it gets too hot.
I told Wendy about the scorpion and instead of reassuring me she told me that there could even be big spiders and snakes!
Excuse me, but what kind of manager/ host does that?
We stayed 5 nights; the breakfast was repetitive and rationed. One muffin and 1 croissant per person. Same thing every day.
Another big problem that I had was the lack of service. As from midday, the place is empty. If you need help or anything else there’s no one around. God forbid if you have an emergency then good luck! At one point we were the only guests, which is no wonder considering the price and the service.
We didn’t have a car, so dinner was a bit problematic and we didn’t get any help from the host. Wendy told me she was going to give me the number to call a taxi but never did, so fortunately I managed to find a taxi in this unknown area.
Since there was no fridge in the room, we had to walk back and forth every day to the kitchen and this is a 4*? We paid 17,500 rands and to my surprise there was a room with a kitchen that was completely empty. If she wanted she could have upgraded us.
I find it very strange that rather than making their guests feel more comfortable, they left us in a small room with a very old toilet. Two times I have called Wendy because I needed help and both times she didn’t pick up the phone. When i asked her she said she sleeps at 6.00 pm !
If my flight wasn’t booked I would have checked out earlier; wouldn’t have mattered if I lost money. The place is very pretty but the service is not good. The only friendly faces were Eunice, Joe, William and Akim.
The two dogs Marley and Summer are so lovable, they made up for the bad service we got. This place is so overrated and overpriced and also made me think of apartheid times ! You can have a beautiful gorgeous guest house but if you don’t treat your guests equally the beauty is taken away.
On the eve of our departure, I was sitting on a couch outside an empty room because I didn’t want to be in the sun. Wendy went inside the room and closed the door behind her. I found it strange thinking, what was she doing inside? Little did I know, she went out using the other door that she left wide open. She must have thought that I will go inside the room so better close the door!
This actually made me laugh at how petty a person can be! I have been in South Africa for 23 years and this has been my worst experience so far. Are South African tourists treated this way when they go to 4* hotels in Mauritius?
A warning for photographers, you might have the security check up on you if you wake up early to capture a sunrise.
The summary of Southern Cross Beach House is, beautiful on the outside but empty inside. Additionally, Wendy is a very condescending person, never made us feel at ease and always made passive aggressive remarks. And the owner? The less said, the better.
