Sofitel Mauritius L'Impérial Resort & Spa — Hotel in Flic en Flac

A Disappointing Experience at a Supposedly 5-Star Resort**

I have had the pleasure of staying at numerous luxury hotels around the world, and as a Sofitel Diamond member, I expected nothing short of excellence from Sofitel L'Imperial in Flic en Flac. Unfortunately, my recent stay was marred by a series of disappointments that left me questioning the validity of its 5-star rating. The gym is not very pleasing. Weights only gain up to 24 kg From the moment we arrived, the experience was lackluster. The room itself was a letdown; with only three plug sockets for a room intended to accommodate three guests, it became a logistical nightmare to keep our devices charged. Worse still, one of the sockets wasn’t even near the bed, forcing us to stretch cables across the room—a simple convenience that should be a given in a luxury hotel.

The bathroom facilities were equally disappointing. Despite having a bathtub, there was no shower gel or shampoo conveniently located near it. Instead, we had to step out of the tub and walk into the shower to retrieve these essentials. How inconvenient! To make matters worse, the toilet flush splashed out at me the first time I used it, an absolutely revolting experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Housekeeping, too, fell far below the standards expected of a 5-star establishment. Towels were only replaced if we left them on the shower floor—a policy we were only made aware of after two days. Even more frustrating was the fact that bed linens were only changed upon request. This level of service is unacceptable for any hotel, let alone one that claims to be a luxury resort. The hotel only applies 2 bottles of water for a 10 day stay and they say to refill them. Even though it is scientifically proven not to refill plastic bottles more than twice. They claim it is to protect the environment, when it is just to keep costs down. Not 5* service

The lack of attention to detail continued with the spa facilities. Bibi at the spa seemed confused about the age limit for using the hammam, first stating it was 18 years old, then suddenly changing it to 16. Such inconsistencies are not just annoying but unprofessional. Meanwhile, only one pool was heated, leaving us with few options to relax comfortably.

Dining at the hotel was another sore point. The buffet food, while varied, would often get cold by the time it reached our plate—a culinary disappointment that could easily be avoided with better temperature management. Furthermore, breakfast options were inadequate for families, with no hot chocolate available for children. At dinner, we were shocked to find that all drinks, even water and orange juice, were chargeable despite being on a half-board package. We ended up paying an outrageous £35 for four orange juices and water—an experience that felt nothing short of exploitative.

The physical layout of the hotel also posed issues. Our room was located in the Japanese garden, which meant a long walk back to reception whenever our key card failed, often in the dark. Adding to our discomfort, the balcony was equipped with mosquito repellent that seemed more hazardous than helpful—a poisonous substance that made the outdoor space feel unsafe.

The overall ambiance of the hotel was also lacking. The reception staff rarely greeted us with a simple "hello" or "how are you?" as we walked past—a small gesture that goes a long way in making guests feel welcome. This lack of basic courtesy left us feeling more like inconveniences than valued guests. At breakfast we find the waffles burnt and hard. Given these numerous issues, I strongly urge potential guests to reconsider staying at Sofitel L'Imperial. If you are looking for a true 5-star experience in Flic en Flac, I would recommend the Hilton hotel instead. The management at Sofitel L'Imperial needs to seriously re-evaluate their standards and service. As a loyal Sofitel Diamond member, I am extremely disappointed. We still have to stay here for 8 more...

More of a 4 stars resort to me as I expected more from a 5 stars level and there are lots of rooms to improve on service. We arrived as a big family group of 14 people and 2 kids, big luggage, all tired after a long flight and long ride to get to the resort (around 1h from the airport). The shuttle bus dropped some other guests along the way at Sugar Beach and Hilton before us and at every resort, the staffs came out to greet and took the luggage for them right away. We arrived last and as we came, there was only one girl came out, stood there and looked at us and the bus driver as he unloaded the luggage. I guess even the bus driver has asked her to brought someone to help as she just stood still. She went back inside and we had to help him. We waited for another 5 - 10 min and thought we couldnt wait no longer and started to take the luggage ourselves inside. Halfway there then finally some men came out and helped. First impression is always important and it didnt start out well! Check-in was quite slow and unclear as they seemed unfamiliar dealing with one big group at the same time. We booked a honeymoon room but there was nothing different than normal room except they came later and gave us some sweet and a Champaign. No bed or room decoration although we booked more than half a year in advance. I find normal 3 or 4 stars hotels can do better than this. Staffs seemed somehow unhappy or not paid enough that they just do their duty and does not go all the way to help the guest and I find somehow lack of friendliness or happiness from them. The last day there I was getting a mild sore throat and wanted to prevent that with Ginger tea. I asked one girl in the breakfast area if she could find me some ginger slices as they were not there as usual. She said ok and went on with her work. Then I asked the lady who served our table if she could help and she just went to the tea spot where ginger normally is and looked, came back said that no it's not there. I asked if she could look maybe in the kitchen. She refused immediately and said No! If it’s not there mean the kitchen didn’t have it – without even checking our asking. I finally went to a manager and asked if he could help. 5 mins later a man brought the ginger to my table. Finally! I had to ask three times for just ginger! Sorry but the staffs need to get more trainings to up to 5 stars level. Also, as we checked out and checked the bill, there were two beer cans charged in our room although we didn’t drink. So always check through your bills regardless how long it is! Room: quite spacious but need renovation. Many ants in the room. I have been in Maldives at a 4 stars resort only but with the price I paid for this hotel, the rooms here are no close to that. Food: one buffet restaurant for breakfast and dinner, three other options for dinner with Chinese, Teppanyaki or seafood but each person get only 700R credit. This is around 20€. One main dish in Chinese restaurant itself is already around 500-700R, without rice or noodle. Drinks are not inclusive in this 700. With one main dish cost around 20€, people expect it to be either very good or big enough for two. But none was. Food was average that you can find in any Chinese Imbis or normal Chinese restaurant in Germany, which means not authentic or extraordinary. Seafood restaurant was nicer and more reasonable with the price. Do try their honey glazed pork. I get it that when we are on vacation and stay at a “5 stars” resort, we should expect to pay more. But it should worth it. Breakfast at buffet is always same. Buffet dinners change theme every day but I find around 60% of them is the same. Not much seafood although it is in an island. Out of 10 days we stayed, only two nights when they served Swordfish sashimi and Scallop sashimi and fish that I found the food was the highlight. With the price we paid and the experience we had, we would not...

We are former professionals of the tourism industry, and a long time ago, we stopped counting the number of hotels we visited, ate at, and stayed overnight. We booked our stay months ago, and when we reached, it was like nobody was expecting us. The guest relation who came to meet us at the entrance was not polite at all, not well groomed, and informed us that no bell boys were free to carry our luggage, we reached after 1500 and still we had to wait long before checking in, and they had no fast check-in facilities, we were served a very sour lemon juice and a room temperature towel, with very cheap communication with the Guest relation girl, then finally someone guide us to our room. The room we got was very old-fashioned, with low lights, and looking over a man-made garden with lots of tiny greenish pounds and water jets. It was clear that the room was with limited options to Mauritians, i.e., an empty and broken minibar fridge, standard shampoo , shower gel, and hand lotion were removed from stands and replaced by minatures tubes, the soap is not bigger than a 2 euro coin, we had 2, and we were 4 pax stay for more than 3 nights, bath tub with broken drainage and not holding the warm water to enable nice bath. There were 2 TVs but only 1 remote. The wc is not spotless cleaned and not flushing properly. Stained shower glass cabinet, no night room refreshing. We reported the broken minibar fridge the next morning, and nothing was done during the day, but in the afternoon, when our kids were having a nap, we set our room on DND... the housekeeping CALLED asking us to REMOVE the DND signage cause their team had to change the fridge. What's the use of the DND signage at the door? At the restaurant the staff and restaurant manager were very nice and authentic but there were not so many variety of food at the main buffet, we were told by the girl who met us first that since we were on HB we could eat at the a la carte restaurants. No fruit skewers were served around the pool during the day, and not even a waiter approached us to check if we wanted to order a drink. We saw ice cream pricelist next to the pool, but the ice cream freezer was off with no ice cream in there. We saw self-service detox water, which is out around 11 a.m., or if refilled, it is lukewarm and not chilled, we wanted to try once, but not serving pot were found and were asked to fetch from the main bar. We were served an egg benedict with soggy English muffin and not fresh holladaise sauce when returned to the cook. She mentioned that we should understand that there's yeast in. We booked a spa treatment and the 60 and 20 minutes treatment were not respected and finished way before, the therapist was not well trained and not competent at all. Almost all the staff we met seems to be tired or have long shifts. The kids club was a nightmare for our kids, no daily / weekly plan at all, not enough attractive games / ideas, nothing exciting to keep a child going there, ours felt punished going there. There' s a clear and huge difference between a real great 5 star hotel and Sofitel, we unfortunately won't go there again and won't recommend, despite the majority of nice and hard working...