Maritim Resort & Spa Mauritius — Hotel in Isle Mauritius

Review of Maritim Hotel & Spa Resort, Balaclava, Mauritius – 2025|Visited 31st August – 13th September 2025|The exquisite Maritim Hotel & Spa Resort in Balaclava, Mauritius is everything you could wish for and more.|This is now our third consecutive visit to this luxury 5-star resort and somehow it just keeps getting better and better. The location, grounds, and facilities are absolutely spectacular, but it is the wonderful staff that make you fall in love with the whole experience time after time. From the management to the grounds staff, every single one of them will do anything to ensure you are having the best stay possible.|On arrival after the long journey, we were again greeted by the fantastic concierge team, who whisked away our luggage ready to be transported to our room. The reception staff seated us in the lounge with refreshing drinks and cool towels, exactly what you need after a flight. To our delight, we were given the same Deluxe Plus Room with beautiful garden views leading directly onto the beach that we had last year. Perfect!|As returning guests, it was wonderful to walk around the resort and catch up with the incredible team members who have made each of our trips so memorable. The first stop was La Marée Seafood Restaurant, where we were thrilled to be greeted by Sarita & Rambo who not only remembered us but welcomed us back as if no time had passed. Rambo and his colleague Rakesh continue to set the highest standards of hospitality, supported by their superb team, a special mention again to Sarita & Vydya whose warmth and care made every breakfast, lunch and dinner a joy. Of course, none of this would be complete without the outstanding culinary expertise of Head Chef Soubhash. His passion and dedication shine through every dish, and he once again went above and beyond to create the most delicious gluten-free meals for my partner. The bread, pasta, pizza, and quiches were simply outstanding, a level of care and quality that far exceeds most restaurants in the UK. Chef, thank you once again for making dining such a highlight of our holiday, we know that every meal you and your team make are made with LOVE❤️.|We also dined at Anno 1743 and Château Mon Désir, both of which remain world-class fine dining experiences. Anno’s rooftop bar, The Nest, offered the same breathtaking views of the grounds and ruins, where the bar staff once again impressed with their cocktails, knowledge, and conversation. Gents, don’t forget your formal trousers — it’s worth it! Both restaurants are steeped in history and ambience, making every evening there truly special.|This year we were invited to a special event in Chateau Mon Desir by Mithun the Assistant F&B Manager, who has become one of our special friends at the resort. The event was a tasting and wine pairing menu which again they catered for my partners Coeliac condition and they never disappointed! The five-course menu was superb and the wines, of which we had never tasted any before, were not only delicious but elevated the meals perfectly. |A big thank you must also go to the senior management who continue to work tirelessly behind the scenes to deliver such an exceptional experience. Special thanks to Manouj, Antish J, Mithun, Kumar and Eelco, who have each contributed to making our stays so unique and memorable over the years.|And of course, no review would be complete without mentioning the legendary Jay. As always, Jay was the heartbeat of the beach — attentive, tireless, and dedicated to ensuring every guest is completely relaxed. After more than 30 years at Maritim, his energy and commitment never cease to amaze us. Jay, you truly are one of a kind, and we cannot wait to see you again!|This year we also returned to the Maritim Diving Centre but this year it was to take on Water Skiing which I had never tried before, where Captain Akshay once again created safe and knowledgeable experience for me. His knowledge of the waters is second to none, and he made sure our time at sea was thrilling. Last year, he gave us the dream of swimming with turtles and this year’s water sports experience was just as memorable. Thank you, Akshay, for going the extra mile once again.|This maybe our third year on the island but until this year we had never left the resort to explore the beautiful island so that had to be a priority this year. We hired a car from the hotels car hire expert, Raj. We had the car for two days and saw some of the islands beauty spots. We visited the sacred Grand Bassin, Black River Gorges, Alexander Falls, Chamarel Seven Coloured Earths and Maconde Viewpoint which was breathtaking. A big thankyou to Antish J and his team for plotting our route out on a map for us and making sure we saw the islands true beauty. The second day we spent in the Casela Nature Park and had the most wonderful and a little bit scary experience of petting the Lion cubs which at six months old were bigger than most of us and weighing in at around 90kgs! Respect to the staff who look after all the animals in the park of which most of them had been rescued from the likes of Africa and Madagascar. Two wonderful and full days out that will stay with us forever.|In summary, after three years in a row, we can confidently say that the Maritim Hotel & Spa Resort is our home in paradise. The beautiful scenery, world-class facilities, and above all, the incredible people who work here keep us coming back year after year. We were genuinely sad to leave once again, but we are already looking forward to our next visit.|Keep up the fantastic work, Team Maritim — you are all simply amazing! 🥰❤️🥰|We love you all…Tony...

This is a fantastic hotel! We were allocated a Junior Suite and I highly recommend booking a Suite over a standard room. The room was incredible. A spacious bathroom, with large bath, two sinks, massive shower room with marble bench and a separate toilet and bidet room. Loads of towels, large toiletries and every amenity was present. The main bedroom area was spacious with massive bed, desk, two sofa armchairs, loads of wardrobe storage with plenty of hangers and large bedside tables. There were no electric sockets by the bedside tables but both three-pin UK and two-pin sockets were on the desk. Lots of lighting options, effective air conditioning as well as a ceiling fan and minibar were all present. The picture quality of the small TV was terrible and the wifi in the room wasn’t great. There was a decent sized digital safe and glass bottle of water and Nespresso machine with loads of pods. All the drinks and water were topped up each day, but two water bottles would have been appreciated rather than just one.

The outdoor facilities were great - a large balcony complete with table and two chairs, plus a massive jacuzzi, two sun loungers and a spacious outdoor shower. The view from the balcony had a partial sea view and looked down onto the sand. The jacuzzi was so large it took around three hours to fill but during the day the butler always found us and checked what time we wanted it preparing for and ensured it was filled on time.

The standard rooms are far from small either, with loads of space around the bed and a balcony or doors opening over the gardens. But with a suite, having access to the round-the-clock butler service was superb - they’d be able to sort anything you wanted with a single phone call or even passing comment on the beach.

Another benefit to staying in a suite is the dedicated suite beach. This is a separate area of beach which is reserved for suite guests, complete with dedicated staff for food and drink service. Pick the sunbed of your choice and it becomes reserved under your room number for the rest of your stay. The beds spread across the rest of the beach aren’t bad either - there’s plenty of space between them all, they have a great view towards the crystal clear sea still and they’re comfortable with towels provided etc. The ‘suite beach’ had electric charging sockets built into the umbrella stand. The beach was large but it mostly consisted of small shells rather sand.

There’s one large pool within close to the beach.The Western side has plenty of beds surrounding, as well as a grass ‘relaxation zone’ with beanbags, while the Eastern side has the infinity pool, again with lots of sunbeds but the addition of a swim-up bar. Showers with handheld units are available around the pool as well as by the beach.

There’s huge number of free activities and facilities available ranging from golf, archery, tennis, horse riding across the estate, kids clubs, gym and spa. Plus out on the sea there’s free snorkelling, paddle boats, kayaks, water skiing etc. Should you be an amateur then training sessions are available too. The free hour long open-bottom boat ride is a must.

I’ve left separate reviews on each restaurant. Booking a ‘Prestige’ or higher category room entitles you to breakfast in La Marée restaurant on the beach - this is totally worth it and the best start to any day. My only criticism of the hotel would be around the availability of the restaurants - make sure you get your reservations in as soon as possible!

It’s worth having a walk around the estate and down the nature trail alongside the river, leading to a small rainforest and waterfall. Massive tortoises are in a small park at the back of the estate along with the horses.

Almost every single member of staff we encountered was incredible, even the ground staff and maintenance team. Everyone greeted you when passing and couldn’t do enough to help you. There was also plenty of staff around to ensure someone was always available...

Heads up - this is a very lengthy review.

We are Mauritians living abroad and take a lot of pride in our island and its hotels. Every time we come here on holiday we look forward to enjoy the hotels and go back to share our experiences with friends and family.

This year our visit to Mauritius was a last minute plan as we had a baby in September 2023. We arrived to the island on 14th December 2023. It's only upon arriving that we started planning which hotels or villas to go to.

On 22nd December I called Maritim Balaclava to book a room for 28th to 29th December 2023 for my husband's birthday. The person with who I spoke to told me to send an email to which I would be responded to the same day. I sent the email as soon as I put down the phone. On 23rd December 2023 I called again since I did not receive any response. The person at Reservation told me they'd look into it and indeed I received a response the same day. I responded to that email the same day with all my details requested.

On the 24th December I called to speak to reservation. The person at reception responded "C'est quel jour madame?! Faut rappeler Mardi" I was so taken aback and flustered that I did not say anything. But from where I come reservation desks still work on Sundays as a person can need a room at anytime. While I agree it was Christmas eve etc but I would have expected a better response.

I decided to put this aside and told myself maybe that person was just grumpy. But no, I should have taken this as a warning and not booked the hotel.

We arrived at the hotel and was very well welcomed by the staff. Everyone was calm and attentive. We went into our room and liked the look of the room.

The only thing is when we were in the room that we could smell the drains and that made us uneasy.

Then we went to enjoy the other services like the bar since we were on all inclusive. Up to now, our stay seemed good.

While trying to enter our room again the door did not seem to open. At this point our baby was crying frantically and we needed his milk. My husband went to the reception to ask them to help. The lady at the reception started explaining to him what he should do i.e. pull the door towards him and push it open as apparently it was harder to open due to the AC. My husband looked at her confused as in "what if we walk all the way back with a frantic baby and the door still doesn't open?" on our minds we were also thinking "would they do the same for a tourist or did they act this way just because we were mauritians?" Thankfully another guy that was standing behind the lady offered to help and walked with my husband to the room while I stayed around the reception area calming my baby.

A lady spoke to us in English we replied in creole but she maintained English. We thought maybe she was not local. After a while we heard her speak creole and realised that she was infact Mauritian. It seemed that the hotel had recruited some people from Madagascar or some other country but this Mauritian lady seemed to be supervising them. Some of the ladies made some "mistakes" like dropping cutlery or cleaning only one table (it seemed by the supervisor that cleaning only one table was not acceptable). It made us feel very uneasy as we could hear her very openly criticising her team members and heard her complaining on them to another Mauritian staff. As hotel guests I would have expected them to give any constructive criticism behind closed doors. At some point we felt such a disturbing aura that we just stopped eating and did not given have the desert.

The next morning we went for breakfast and again the people serving the omelette seemed grumpy and complaining about how people were queued up saying "la queue la la bas sa, ban la p met la queue ici zot pfft". Though everyone around me were tourists and not understanding - I understood each and every word and felt...