Chalets Chamarel — Hotel in La Gaulette

Worst hotel we stayed in the Mauritius. Although we booked 4 nights with Chalet Chamarel, we left after the first sleepless night.

The hotel doesn’t follow through with basic requirements of cleanliness. And what seemed to be a lovely nature stay turned out to be a dirty room with a large window view.

Cleanliness We found over 12 cockroaches in our room, several already dead and others we killed through the night. A dead gecko stuck to the bedroom wall showed how the room wasn’t cleaned properly before we arrived.

Comfort This was by far the worst mattress my husband and I ever tried to sleep on. The air conditioning and the mini bar were very noisy, preventing us from going to sleep. The fire exit sign emitted a bright light which didn’t help things either.

Amenities The pool was out of order. And this was the only activity on site. No alternative was provided, no information regarding the estimated time until it was fixed — but we could see there was nobody cleaning it / fixing it. We were told “It will be fixed tomorrow, but some people have already been using it if you want to go in.” This was not exactly the most reassuring information.

Food The dinner was very limited in options and quality. There were two options for starter, two options for main and one option for desert included on the half board menu. All other options on the menu were extras. Having booked several half board stays, we felt that this is very misleading of them.

I chose the fish option on the menu and my husband had an Australian steak that was off menu. Both portions were small. Half way through my meal I realised that the fish was undercooked. I had literally just arrived and was very clear explaining I am pregnant and therefore food needs to be cooked through. Regardless, the fish prepared ‘en papillote’ is steamed and should have been cooked through.

The breakfast was another disappointment. The fruit on the buffet presented signs of oxidation and was clearly not fresh. The options for fruit were dark apple slices or fermented slices of pineapple or plum. The cereal was stale. All the pastries were hard and slightly burnt. The only thing we could eat was white bread toasted with butter. We asked for an omelette each, it was disappointing in flavour and too much grease. Later that day we both had upset stomachs. It was evident from the other guests that they were incredibly dissatisfied with the service as well.

Deceiving stay in the nature reserve There is no shuttle / transport provided on site for the reserve, so customers are invited to get a taxi tour. The prices for these tours far exceeded prices elsewhere.

Without any safe access from the property to the surrounding areas, guests are left to stay on the grounds with no activities or options other than enjoy the view or stay in their room.

Reviews vs reality We booked Chalets Chamarel on the basis of the great reviews on the Booking.com site. It was only when we delved deeper into the poor reviews that we found we weren’t alone as other guests had suffered similar issues.

After complaining to the management and a series of emails to Booking.com we know they won't ever give us...

Avoid – Beautiful view, but absolutely not worth the stay. Health risk.

We had high hopes for Chalets Chamarel given its location, but this was one of the worst hospitality experiences we’ve ever had. While the view is undeniably stunning, that’s where the positives end.

The service was appalling from start to finish. Our room was not cleaned once during our stay, despite repeated requests. When we raised concerns about the inhabitable conditions, not only were we met with indifference, but we were also refused any sort of refund or compensation.

The rooms themselves were inexcusable: • Stained carpets and dirty floors • Cockroaches in the bathroom • Dead geckos on the walls • Creaking walls and a balcony door that wouldn’t shut properly • We even had rodents in our room at night—unsettling and unacceptable.

The restaurant felt like an afterthought. • Opening hours were odd and restrictive. • The atmosphere was nonexistent—no music, no candles, zero ambiance. • The food was unbelievably bland, with no fresh bread and no fresh juice at breakfast. • To top it off, half the menu wasn’t even available under the half-board package. • The drink selection was basic at best.

There was also a real lack of attention to detail throughout the property. • At check-in, guests are greeted at the same desk where staff are visibly badging in and out, which felt incredibly unprofessional and set the wrong tone from the beginning. • Sun lounger cushions were never brought inside when it rained, so they were constantly soaked and starting to show mold. • The pool area looked dirty, and the pool towels provided were equally unclean. • Much of the outdoor furniture was neglected and left exposed to the elements.

Getting there was a challenge on its own. The road leading to the chalets is in terrible shape—narrow, damaged, and unsafe, requiring an SUV to even attempt it. It’s in urgent need of repair.

This place could be something special, but it’s plagued by neglect, poor service, and a complete lack of professionalism. Save yourself the frustration (we checked out two days early despite having paid already)—enjoy the view from somewhere else.

EDIT: Editing to add that no solution was proposed other than a deep cleaning which consisted of a guy with a dirty broom pretending to “clean”. We asked for a refund due to significant health concerns - which was refused (we were directed to booking.com who were also unable to get a statement from the property or a refund). Absolutely terrible and disgusting experience -...

We spent the second half of our honeymoon here and it was a great decision!

The Chalets is HUGE and has amazing amenities. Everything is clean and well kept in and around the houses.

Staff is always forthcoming and nice, all are fluent in english and very interested in making your every wish come true. And they made great efforts to cater to our vegetarian diet. Breakfast is good, the buffet could use a little more variety of cheeses or things to put on bread.

Tea / coffee time is a very pleasant thing to get through the day and dinner was always delicious. Three course meals from a set a la carte menu to choose from. Unfortunately the menu doesn't change through the week so for longer stays, the dishes may double, especially if you don't eat meat. However, Sachin, our waiter, always came up with new ideas to change up meals or even brought completely new dishes out that weren't on the menu, just for us. Portion sizes were very big, you will never go home hungry here.

The view from the Chalets and the restaurant are amazing. We were stunned everytime we walked along the path of the hotel premises.

The hotel is located in the national park with a lot of things to to and see in the area, you will definitely need a car to get around, but it's very much worth it to go to Le Morne, the plenty beaches, the different forests and such on your own.

The road to and from the hotel is quite adventurous but not as bad as some other reviews might suggest. There's a few potholes here and there and it's not paved but rather just two rows of stone blocks in the ground but as long as you drive slowly and mindful, you're good. There's even enough spots where you can wait in car another car is coming and needs to pass.

We would highly recommend honeymooners to come here and enjoy the peacefulness and serenity of the Hotel. We...