Maison LUX* at LUX* Grand Baie — Restaurant in Isle Mauritius

Ordinarily, this would be a regular review of the food, table service and atmosphere. However, a couple of staff members ensured our time would end there on an extremely sour note.

Following the table service, we got a couple of cakes to take away. We asked Varuna, a friendly, polite and attentive staff member to look after the take away box as we just take a brief stroll around the complex of the hotel.

After a few minutes of strolling around, we were taking in the scenery, especially the beach, another staff member from Maison Lux, Avishay (apologies if name is spelled incorrectly), decided to leave his post, walk down from the café to approach us by the beach and to inform us that ‘Maison Luxe customers are not allowed to explore the hotel’ and ‘if you do, I will get in trouble with my manager’. We were shocked. I’d not heard of anything like this before. We slowly made our way back to the café and immediately raised a complaint. A senior person then came to see us, Ruth. We explained the situation to Ruth, who seemed apologetic but then doubled down on the reasoning. We explained that we felt victimised and were treated terribly. Also, this ‘policy’ had not been stated at the time of the reservation - my impression is that this is entirely made up. I asked Ruth directly why is this ‘policy’ in place but she could not give me a direct answer with specific reasons. Ruth attempted to make amends by providing a supervised tour of some areas. But, this just felt like we were now under surveillance rather than just paying customers having a relaxing time. This increasingly felt like we were being discriminated against. We soon left, having left extremely upset, humiliated, victimised, embarassed and rather angry too.

Avijay demonstrated no etiquette or manners in approaching us. The doubling down by Ruth suggests Avijay briefed her before approaching us even though no reasons were provided, treating paying customers as if we were little annoying children messing around on their premises. It has since been brought to my attention that so-called social media influencers/content creators had previously been invited to try out the dishes at Maison Lux and were free to explore the hotel premises - all for free. When you learn of these things, then I realised more that we suffered discriminatory behaviour from Lux. We paid, gave Lux business and in turn they wanted us out as quickly as possible.

I have been to several restaurants located in hotels across the world, including at Lux residences(!), and have never ever been told that I cannot explore the hotel premises as a paying customer.

Lux should be deeply embarrassed by this situation and it is clear that some guests are more equal than others. They demonstrated that they are not able to approach customers in a professional and polite manner. This led to us feeling extremely upset and discriminated against. The doubling down by the senior member of staff suggests that there is a culture of protecting staff members even if they have not peformed in a correct manner. This also demonstrates a lack of empathy and compassion.

The apparent intention of Lux attempting to make the premises exclusive is going too far and has alienated certainly myself. It is clear that Lux does not value customers equally and I’m keen to be contacted by them to explain themselves otherwise I will go further public, but this all depends on whether they monitor reviews here and whether they have any self-respect and respect to guests. But, I shall not hold my breath - I may have to get in touch with Lux myself such is the seriousness of this incident. A sad situation and I’m extremely...

Update: Some time later. It feels like both coffee and cake have become even tastier!

First Prize in January 2023 for making coffee drinks! First Prize for excellent service! Gold Award January 2023 for dessert! About desserts must be said separately. Many thanks for the professionalism to the pastry chef of the Lux Hotel! These are the best cakes we have eaten on the island in the past years, and not only on the island, but also in Europe! And many many thanks to the Maison Team, you are the best Team we ever meet on the Island! We hope to meet you again! For everyone who is on the island, this cafe is a...

We had high tea at Maison Lux and it was INCREDIBLE!! Saleem made us feel so special. He created the most delicious iced coffee (Affogato) and recommended the sensational sweet foods available. They were yummy! If you're in the area, this place is a must-visit if you want to try delicious coffees and yummy food! A huge thank you to Saleem and John for making our Maison Lux experience...