Coral Reef Club

The reception team were very helpful and accommodating. The garden room we had booked was amazing. It was large, spacious (probably double the size of the room we had at the Fairmont), beautifully furnished with a view of the sea in the distance.

It was when we went to the restaurant that the shine started to tarnish. During our stay the lady on breakfast did not crack a smile at all. If you did not 'register in' you were barked at to do so. The more 'mature' gents who were serving were just lovely but some of the younger female team members in particular were surly, rude and sometimes just not interested in serving you. Your level of service truly depended on who you got allocated. The food was overall very good but the lack of service negatively impacted the whole experience. It has to be said that the chef's on breakfast who were serving at the counters were lovely and worked as quickly as they could to plate up the wishes of each guest. Note: it was only on the last day that we were made aware that you could have asked for other dishes such as Eggs Benedict.

The pool area was large and clean but not supervised and getting drinks when there as a bit hit and miss.

There was a plunge pool outside or our room which I am not clear on how it is 'cleaned' but my son did on a couple of occasions use it and as this is the only thing he did different to us we have to assume this is how he got an ear infection.
When we arrived the path leading up to the room was covered in branches from some of the tees/plants which had fallen (not an issue) and so I moved them into what was a substantial pile to the side. However, that pile was still there 6 days later when we left. The mongoose in the gardens are interesting creatures to watch and on an evening we were aware of them begin on the veranda and in the morning they left their 'deposits' on the steps but these steps were not cleaned at all during the stay.

The beach area is narrow and early on a morning, before breakfast, you had people putting their towels on the beds. The watersports area gets very busy and is in between this hotel and the Colony Hotel next door. Right next to it is a water 'tributary' which collects all types of rubbish but no one takes the initiative to clean it each day.

The owner walked through the restaurant most evenings speaking to guests but it has to be said that not once did she come to say hello to us and in fact walked past us looking the other way. Appreciate she may for some reason not have liked the look of us but in hospitality surely you at least try to treat your guests the same? And interestingly, it was only as we were in the taxi to leave for the airport did the GM (son of owner I believe) come out to ask us if we had had a good stay. Too late.

This however did nothing to detract from our enjoyment.

We particularly enjoyed the tennis, the sailing, swimming, snorkelling and last but not least the food and drink. Most of the staff are loyal, long serving people. That coupled with the fact that the owners live on the premises and regularly take an interest in the operation of the hotel, probably explains why it is so successful.

We have no hesitation in recommending this will run hotel.