LUX* Grand Gaube

Summary: Rooms a bit tired (our first room completely unacceptable, our second (upgraded) room was far better, but still with its faults). Food & drink overall very good, with Bodrum Blue (Turkish cuisine) and Creole Smokehouse particular highlights. Service and attentiveness of staff varied greatly but generally sub-standard, with some stand-out exceptions. Grounds and facilities pretty good. Definitely not 5-star, probably 4-star, as the Forbes Travel Guide plaque on the outside of their front door suggests. Accommodation: This would have been a much more critical review, saved only by housekeeping’s Goolshan who got us moved to a new room after our middle-of-the-night email plea about our damp-smelling room (with some drip marks down the walls) and cockroaches crawling around near our 10-week baby’s changing mat! Having read other reviews, it sounds like damp in some of the rooms is not uncommon, and in both of the rooms we stayed in there were portable dehumidifiers, suggesting the problem is known about by the resort, but not rectified. All that being said, once we shared our concerns, Goolshan met us at breakfast that morning and let us know his plan to move us (and upgrade us) to a suite later that day. Goolshan followed through on that promise and even took the time with me to let me try out the range of our wireless baby monitor from a couple of different suite rooms to allow us to safely enjoy some baby-free time in the evenings (more on this below). Goolshan also shared his WhatsApp number with us and caught up with us mid-stay which allowed us to raise a couple of issues in our second room which were promptly rectified, and also arranged for a late checkout for us. Had it not been for Goolshan’s actions, we would likely be writing a one-star review right now as our first room was a far cry from what we expected from the near-£500 a night (All Inclusive) rate at an apparent 5-star resort. On the plus side, the rooms are really good sizes - spacious and well laid out, the suites in particular (with their separate dressing area and larger bathroom) are lovely. Also (after asking) the resort were able to provide a number of items to make our stay with a baby more comfortable (an elevated changing mat, baby bath, cot & mosquito net, bottle warmer & steriliser), and getting around the resort with a pushchair/buggy was no hassle. Food & Drink: We booked the All Inclusive package, partly because we relax much easier when we’re not looking at the bill at each meal, but also because we’d looked at the prices on the menus in advance and quickly calculated that we’d be better off this way because we can be fond of a cocktail or three. The various food and drinks menus (and prices) can be found on the Lux website if you want to check them in advance - look out for the items marked with asterisks as these are not included in the All Inclusive package; these tend to be the more expensive options (etc large platters, lobster, etc), but we found there was still plenty of delicious and high-quality options for our 7-night stay. We opted not to try their Inti restaurant (which is additional cost) as we were travelling with a 10-week old baby who often doesn’t let us enjoy our meals for long. You’ll want to book the various restaurants for your evening meals as soon as you arrive; Bodrum Blue (Turkish cuisine) and Creole Smokehouse are not to be missed. The Palm Court (buffet) was surprisingly decent; the word buffet conjures up the idea of massed produced cheap food kept luke-warm for the masses, but this was far superior than that; think of it more like a food market than a buffet - various ‘live’ cooking stations to have dishes cooked how you wanted them right in front of you, and lots of variety from Mauritian, Italian, English, Asian, Indian, etc. The cold room was particularly nice touch; it’s warm here, so knowing that your fruit, cheeses and cold cuts are being kept at a low temperature rather than being left out to sweat is always reassuring. Drinks options were plentiful, only observation here was sometimes the cocktails could be a bit weak; this didn’t bother us on All Inclusive as we could just order another, but I can imagine if we were paying the 650MUR (£~11) per cocktail we may have been a little disappointed on occasion. Service: The service and attentiveness of staff varied dramatically through our stay. We had the full spectrum, from staff forgetting our order and needing to request items or the bill multiple times, through to (and a special mention to) Purgan bending over backwards for us at Beach Rouge one evening to set us up a table on the beach within the range of our baby monitor to allow us to enjoy a baby-free dinner under the stars (our first dinner out together since the arrival of our son - just delightful). Service at poolside is also hit & miss; occasionally staff would walk by and ask if anything we needed, other times it would appear impossible to grab their attention and our empty glasses would stack up - even when we were brought new drinks, staff would often leave the empty glasses in front of us which we found a bit weird. In general, when we had an issue, once raised, it was quickly resolved, however we would expect more proactiveness from the staff at a 5-star resort (and even at a 4-star to be honest). That being said, all staff were friendly, chatty, and showed lots of interest in us and our baby which was lovely. 4-Star, not 5-Star: Our tip: lower your expectation. See this resort as a 4-star resort and you’ll likely have a great time. Let’s be honest, true 5-star resorts charge significantly more than the Lux Grand Gaube. What’s likely happened here is star-rating inflation; the first 4-star resort in an area claims to be a 5-star and then all the other 4-stars have to follow suit to avoid looking inferior. Trust the reviews, and trust the Forbes Travel Guide 4-star rating. Oh, and if you have an issue, raise it with the staff and then judge how well they react to it; they can’t fix things they aren’t aware of. Apart from the damp-smelling rooms; this should be a priority of the resort to rectify and stop selling those rooms until resolved. Read less

The hotel ruined our Mauritius experience from the minute we checked in. Before booking we were persuaded by the intriguing online photos of the lobby and restaurant design. But once checked in we experienced a hotel that is unusually badly managed and frustratingly dysfunctional. Our room was dirty and in serious need of maintenance and repair. We spent many hours dealing with this. The staff has little or no knowledge or training in five star hotel standards, and there is no accountable senior management. The restaurant service is slow and disorganised. You rarely get everything you ask for and it can take a long time for the staff to give you any attention. The food was average, nothing special. The beach at the hotel is unimpressive. Not the turquoise and clear water that we have experienced at other resorts in Mauritius. Countless times we were given wrong information by the reception staff. I spoke to other guests and they had similar experiences as ours. Some were trying hard not to let it take over their holiday but most were frustrated and furious about the hotel. Read less

Highly Recommended. I have come home feeling that our stay In LUx Grand Gaube has restored my soul. Nothing is too much trouble and everyone goes out of their way to make you feel very special. Every one of the staff was really lovely. Everyone should visit at least once in a lifetime. Special thanks to Niv and Sandeep Front of House, Sylvano in Cafe Lux (who is much smarter than he thinks), Ricardo in Palm Court, Dariyl in Creole Smokehouse, Doorgesh in Bodrum Blue, and Especially the Manager of Bodrum Blue who cooked whole fish specially for us on three separate occasion. It was really special - but having mentioned these people, everyone of the staff were kind and attentive. Derek and Julie Kalinski, Hampshire April 2024 Read less

We recently stayed at Lux Grand Gaube for 9 nights for our honeymoon. We had an amazing time and would highly recommend the hotel. Room We were in a wellness suite which overlooked the cove which was lovely. It was so quiet and peaceful and the room and bathroom was massive. We had a slight issue with ants in the room for the first few days however after 4 visits to reception they finally had the whole room sprayed which seemed to remove them. We were offered an alternative room which was described as an upgrade (Junior Suite) however it definitely was not an upgrade on our existing room. We chose to stay where we were as it was a much better room and location. Food and Drink The food and drink was one of the main highlights of the hotel for us. The buffet is really varied and there are so many lovely a la carte restaurants. Our favorite was definitely Bodrum Blue which was amazing. Beach Rouge was also great and had a very different atmosphere in the day to evening. Although Beach Rouge seemed to have some problems mid way through our stay with some slow service and the pizza oven broken for a couple days, Nund looked after us so well and always went above and beyond to ensure we were enjoying ourselves. He is one of the many stars of the hotel. On the honeymoon package there is a romantic meal by the pool included but Reedoo organised for us to have this on the beach instead which was definitely a highlight of our trip! The cocktail making class included with the package was also great. Regarding Inti, we had poor service and food the first time we went and were kindly invited back by David the exec chef as there had been some staffing issues the night we went. We went back again and had a much better experience and enjoyed our meal - although we still preferred Bodrum Blue. The drinks are really good quality and the guys on the main bar were so friendly and made sure we had a great time. They always remembered our order and went above and beyond to ensure we were looked after. Beach The main beach is lovely. The beach staff work so hard to ensure you are comfortable from setting your towel up on the sun bed, cleaning your sunglasses, spritzing your face with a refreshing spray and bringing countless drinks and filling up a cool box to ensure you never go thirsty! They all remembered us every day and our drinks order which was great. Special shout out to Reedoo who is so passionate about his job. As soon as he knew it was our honeymoon he went above and beyond to make it special. From organising the meal on the beach, to setting up flowers on the beach to organising a late check out so we could keep our room, he definitely made our stay so much more special. The adults only area is also great, really nice and quiet and the team here also work hard. Only criticism about this area is the sun beds on the beach don’t have cushions on them so are very uncomfortable. At a 5 star resort, I would expect every sunbed to have cushions. Facilities There is so much to do at this hotel! There are loads of water sports that are included in the all inclusive package (water skiing, paddle boarding, kayaking, snorkeling, glass bottom boat trip) and the sports facilities are so new too. We enjoyed playing tennis and paddle and used the driving range too. The gym facilities were also great. We found a message in a bottle one day (these are hidden round the hotel and you win a prize) and we managed to redeem our prize as a guided bike tour into the Grand Gaube village. We really enjoyed this trip. We also had 2 massages each at the spa which were really relaxing. Apart from the bike ride, we didn’t leave the hotel in 9 days as there was just so much to do! Overall we had the most special stay for our honeymoon and would definitely recommenkd and we will be looking to return in the future. Read less

We visited the Lux Grand Gaube for an 11 night honeymoon. It’s possibly the most beautiful hotel I’ve ever stayed in and the staff went above and beyond to make us feel happy, relaxed and at home. We felt like a part of a family whilst staying here. The staff greeted us every time we saw them and always remembered our names, which is such a nice attention to detail. The food is incredible and we made sure we tried every restaurant multiple times. Breakfast was fantastic and had a wide variety to pick from each day. One of the managers approached us at the bar and gave us a free meal in one of the restaurants that wasn’t included in our “all inclusive” package. This was so incredibly generous and thoughtful. It really made us feel special. The hotel has a wide range of activities; paddle boards and various boats you can take out. A cinema, which we got to watch the football in late at night! Dancing and music in the evenings. Our favourite spot being the Banyan which is an adult only, peaceful area with its own pool and day beds. Very special mentions to members of staff who made our honeymoon extra special: Tooshal - the lovely barman at the palm court. I’m allergic to pineapple so find it difficult to find a cocktail I can drink. He always made me drinks that weren’t on the menu and went above and beyond to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. Ashwan - a waiter at the Creole Smoke house who gave us multiple Mauritian wines to sample at lunch and then treated us to our very own bottle during dinner. David - one of the managers who seemed happy to see us each time and would always ask us about our day. He really made us feel like a part of the Lux family. Was a pleasure to see him everyday. He is exceptionally good at his job and very hard working. Viresh, Saif and Anadiel - all who looked after us every time we relaxed at the Banyan. They would always offer to get our towels, refill our water and fetch us drinks. They’d hang out and talk to us about our home (England) and the football teams we support and the games that were on each day. They always did this with smiles on their faces and seemed happy to see us. Lots of other people whose names we didn’t catch but thank you to all who made our honeymoon extra special. We hope to visit again one day. Read less