Heritage Awali Golf & Spa Resort

Excellent 10 night all inclusive stay at the Heritage for myself, wife and 12 year old lad – travelling from Scotland. Check in was pleasant and relaxed and we enjoyed a drink while checking in and then being taken to our room. We booked a garden view room in block 9000 which had a balcony. Massive (super king size?) bed was very comfy and the single for our boy was comfy too. Bathroom well appointed with walk in shower and separate bath (we didn’t use), his and hers basins, walk in wardrobe and plenty of room for clothes. Safe also included. Air con just about did enough to keep the temperatures down. Our room was immaculately cleaned (by Shamilla?) who was lovely to chat to as well. I rarely comment on a hotel’s food as it’s too subjective to personal taste. What I’d say at the Awali is that there was plenty of choice at the main buffet restaurant, including gluten free options. Nice to be shown to a table and asked if you wanted tea or coffee at breakfast (or drinks order taken for dinner) – after which you helped yourself to food. Usual omelette and crepe making stations in the morning – and stir fry / fresh fish / steak made for you for dinner. A real variety of hot and cold food at all times. Plenty of swimming pools to choose from at this hotel. I didn’t see any rules being applied for an adults only pool – it was very chilled and we gravitated to the ‘family’ pool where inflatables / toys were allowed. Plenty of sunbeds when we went (start of April) around all pools (heated) and the beach. Very nice to have poolside waiters taking drinks orders from your sun loungers – special mention to Oliver who really looked after us – as did his colleagues. On occasion I’d pop to the bar at the Infiniti Blu restaurant next to the pool and just get drinks from there myself. Again – the guys behind the bar were excellent. We lunched mostly at the Infiniti Blu where again you wait to be seated and have your drinks order taken before choosing lunch from the menu. They have a great selection to suit people of all ages and nationality. Nice as well that you could take your time over lunch and no issues having an extra glass of wine if you wanted to. Later in the day, our boy would start to feel peckish so we’d wander over to the main bar where fresh pancakes are made between 4pm – 5pm – with a variety of toppings and oreo biscuits. I didn’t see (nor seek out) any savoury options, but was too full anyway after breakfast and lunch!) My wife and I experienced the Spa massage and would recommend giving them a try - massage was excellent and you can ask them to be as gentle or otherwise as you like. Evening meal wise we ate mostly in the Savanna buffet restaurant because the choice was so wide – and all nights were themed so there was something different each time. A couple of nights we ate at the Indian restaurant (Zafrini) and one lunchtime we had a (very leisurely) 15 min walk along the beach to visit the C Beach club. All inclusive residents can use the pool and restaurant here – it was very pleasant here, nice atmos – I’d say lunchtime service was a tad slow here – and the only time we experienced this. We chose to do a day trip of the south of the island organised via reception – for just approx. £70 this secures you a personal taxi and driver where you can visit the main tourist areas (Gris Gris beach, The tea factory, nature reserve (you pay approx. £10pp for entry but worth it), rum factory, hindu temples, waterfalls etc etc). You go at your own pace, so while at the tea factory we stopped for lunch at their restaurant and the taxi driver said to take as long as we wanted. (two course meal, plus 2 lots of drinks for three people came to under £60 all in – with incredible views of the south of the island). Special thanks to all of the reception staff who were excellent – Malini in particular who helped us a lot as our boy was ill for the last couple of days of our stay. We had a medic / nurse come to our room to attend to him. As well as the initial medical help (to overcome a bug) – on our last day after he’d not eaten, our lad had an urge for a margherita pizza whilst we were sat by the pool. Infiniti Blu didn’t have this on the menu – but our favourite poolside waiter Oliver came to our rescue and managed to get one made for us from the main restaurant and brought it over to Infiniti Blu. It’s these things you hope not to need to experience on holiday which really underline how good a hotel is. Excellent medical care, and customer service above and beyond! We did experience an incredible storm on our second day (not much thunder and lightening – but a LOT of rain). Be prepared – it’s just down to the location of the island and the climate. The hotel location is great and the sunsets in the evening were lovely to watch which more than made up the initial rain. Otherwise, nice and sunny and the pools gave plenty of choice for those who preferred shade (or needed it for little ones) - or not. We are pretty seasoned travellers now – doing long haul trips to the west and east of the globe and to a few decent places – mixed with cheap and cheerful shorter haul holidays. I’d 100% recommend this hotel and would have no problem staying here again. Read less

The spa is one of the best property of the hotel. The therapists are so good in their job. Mr Saulick is a very professional employee and a good person. He always has a smile and offers the best service to guests. The spa is very beautiful and has a nice scent that will make you visit it again and again. I wish Mr Saulick and his team bonne continuation. Read less