123KeepGoing
February 7, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed our stay with so much to do and keep us busy. A highlight was the snorkeling right off the beach in the Blue Bay Marine Reserve. Seeing healthy coral and abundant marine life is rare these days. We saw a turtle, moray eel, squid and many hundreds of fish and importantly, a variety of them. Also a barracuda on the snorkel boat excursion. Snorkeling off the beach is safe and shallow so good also for children. The water skiing at Shandrani is next level. Excellent conditions, brilliant ski instructors (no names, all good) and I got up on a single slalom ski for the first time thanks to their and the boat drivers guidance and patience. Ski and boating equipment here is good and many guests were first timers, learning to water ski on their holiday. The friendly camaraderie at the boathouse made for further enjoyment. The kayaking was fun especially when I docked on the beach to get a soft drink from the passing bar service to enjoy on the rest of my paddle. What a life! The All Inclusive is a great concept and at no stage did one feel short changed. The food was excellent in particular at Sirius - amazing salads, fresh grouper and snapper dishes, wonderful marlin baguette and desserts. Teak Elephant provided a romantic, delicious set menu Thai dinner. We did not get a spot at Ephemera which we would have loved to try. The wine and cocktail lists are generous and one really does not need to pay a supplement for something better. The Beachcomber branded wines come from one of the best Constantia wineries in South Africa and of the highest calibre. The Grand Port buffet restaurant serves wonderful pancakes at breakfast – we were quickly addicted. Excellent pizza sliced into 8 pieces at lunch and dinner is also a constant. The pizza base is incredible (just like all bread and pastry baking at Beachcomber, they get it right every time). An observation is that there was never enough fruit at breakfast and never enough pizza at lunch. No sooner was it put out and it was gone. So management may want to double up on a fruit preparer, and a pizza maker, a “pizzaiolo” to meet the high demand. Finding the right plate was sometimes a challenge especially a cereal bowl. These need to be closer to the cereals. The coffee machine gives good coffee, worth queuing for. We enjoyed the spa and the fantastic massage a deux that came as a complimentary activity on our honeymoon/wedding anniversary package. Nisha and Malini were very professional and we thoroughly enjoyed spending an afternoon at this haven of tranquility. The spa pool area is Asian tranquility and treatments take place in beautifully designed thatched roof pavilions. The gardens and birdlife are stunning and the various beaches one can choose from ensure that you’re not over crowded. One is particularly quiet facing the wild ocean - a most relaxing place to be. If it rained we went to the gym to use the state of the art Technogym machines, just the best of the best here. We l