We had an overall enjoyable stay at Le Méridien Île Maurice, and there are many things the hotel does exceptionally well. However, there was one major issue surrounding my partner’s birthday dinner which was handled very poorly and unfortunately left a significant negative impression on what was meant to be a special occasion.
Our arrival was excellent. We were warmly welcomed and offered a welcome drink, which was a lovely start to our stay. I believe the gentleman who welcomed us was named Puvesh (apologies if I have misspelled his name). He was extremely helpful, answered the questions I had upon arrival and made us feel genuinely welcome.
Unfortunately, the problems began with our reservation at Jade.
During check-in, I specifically arranged a reservation at Jade for my partner’s birthday dinner. This was important to me as the dinner was part of celebrating her birthday. I subsequently received an email confirming the date and time of the reservation.
The following day, when I enquired about the reservation time, I was told that there was no reservation. This was extremely frustrating, particularly as I had a written email confirming that the booking had been made. I found the way the situation was handled quite dismissive considering that this was clearly an error on the hotel’s side.
What disappointed me further was that I then had to ask what alternative arrangements could be made rather than being proactively offered a comprehensive solution. Eventually, the only option available was a much later time slot. Considering this was a birthday dinner that had been arranged in advance, I do not think a simple apology adequately reflected the inconvenience caused.
Unfortunately, there was then a second issue. When the replacement reservation was arranged, I was under the impression that we would be having the set/course menu. I was only subsequently informed that this needed to have been arranged one day in advance. Had this been clearly explained when the new reservation was made, I could have made a different decision. Instead, after already having the original confirmed reservation effectively disappear, we were disappointed for a second time.
If I had known from the beginning that these issues would occur, I would simply have chosen another restaurant for my partner’s birthday dinner. She was understandably very upset, and that is particularly disappointing when I had made the effort to organise everything in advance specifically to avoid this type of situation.
I want to emphasise that mistakes can happen. What I found unacceptable was the response afterwards. There seemed to be very little attempt to take ownership of what had happened or provide a meaningful alternative, particularly after two separate problems relating to the same birthday dinner. Beyond an apology, nothing was offered to rectify the situation.
I do, however, want to give credit where it is due. The birthday cake that I had also arranged at check-in was provided as requested, and I appreciated this.
Outside of this experience, our stay was very pleasant. The property itself is beautiful, the location is fantastic, and the majority of the staff we encountered were genuinely warm and friendly. I would particularly like to mention Asha and Sanjana (again, apologies if I have misspelled either name), who were lovely.
Overall, I would still recommend Le Méridien Île Maurice for its beautiful setting and generally excellent staff. However, for a hotel of this standard, the handling of our restaurant reservation and my partner’s birthday dinner fell considerably below what I would expect. It was not simply that a mistake was made, but that two mistakes occurred and the situation was then handled in a way that felt dismissive, with no meaningful effort to make things right.
It is a shame because so much of our stay was genuinely lovely, but when a guest has specifically arranged something for an important occasion, a confirmed reservation should
