We stayed at The Ravenala Attitude Hotel in Balaclava, Mauritius for our babymoon in early 2024. We were there for 10 nights on an all-inclusive ‘all-in-all-out’ basis, meaning we could enjoy all-inclusive food and beverages from the moment of arrival to departure.
We chose this four-star hotel in Mauritius for our babymoon because it offered the perks of a large resort, but with local flavour and sustainability in mind.
With a whopping ten restaurants, the Ravenala Attitude also seemed to offer the best value for money out of all the all-inclusive resorts in Mauritius we considered.
While our primary goal was to relax as much as possible before becoming first-time parents, we also wanted to see some of the island as this was our first visit to Mauritius.
The excursions and taxi prices from the hotel were expensive, so I booked all of our outings via GetYourGuide.
Here’s my full review of The Ravenala Attitude Hotel in Mauritius.
Long story short: we loved the aesthetic, layout and overall vibe at this resort, but felt there were operational improvements to be made.
If you’d like to see more from this trip, you can check out my Mauritius highlight on Instagram.
My honest review of The Ravenala Attitude Hotel in Mauritius
Our flight landed around 9 am local time, and the drive to The Ravenala Attitude from the airport took approximately one hour.
Upon arrival, we were greeted with cold flannels and a refreshing local drink.
After a short hotel tour where we were immediately thrilled at the resort’s greenery and emphasis on natural materials, we were invited to make use of the ‘Arrivals and Departures’ showers free of charge.
This was a great start, especially because check-in isn’t until 2 pm so we would have had a long wait to freshen up otherwise.
We also used this facility to shower before our evening flight on the day of departure.
After freshening up, we immediately went to the pool and ordered drinks, but then I received a call from guest services advising that our room was ready for us. We really appreciated this!
Rooms at Ravenala Attitude
Accommodation at The Ravenala Attitude Hotel is comprised of two-story whitewashed blocks. The suites are large and the first-floor suites have impossibly high ceilings.
The air-con works well, but we didn’t get a strong Wi-Fi connection in our room (2211).
We were in the adults-only section, but it’s worth mentioning that this only really applies to the block your suite is in.
There are no adults-only pools at the hotel, but there is a small section of beach reserved for adults where sea-view guests have bean bag loungers.
I loved the pared-back design of our room with the oversized photograph depicting rural workers, plus the huge balcony which had a partial view of one of the pools through the palm trees.
Our room was in a great location too, close enough to quickly nip back and get anything you needed while at the pool or beach.
Unfortunately, our bed was extremely uncomfortable. I ended up asking reception to give us extra pillows, which they did immediately.
The bathrooms are also very spacious. We had a large walk-in shower and a large bath, as well as his and hers sinks.
There was no hot water in our room one day, so I called reception and they invited me to use the Departure room showers to wash my hair. The next day, a bottle of fizz appeared in our room.
Obviously, I couldn’t drink it, but it was a nice gesture.
I did read online reviews of Ravenala Attitude before our stay and the lack of hot water does seem to be a recurring problem.
We’ve encountered this at resorts in various countries so it wasn’t a huge deal for us, but I can imagine multiple days with no hot water would upset anyone.
Is The Ravenala Attitude Hotel family-friendly?
If you’re visiting The Ravenala Attitude hoping for an adults-only sanctuary away from the kids, you’ll be disappointed. There were a lot of very young children there during our stay and they were very well-behaved, but definitely there!
Usually when we book a resort, one of my criteria is that it must be adults-only. The pregnancy hormones must have been at play when we booked The Ravenala Attitude, because I brushed off the fact it wasn’t.
However, this blog has grown with me and I suppose now that I have a little one on the way I’ll be able to start offering a different perspective on hotels and experiences. Is The Ravenala Attitude suitable for families?
Well, I can’t speak from personal experience just yet but I’d absolutely say so. We spoke to a lot of couples with very young kids who seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The hotel has a good kids club, and shallow pools that are perfect for splashing.
The dance floor each evening was dominated by kids too.
Food at The Ravenala Attitude
In addition to the buffet, there’s a good selection of a la carte restaurants to choose from.
You have to book your evening meal at these establishments 24 hours in advance. I believe this also helps the hotel minimise food waste, so we were happy to do it.
I recommend booking a week’s worth of restaurants when you first arrive, then go back and revisit the ones you most enjoyed if you’re staying longer than a week.
The buffet restaurant, Mozaic, is open for each meal and doesn’t require a reservation. I absolutely loved the curries available there at night!
Unfortunately, they don’t replenish the food after a certain time so whenever we visited after 9pm we had to make do with the remaining lukewarm scraps.
Drinks service doesn’t seem to exist in the buffet restaurant, so we’d order at the main bar and take our drinks in with us. I think we were only asked if we’d like drinks once.
The buffet is the only option for breakfast. The spread includes local dishes, French toast, crepes, pork sausages and bacon and a small fruit selection.
Because the buffet is open-air, they do have a problem with birds at breakfast time in particular. I avoided any food that was uncovered, which left me with limited choice because of the dietary restrictions pregnancy brings too.
I did love the crepes though!
Our stay at The Ravenala coincided with Lunar New Year, and the hotel had a full programme of activities to celebrate. There was a special menu in the buffet restaurant, plus themed entertainment.
The Italian restaurant, A Tavola, had positive reviews on Tripadvisor but we were disappointed on our first visit. Service was slow and the food just wasn’t very good.
We gave it a second chance towards the end of our stay and it was a much better experience!
The Caprese salad was like a completely different, improved dish and Tom’s beef medallion was beautifully cooked. I guess it depends on the chef working on the night you dine there!
The Bistrot is open for salads, delicious burgers and sandwiches at lunch, then grilled meats prepared at an open kitchen at dinner. It was one of Tom’s favourite places to eat.
We also enjoyed our meal in O Beach Restaurant. It has a lovely ambiance and I recommend the lamb shank if you have a big appetite!
The chairs could do with cushions though, even if they just put them out for evening diners.
My favourite restaurant at The Ravenala Attitude was Madam Ming’s. The menu is Asian / Thai and the spring rolls were particularly good. We also got some of the best service there.
Unfortunately I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to take pictures!
There’s also the opportunity to sample authentic Mauritian cuisine at Kot Nou. I loved that you can pick three main dishes from the menu and they’re served as a trio of small plates, as it gives you a chance to try a bit of everything.
We had dry beef curry with raisins, toasted almonds and fried onions, chicken and potato curry in a spiced yogurt sauce, fish in a creole sauce, Mauritian duck stew, stir-fried soja in creole sauce, accompanied by chutneys and cassave chips. The service there was great too.
For daytime snacks, there’s a great little street food ‘restaurant’ called Taba-J which is made up of three beach huts.
They serve Mauritian snacks like roti, onion bahji, noodles, and a local milk-based drink called alouda.
There’s also a Japanese restaurant called Lime which you can eat in for lunch or dinner for an additional fee. Since the menu is mostly sushi, we didn’t bother.
The specialty ‘floating’ restaurant, Riviera, is also available at an additional cost. Again, I can’t comment on this because we didn’t eat there.
From 4 pm, the hotel hosts ‘tea time’ at the back of The Bistrot restaurant. There’s usually a small selection of sandwiches and some sweet treats available to tide you over until dinner.
With a few exceptions, service in the restaurants was slow during our stay and plates etc often weren’t cleared for a long time after we’d finished eating.
On more than a few occasions, we got up and left because we got bored waiting for someone to bring us a bill to sign.
The ‘dine around’ programme means you can opt to have breakfast, lunch and dinner at certain restaurants at the six other Attitude hotels in Mauritius.
We didn’t bother, but had we hired a car to see the island it probably would have been handy.
Bars at The Ravenala Attitude
The all-inclusive package at The Ravenala Attitude entitles you to local spirits and soft drinks at the bars and restaurants.
If you’ve read my other hotel reviews, you’ll know I usually take reviewing the entire cocktail menu very seriously. My growing bump meant I wasn’t able to this time, but I can tell you that there’s an extensive cocktail menu with drinks like flavoured mojitos, pina coladas, gin fizz, whisky sours etc.
Fortunately for me, many of them can be adapted into mocktails.
The hotel also has a menu of signature cocktails, mainly rum-based and all very sweet. If you’re into fruity drinks, you’ll certainly be spoiled for choice at this hotel!
If you want to indulge in a more premium drink or you’re visiting the hotel without an all-inclusive package, it might be helpful to know the average prices for drinks.
Heineken costs 280 RS, an Absolut vodka is 350 RS. A glass of Mauritian wine starts at 250 RS and international wines at 300 RS. Bottles of local wine cost 1,700 RS and international wines by the bottle cost from 1,375 RS.
There are three bars at Ravenala Attitude: a piano bar on the upper balcony where reception is, a main bar that serves the pool area as well as the entertainment area, and a beach bar.
The beach bar has swings and comfortable couches on the decking, giving it a Tulum-like vibe. It was our favourite spot for sundowners.
If you’re looking for somewhere to watch the football during your stay, never fear because Tom was on the case. My husband discovered that the small dining area at the back of The Bistrot (where ‘tea time’ is served) is where sports fans convene to watch a game.
Near the end of our holiday, I was looking for a book swap shelf and found the cutest little self-service tea bar hidden in a bookshelf!
The upper balcony is a tranquil area that’s ideal if you need to escape the heat for a while.
I did manage to stay up late enough one night to peek into the hotel’s ‘night club’, which opens at 11 am. This pregnant gal wasn’t up for dancing, but a handful of guests were enjoying the dance floor!
Beach at The Ravenala Attitude
Because the hotel sits at the mouth of the River Citron, it doesn’t have the picture-perfect white-sand beach you might expect in Mauritius. Luckily though, the public Balaclava Beach is just a short walk away.
The benefit of the hotel’s riverside location is that you can go kayaking up and down the river or in the sea, so there’s plenty to keep watersport lovers happy.
The hotel has a lot of loungers on the beach, and a section of the beach in front of the executive rooms is reserved for adults only.
There are some local traders who offer guests souvenirs etc on the beach, but they’re amiable and we didn’t have a problem with any of them.
Pools at The Ravenala Attitude
There are a handful of large swimming pools, with shallow and deeper areas for swimming.
When we visited in January, the pools were a perfect temperature which was a welcome relief after the freezing cold hotel pools at the resorts we’ve stayed at in Mexico around this time of year!
The pool areas have plenty of seating, so no fighting to reserve sun loungers at the crack of dawn.
There’s ample shade and the only time it felt a little crowded was at the weekends, when locals come to enjoy the hotel.
A family of ducks made themselves at home in the swimming pool, which delighted some of the little kids but kind of grossed me out. Otherwise, the pools seemed clean and well-maintained.
I’d say the hardest-working staff at the hotel (at least that we encountered), were the men serving drinks around the pool. They kept me well hydrated, and Tom didn’t even have to ask them to bring him another beer or cocktail. By the time he’d finished his drink, a fresh one would have been placed in front of him.
The Ravenala Attitude Hotel Spa
The Taz spa at the hotel has stunning gardens with treatment rooms leading off a stone path, so it really feels like a little oasis.
I had a 50-minute massage costing 2,400 Rhs using a 20% off voucher I was given when we arrived at the hotel. It was lovely and they accommodated my pregnancy very well.
Entertainment at The Ravenala Attitude Hotel
The entertainment team at Ravenala Attitude are great. There’s aqua aerobics most mornings, then beach volleyball most afternoons.
One day, the team broke out some instruments and gave an impromptu performance on the beach, which was fun!
The hotel has a sports centre opposite the lobby where my husband played football with some other guests and the entertainment team. I believe they also lead workouts there some days too.
I was more interested in reading on my sun lounger, so I didn’t venture over to take pictures – sorry!
There’s an excellent musician in the piano bar a few nights a week, and a small dance show in the main bar most nights.
On the beach, you’ll find a small hut for water activities like snorkelling, windsurfing and kayaking.
We did a great little boat trip on a glass-bottomed boat. We were on the water for about two hours and got to snorkel in two different locations.
I was impressed that this was covered in the all-inclusive package! We just had to book it in advance at the hut.
Sustainability at The Ravenala Attitude
One of the quirks of the Ravenala Attitude is that you fill your own mini bar. There’s a ‘bulk shop’ near reception that you can visit on a daily basis. There, you can stock up on freshly ground coffee, tea bags, soft drinks (I think you’re allowed two per room per night) etc.
The idea is that you only take what you need, thus minimising waste.
They also have a number of local food and drink souvenirs that you can buy in this shop.
In terms of plastic waste, I didn’t see any single-use plastic at the hotel. The water bottles you could pick up in the mini-bar shop were made from recycled plastic, and if you asked the bartenders for a straw, it wasn’t plastic.
On the beach, there’s a little juice bar that isn’t run by the hotel. I like that they’ve allowed a local entrepreneur to benefit from the tourists at the resort.
The hotel has a lovely gift shop which also sells locally made clothes, jewellery and other trinkets.
Things to know before you book a stay at Ravenala Attitude in Mauritius
There are a handful of dogs that appear to live on the grounds. They’re harmless but do wander into the restaurants and guests feed them.
As I’ve previously mentioned, they also have a bit of a problem with birds making themselves at home in the open-air restaurants.
The hotel is family-friendly, but there is an adults-only accommodation block.
You’ll see men on the beach selling tours, and they may be wearing T-shirts that say something like ‘Crew’. A taxi driver warned us that if we do book any trips with these guys, we shouldn’t give them any money in advance as they’ve been known to disappear. The driver had taken tourists to the police station because this had happened to them.
The toilets at the beach and pool area aren’t very clean.
Visiting Mauritius in February
We visited Mauritius in February, which is cyclone season.
We were relatively lucky with the weather and had sunshine every day, with just a few showers here and there. It was warmer than we expected, around 30 degrees and often quite humid.
However, there had been a cyclone the week before we arrived and our hotel asked all guests to remain in their rooms for 24 hours.
By all accounts, the Ravenala staff handled the situation brilliantly despite undoubtedly being concerned about their families’ safety.
From chatting to staff and taxi drivers, I learned that the country is used to the extreme weather conditions and able to prepare accordingly when a cyclone is forecast.
Other four and five-star resorts we’ve stayed at and loved around the world
El Dorado Seaside Suites, Mexico
The Shore at Katathani, Phuket Thailand
I hope you’ve found my in-depth review of The Ravenala Attitude Hotel in Mauritius helpful! Overall, we had a wonderful babymoon that allowed me to relax while my extroverted husband participated in the activities he loves, and together we enjoyed some beautiful meals and experiences.
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