Tribes Travel

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Tribes Travel, 12 The Business Centre, Earl Soham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 7SA, UK

Tribes Travel

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    Review

     

    1. Robin Cooke-Hurle
    2. 26/01/2011
    3. 2
    4. Mauritius

    5. Overall level of satisfaction

      • Excellent

      Excellent

    7. Loved Rodrigues and the diving was superb. Hotel there very nearly excellent, but compromised by volume of entertainment every night, exploring the island was well worth doing and the few nights we had on Mauritius were also very good.

    8. Tribes service

      • Excellent

      Excellent

    10. We were delighted with the service from Tribes.

    11. Expectations

      • Good

      Good

    13. Rodrigues is not for everyone but we loved it. Do not go there expecting 5 star service and luxury. We understood what we were getting into, so you should read comments about Cotton Bay Hotel in that light. Someone who wants an air conditioned beach resort would have been really disappointed!

    14. Guides

      • Excellent

      Excellent

    16. The ground handling company on Rodrigues were brilliant. Gilbert, the rep looking after us, was helpful well beyond the call of duty (he brought 25l of fuel to me at the hotel at 8pm on evening) and really charming.

    17. Social & Environmental Responsibility

      • Good

      Good

    20. Other comments

    21. Rodrigues was superb. Every time one goes to one of these places the hackneyed old phrase about friendly natives is trotted out. For the first time we really did find it to be true on Rodrigues. Everyone was really nice and helpful.

      Diving on Rodrigues is superb I thought the dive centre at Cotton Bay was absolutely excellent, with a team made up of two dive masters (one of whom speaks very good English) and the skipper of the boat, plus a couple of helpers. They were very professional, not at all macho, made sure that one was properly briefed for every dive and generally gave off an aura of confidence and care. The equipment was well looked after and regularly checked. The diving itself was wonderful, despite some problems with high winds. I would just add two cautions. Firstly, access to the dive sites was more dependent on the wind and tide than almost anywhere else I have been, so you will not always get the usual two dives a day, and secondly some of dive sites, especially the ones with the large fish, were technically quite demanding, with strong currents. I would not recommend it for beginners, especially as the boat never anchors (except in an emergency) to avoid damaging the corals.

      Sightseeing on the island. Port Mathurin was fun to wander about for a couple of hours, and the tortoise sanctuary definitely worth a visit. We also went down Cavern Patate, which again was worthwhile, and had a wonderful day on a private visit sailing to Ile aux Chat with a fisherman, organised by Gilbert, with spectacular snorkelling on the way, with lunch including a barbequed fish which Patrizia caught. I recommend a Rodrigues sausage roll, bought from a kiosk on the side of the road!

      The best meal we had in the whole trip was lunch at Le Grand Lagon, a table dhote about 200 metres after the entrance to the tortoise sanctuary. It was simple, but very fresh and deliciously cooked, with by far the most subtle use of herbs and spices that we found. We also had good dinners at La Belle Rodriguaise, owned by the couple who wrote the Rodrigues cook book, and at Cases a Gardenias. It was dark when we went to La Belle Rodriguaise, and it is a nightmare to get to, but it looked as if it was in a stunning position above Gravier.

    1. Accommodation

    1. Auberge Aquarella

    2. Auberge Aquarella
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    4. After an initial mix up with the room we had been assigned, Bryan and Veronique looked after us superbly. The mix up was not at all their fault, and they moved our room without hesitation and we really enjoyed our time with them. We wandered around Mahebourg town a lot which was fascinating. We would definitely return to Auberge Aquarella and recommend it to others.

    1. Cotton Bay Hotel

    2. Cotton Bay Hotel
      • Good

      Good

    4. The staff were all lovely and very helpful and seemed happy and contented. It is very well laid out, with a lovely bar area overlooking the bay and much nicer salt water pool and pool area than we expected, which was usually deserted (I have no idea where everyone went). The food was a funny mixture. Some meals, especially lunch, which was a la carte, excellent, and some very indifferent. It all tasted fresh. Dinner was invariably a buffet, with a few things griddled, and started at about 7.30, so that if one arrived later many dishes were stewed. The main thing though was a lack of variety, with everything tending to taste the same. Our room was fine spacious and clean, with good housekeeping and a fabulous view. One disappointment was that swimming in the sea was really not possible, even at high tide, because the bottom was very rocky and about half the bay was heavily colonised by sea urchins. There are lovely beaches around, but some of them suffer from the same things, and getting to them is a more major expedition than it looks on the map.

      The problem however, which would prevent us ever going back, was the so called entertainment. The bar area was equipped with speakers the size of small cars, and boy did they use them. It started every evening at 8.30, and meant that if one did not like disco music then there was absolutely nowhere at all to go except to your room and even in there (in one of the furthest rooms away) it was still ludicrously intrusive. In my opinion the hotel website and publicity is badly misleading, as I told the manager. This is a real shame, as there is nothing to stop it being the haven of peace and tranquillity that they advertise.

    1. Experiences

    1. Escaping to Mauritius

    1. Rodrigues Island

    2. Rodrigues Island
      • Don't even think about missing this!

      Don't even think about missing this!

    4. Rodrigues was superb Every time one goes to one of these places the hackneyed old phrase about friendly natives is trotted out. For the first time we really did find it to be true on Rodrigues. Everyone was really nice and helpful.

      Diving on Rodrigues is superb I thought the dive centre at Cotton Bay was absolutely excellent, with a team made up of two dive masters (one of whom speaks very good English) and the skipper of the boat, plus a couple of helpers. They were very professional, not at all macho, made sure that one was properly briefed for every dive and generally gave off an aura of confidence and care. The equipment was well looked after and regularly checked. The diving itself was wonderful, despite some problems with high winds. I would just add two cautions. Firstly, access to the dive sites was more dependent on the wind and tide than almost anywhere else I have been, so you will not always get the usual two dives a day, and secondly some of dive sites, especially the ones with the large fish, were technically quite demanding, with strong currents. I am not sure I would recommend it for beginners, especially as the boat never anchors (except in an emergency) to avoid damaging the corals.

      Sightseeing on the island. Port Mathurin was fun to wander about for a couple of hours, and the tortoise sanctuary definitely worth a visit. We also went down Cavern Patate, which again was worthwhile, and had a wonderful day on a private visit sailing to Ile aux Chat with a fisherman, organised by Gilbert, with spectacular snorkelling on the way, with lunch including a barbequed fish which Patrizia caught. I recommend a Rodrigues sausage roll, bought from a kiosk on the side of the road!

      The best meal we had in the whole trip was lunch at Le Grand Lagon, a table dhote about 200 metres after the entrance to the tortoise sanctuary. It was simple, but very fresh and deliciously cooked, with by far the most subtle use of herbs and spices that we found. We also had good dinners at La Belle Rodriguaise, owned by the couple who wrote the Rodrigues cook book, and at Cases a Gardenias. It was dark when we went to La Belle Rodriguaise, and it is a nightmare to get to, but it looked as if it was in a stunning position above Gravier.
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