Loharano Lodge

We came for a seven-day getaway, but we won’t stay at this lodge again. The English communication was very difficult, as staff didn’t understand what we were trying to explain. We booked an all-inclusive package, as we usually do on holiday. On arrival, we were told it was only a soft all-inclusive, meaning beer, soda, and water from the bar, served by the glass. Even bottled water costs extra. Check what your package covers and get the menu details made clear, or you could be disappointed. The food portions were small, and there wasn’t a buffet every day. The menu was limited, with the same lunch and dinner, so we sometimes had to eat the same thing for both meals. The breakfast buffet was a joke, with no proper breakfast. We’ll visit Madagaskar again, but definitely not this lodge.

It really is as amazing as it looks, and we loved the western standards. For £10 more, book a pool view room. Otherwise you may end up tucked in a back corner facing a noisy service corridor. All the meals are buffet, with no a la carte option, and there’s nowhere else to eat nearby. There was no mosquito net either, and we had several mosquitos in the room.

We spent five very pleasant days here. The rooms were beautiful, with good air conditioning, the pool was lovely, and being right by the beach made the location perfect. The buffet was delicious and had something different each day. It was the start of our honeymoon, and we were disappointed that nothing special was done for us. The website says honeymooners receive special attention, and we mentioned it three times.

We’d just arrived for our honeymoon, and the hotel looked great. The welcome was warm at first, but then the staff member who had shown us to our room came over while we were heading to the pool and insisted we get dressed, return to the room, and take all our luggage. She said the room was meant for a family waiting at reception and that we had to leave immediately. Back in the room, hotel porters began closing up our luggage and moving it to another room because the staff member kept telling them to. When we complained, she said this was our room and not the other one, and that was that. Reception gave us the same answer. There wasn’t much empathy. A room mix-up can happen, but I don’t think it was handled properly. They didn’t take responsibility, and it made our arrival uncomfortable. In my opinion, good facilities alone don’t make a great hotel, the customer experience has to match. Br, Mario