Bubble Lodge Bois Chéri

The Ginger bubble was a great spot for privacy, even though it was the farthest from reception. Being tucked into nature felt incredible, and I really liked the visitors book where you can read about previous guests and leave your own thoughts. Food and service were good, just nothing especially memorable. We were there for one night, and rain made quite a racket inside the bubble, so we didn’t sleep well. I guess that comes with the experience 😁

I waited a week before posting because I wanted to be sure this was more than my first reaction. The grounds and vegetation are beautiful, and the staff were attentive, but the stay was horrible and nothing like the website suggested. In 30+ years of staying in hotels, this was one of my worst experiences. I’d give it -5 if I could. On Saturday night there was a banquet. The lodge lights shone into my bubble until 1 AM, so I couldn’t see the stars before then. Music went on until midnight and drowned out the nature sounds I’d expected. I had to use earplugs. It felt like a party hostel. After the music stopped, staff talked loudly and dragged heavy tables across the wooden floor until 1 AM. The next morning, two roosters crowed together for two hours and woke me up. That wasn’t the peaceful natural setting I’d been promised. I also couldn’t take the tea factory tour because I stayed Saturday night and the factory is closed Sundays. There was barely any explanation at check-in about available services, and nobody mentioned a guided tea plantation tour. When I raised this with a manager the next morning, he said, “So sorry for your experience”, and thanked me for staying calm. He said people are usually angrier when reporting a bad night like mine. The other staff looked away when I brought it up, as if they already knew. I asked whether there could be compensation for such a bad stay, and they offered a “set lunch”. That was laughable given the price, and I had to get to the airport, so I couldn’t take it. I’ve added two videos, one showing the light on the bubble and one showing how loud the music was inside. Both are unacceptable for a room costing over 400 euros a night. Enjoy the place during the day, but I wouldn’t stay overnight. There are other fantastic places to enjoy on Mauritius.

We couldn’t go ahead with our booked stay because of cyclone Garance. The hotel let us know as soon as they could that they couldn’t fulfil the booking, which gave us time to find somewhere else, and they refunded us in full. They handled it responsibly and fairly. Hotels.com/Expedia made the refund process complicated, though, so next time we’ll book direct.

The experience itself is the only reason I gave two stars instead of one. It’s a shame it’s in the hands of this management. I stayed in the vanilla Bubble lodge, but the promised trip to the tea factory and museum came with no transportation to either place. The walk was quite a distance, and staff weren’t willing to help, so we had to skip both visits. The lodge was poorly organized, and staff seemed to handle guests at random, with no coordination. Interactions were chaotic, and they lacked basic hospitality skills. Check-in and check-out were frustrating too, with no cooperation.