Beau Vallon Studios

The balcony had a nice sea view, and Patience from the cleaning staff did an excellent job keeping the apartment spotless. That’s why we’re giving two stars rather than one. The rest of the stay was far from relaxing, with roosters and chickens crowing day and night and groups of dogs making noise. Our main disappointment was dealing with the owner, Sony. We paid for two weeks upfront and told her well in advance that we’d be away for three days. She wouldn’t credit us for those days, even though we offered to extend our stay beyond the dates we’d booked. In a personal conversation, she said she’d follow up, but at first we couldn’t reach her by phone or WhatsApp. When we finally spoke in person, she again said she’d get back to us, but didn’t. We followed up several times, and the matter dragged on with delays and ultimately no cooperation. Her lack of professionalism significantly marred our stay.

Don’t stay there! This was one of the dirtiest, filthiest places we could have booked. The property looked badly maintained when we arrived, but we decided to see the room. The floor and bed were covered in other people’s hair. We politely asked to check out and were willing to accept even a partial refund, but met a lot of resistance. We eventually left with no refund at all. EUR275 for two nights for that kind of service?!

The room had a kitchen and balcony looking toward the Indian Ocean and Beau Vallon Beach, with air conditioning and nice furnishings. A higher floor gives a better view, but there’s no lift. The beach is within walking distance and parking is available on the property. The kitchen has a gas stove, microwave, fridge and utensils, and the in-room WiFi router gave decent speed. Beyond cleaning, they don’t offer other services, and toiletries are limited to tissues.

It’s a pity, since the place has a lot of potential. The location is amazing, and the room was spacious and nicely decorated, but my room and towel weren’t refreshed.