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Holiday to South Africa & Mauritius
David Hedison, 6th July 2024Safari was amazing. The organization of all the moving parts was amazing. Shanti Maurice and Mauritius were a total waste of our vacation. The staff at Shanti said that July is the month when everyone from Saudi Arabia comes, and they are disrespectful to everyone. Being gay, with two men spitting on the ground at me, and the staff welcoming Mr. and Mrs. Hedison at Shanti Maurice was horrible. The temperature did not allow for swimming, and we didn't go except for the one time to try it. It was isolated. The safari was beyond words. I left a wonderful review on TripAdvisor and still have no idea what to say about Shanti Maurice. We are both in agreement that we prefer to forget about Mauritius as it was bad.
Accommodation Visited
OR Tambo City Lodge
“Nice accommodation and very convenient. Standard accommodations.”
Thornybush Game Lodge
“The best experience I have ever had. The PEOPLE, the animals, the food and the accommodations were amazing. We felt a part of the group. We danced. We made friends from all over. The staff hugged us when we left from the intern to the manager. Some will come to Boston and visit. We had a lifetime experience there.”
Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa
“Horrible. Nights where babies cried for hours above us. Kids were left in their room next door by their parents. Other guests, 75%+ from Saudi Arabia, were rude and disrespectful to staff and us. We met a wonderful staff member who said you cannot go swimming and sunbathe this time of year - which was true for us. No one was around to even talk to. The staff always seemed to say, "We hope you are having the best vacation," but it wasn’t. The staff was polite to everyone, including the woman who had her son screaming and running at dinner, hitting staff, and taking things off our table. The General Manager would go over and say hello to her each night. The pools were not really heated and were cool. The Jacuzzi was the same temperature as the pool. The spa staff made it uncomfortable when I asked for a male massage therapist and said I needed to wait two days. Then they said restaurants all require a 24-hour notice for booking as they are full, but each night it was empty most places because we were told the Saudis eat later. We were repeatedly told of the dress code, even though we followed it, while almost every man from Saudi Arabia wore flip-flops, a T-shirt, and sweatpants. Most of the staff were kind, and the views are beautiful, but when you don’t feel welcome, comfortable, able to swim, or lay in the sun and sleep at night peacefully due to kids screaming, we wanted to come home. A total waste of time and money. Even though our record said we don’t drink, they sent alcohol to say sorry. The toilet was leaking, and the floor was all wet upon arrival at 10:30 pm. There were some packets in the shower that looked like something for females and dirty, rolled-up toilet paper around the bidet. We stopped saying anything as there was nothing that could be done to turn the boat around. I would never recommend this place to anyone in July, not to any gay couple, and not to anyone who cares to feel part of an experience.”
Staff Review
“We love Gemma. I wish she had not put Shanti Maurice on the list. I wish the temperatures had been made clearer. I wish she had found something that was more gay-friendly. We are not flag-waving, in-your-face guys who hold hands, but the level of discomfort from fellow guests made more than 50% of this trip horrible. The first half was a dream. We hope to go back to Thornybush and even try another lodge elsewhere.”
