Pretty Grotty

Just arrived back from this hotel yesterday. Overall, very tired looking hotel but situated on a beautiful beach which is really it's only saving grace. The beds were very uncomfortable, the food was terrible, the pool was dirty, the towels threadbare and the shower kept going cold as the pressure was so low, so all in all pretty disappointing. Also, my husband had to remove several dead birds from our balcony as they hurtled into the mirrored glass each morning. This is, in my opinion, not a 3* hotel.

I expected more!

THe hotel looks great but the service was poor! the cleaning ladie forgot to knock before entering. We had to beg for towels. We had to beg for them to change the sheet on the bed. I purposly got

The food was basic i got tired of eating fish but hey i was on an island. the beach was beautiful but the beach in Polomay was amazing. If you have a chance go to Pralin or La digue now those islands are amazing! You can't got to Seychelle and not visit those island next door.

The life there is expensive. I was there for Creole festival allot of activities on the island, when festival was over it was quite boring, the nightlife is non existing, you go there to relax and enjoy the beach basicly.

Basic

I would describe this hotel as basic.

Basic rooms, basic service and basic food.

However I wouldn't deter anyone from staying there, the beach is located behind the hotel and is nice.

Just hope that it doesn't rain all day (like it did for us for a one whole day) as there is nothing else to do.

Loved it

Got Married there loved it and would recommend to anyone fantastic

Blackpool in Beau Vallon

We were on honeymoon here on 18th Sept 05 and stayed just the one night, we were that disappointed with the hotel. We had a double room with two single beds pushed together and the mattress was so poor you could feel the slats through it. The worst is the overblown noise from the pool bar in the afternoons which gears up to even more untolerable levels from 8-10:30pm. Our windows vibrated with the strains of 'What's up Pusscat' from the entertainer. Sleep is impossible until it finishes and then you have to wait for the rowdy people to stagger back to their rooms drunk and make more noise. This noise goes on every day.

Also, it is heavily under renovation and building works woke us up at 6am with drilling and sawing and scaping furniture.

The area around the hotel is a honeypot for the local youths who pile down to the beach in their converted cars getting drunk on the pavement and turning their cars into makeshift discos. It's not a safe environment to walk around in when they try to glass each other.

The breakfast was also very poor with stale and greasy bread/croissants and cold coffee. We moved to Le Meridien just 1/2 mile down the beach and it was beautiful. You've paid a lot of money to get here, so don't waste it on this hotel. The reception staff will almost will you to leave anyway.

Well, its OK

I stayed in Coral Strand in this September for 5 nights. Actually I was really afraid after reading all these bad reviews. But I think the hotel is good enough if you compare prices with other hotels.

We have travelled around the whole Mahe island. We also visited Praslin and La Digue. I can honestly say that Beau Vallon is the best beach for swimmers. And Coral Strand is located at the best place of Beau Vallon.

Well, the hotel was not much clean, and the breakfast was poor. But people working there, especially at reception are very friendly. Other restaurants of the hotel are also good.

If you want to visit Seychelles but have limited budget then Coral Strand is the best option in my opinion.

Awful Service, grotty hotel, good beach.

Booked this trip last minute and got it for a bragain - £700 including emirates flights plus 7 night B&B at the coral strand. So with that in mind I shouldn't really complain, HOWEVER, the staff here act as they couldn't care less about you, even rude sometimes. The hotel is very basic and the food gave all of us (3 couples) reason to grab the immodium tablets. We hired some cars and visited a few of the other hotels and the coral strand was by far the worst we saw on the island. Also, as its probably the cheapest "large" hotel on the island it is regularly frequented by navy ships of various nations who have finished a tour of duty in the persian gulf which dock into Victoria and let their crews stay at this hotel. We had about 50 "loud" seamen who indulged themselves from 11am to midnight at the pool bar for 4 days - If you are looking for the quiet romantic getaway in paradise, spend a few more dollars/pounds/euro's and book into the sunset beach hotel up the road which is infinitely better. Having stayed in hundreds of hotels around the world, I can say with a fair amount of authority that this ranks as one of the worst "total hotel experiences" I have encountered.

Great beach, very poor hotel

Such a shame this place was bad as it's on the beach on Mahe. Food, room, service, clealiness all dire. Do not go here for a holiday! There are plenty of other places on the island.

Get the feeling they're living off thier location because the rest was bad. So pleased we didn't spend the whole of our holiday here I would have been gutted.

The bad service and attitude of staff just became a joke with the guests.

My advice - do not stay here...

Great setting and atmosphere

I agree with the previous comments but would recommend the hotel if it falls within your price range. All other hotels (at least the ones in the brochures) are much more expensive and it is not fair to compare it with the much more expensive hotels in Praslin.

It does need a revamp and the rooms are a bit basic but comfortable. When we were there in April 2004 they said the hotel was going to be refurbished - so check.

But the setting and the atmosphere of the place is fantastic. There was a wide range of people - not just honeymooners. The more expensive places in the Seychelles try to convey a certain "exclusive look". The Coral Strand was much more "natural" (I don't mean hippy). The service was a bit slow but that just highlighted the fact that you were on a tropical island and not living in a glossy brochure. My family had a great time.

The buffet meals were very good offering a wide range of stuff for breakfast and curries, fish, salads and roasts for dinner so that each family member could staisfy themselves. The restaurant was open sided which meant that for breakfast you had a wonderful view of the sea a few yards away.

The sea was warm and very clear. A few fish could be seen in front of the hotel but a 5 minute walk to the rocks at the end takes you to an excellent snorkelling spot. As always there is some dead coral but you don't have to swim far out to see live coral and plenty of fish - including rays and turtles

Get up at 7 and you can see the fishermen hauling in their catch.

Good position - poor hotel

Visited here in Oct 2003.

Stayed at Praslin first & wished we had stayed there. Beach was very good, lush green mountain scenery. No snorkelling on the beach. I did try snorkelling near the fisherman's cove - however, lots of little jellyfish put me right off! Also, coral seemed completely dead!

The hotel was decided average - terrible room, very dated, poor quality & small in size. Looked like a hotel block from spain shoved in a beautiful setting! Pool area was quite poor, dated etc.

The good aspect of the hotel was the food - this was very good quality - excellent choice. My wife thought it was a bit limited for vegetarians, but as a meat eater I was very happy! The restarant has an excellent position over-looking the beach.

There was entertainment in the evening - personally I hate this cheesy sort of stuff. There were a few bands, which were exceptionally loud & crap, which drove me up the wall when I was trying to get to sleep.

I think this hotel only rated a 2* in my book, but this is only my opinion. Some people who were there loved it and told me they come back again & again (I can't see why!).

Overall, I would not recommend this hotel, but the island was OK, Praslin was even better!