La Digue Island Lodge

V hotelu La Digue Island Lodge jsme s mým manželem strávili v říjnu 2016 opravdu nádherný odpočinkový týden. K pobytu na Seychelách jsme si nemohli vybrat lepší místo! Nachází se přímo na pláži Anse Reunion s jemným bělostným pískem, s okouzlujícím výhledem na sousední ostrov Praslin, v docházkové vzdálenosti od úchvatné pláže s impozantními žulovými útesy Anse Source d´Argent, která je nejfotografovanější pláží na světě. Cesta trajektem z hlavního ostrova Mahé, bez přestupu na ostrově Praslin, trvá přibližně hodinu. U přistávacího mola na La Digue nás čekali zaměstnanci hotelu s mikrobusem a během pěti minut jsme již seděli v recepci hotelu. Přijeli jsme v dopoledních hodinách a naše zahradní chata pro nás byla připravena necelou hodinu po příjezdu. Chata byla umístěna uprostřed pečlivě udržované tropické zahrady, dvě minuty chůze od pláže se spoustou pohodlných lehátek s matracemi. Byla vybavena pohodlnou manželskou postelí, křesílky se stolkem, TV s plochou obrazovkou se satelitním příjmem, lednicí, rychlovarnou konvicí k přípravě kávy a čaje, toaletním stolkem atd. Koupelna byla prostorná, s umyvadlem s velkými odkládacími plochami, s vanou i sprchovým koutem a nechyběl ani bidet. Úklid byl velmi pečlivý, včetně výměny ručníků a plážových osušek a také toaletní potřeby byly denně doplňovány. Jediná naše připomínka se týká ručníků, které místo příjemné vůně byly cítit pouze chlorem. Na kryté terase chaty byla umístěna lehátka s matracemi a stolkem, rohová pohovka a dřevěný sušák na prádlo. Měli jsme zaplaceno ubytování s polopenzí, která zahrnovala bohatou snídani s pěkným výběrem potravin a nápojů. K dispozici bylo denně nejméně deset druhů čerstvého ovoce, vejce, omelety a palačinky na objednávku. Večeře byly formou bufetu, s nabídkou kreolské, indické, asijské i mezinárodní kuchyně. Na výběr byla každý večer spousta ryb, včetně grilovaných dle chuti. Nabídka zahrnovala různé druhy masa, zeleniny, polévek, salátů a dezertů. Jídlo bylo skvělé, vždy čerstvě uvařené a dobře dochucené. Veškerý personál hotelu byl velmi příjemný a ochotný. Restaurace byla na písku, a její umístění na pláži, s výhledem na Indický oceán a sousední ostrov Praslin bylo skvělé. Hostům je přes den k dispozici také bazén s barem, lehátky a slunečníky. Příjemné bylo i večerní posezení v baru u bazénu při svíčkách, s pěknou nabídkou nápojů a koktejlů. Hotel doporučujeme pro všechny cestovatele, hledající klid a romantické prostředí, s kvalitními službami čtyřhvězdičkového hotelu. Umístění hotelu La Digue Island Lodge je výborné, v jeho blízkosti najdete obchody i restaurace. Všechny vyhlášené pláže jsou v docházkové vzdálenosti. K dispozici jsou i půjčovny kol. Pár kroků od hotelu najdete Take-away Gala, hojně navštěvovaný místními i turisty, který nabízí denně obměňovanou nabídku chutných hotových kreolských jídel za nízké ceny. V nabídce jsou ryby a různé druhy masa s rýží a zeleninou, těstoviny, hranolky, sendviče atd. Mají také ovoce a čerstvé ovocné džusy. Hotel La Digue Island Lodge nepatří sice mezi nejnovější, ale byli jsme nadšeni jeho polohou, službami i celkovou atmosférou. Můžeme doporučit a rádi bychom se v budoucnu vrátili.

Nádherné ubytování. Chatky velmi čisté a plně vybavené. Snídaně a večeře nabízely výborné jídlo formou švédských stolů. Krajina v okolí hotelu, i na ostrově, byla krásná, úplný ráj. Vynikající obsluha v restauraci i v pool-baru.

Pěkné ubytování, na místní poměry slušné ceny. Krásné vybavení, čisto a slušné zacházení. Hodí se pro skupinu přátel i pro rodinu. Nádherné okolí, klid, krásná příroda. Prostě ráj v ráji. Ráda se sem kdykoliv vrátím.

We stayed at La Digue Island Resort for three days earlier this month, and unfortunately, our experience was far below expectations. Pros: Great location. Cons: The staff were unhelpful and unwelcoming, which made our stay less enjoyable. The rooms were not clean and appeared to be in serious need of renovation and a thorough deep clean. The food was another major disappointment. We had dinner on the day we arrived. The staff charged us X amount for wine and the next day informed us they charged us more??The dinner was not good at all! The prices were ridiculously high for the quality of food served, which was often below par. I am genuinely glad we did not pre-book the half-board or full-board meal plans, as the food simply did not justify the cost. Considering the hot and humid weather on La Digue, the air conditioning in the room was inadequate, and the absence of fans made it even more uncomfortable. The room did not provide the level of comfort one would expect in this climate. One particularly frustrating incident involved housekeeping. We returned to our room around 6–7 p.m. after being out all day and found that the housekeeping staff were still cleaning. We later discovered that the room was full of insects and flies because the door had been left open while the room was being serviced. The door was still open when we arrived. Leaving a room open like this, especially in a tropical environment, reflects a lack of basic care and common sense. While the location is undoubtedly a positive, it does not make up for the poor cleanliness, uncomfortable rooms, disappointing food, and unwelcoming service. Overall, this was a very disappointing experience, and I would not recommend La Digue Island Resort based on our stay. The property needs significant improvements in cleanliness, room maintenance, food quality, and staff hospitality to justify its prices.

This was not our first stay on La Digue, but it was our first time at **La Digue Island Lodge**. The location of the hotel is very good, although La Digue itself is a relatively small island. The hotel is situated next to a small beach which, in our opinion, is not particularly attractive. On the other hand, the swimming pool is quite nice. There are local shops and Take Away restaurants right next to the hotel, although the one immediately beside the hotel was not among the best, in our opinion. The resort itself is beautifully green and has a real tropical feel. There are palm trees, flowers, colourful birds and beautifully maintained paths. It is obvious that the gardener puts a lot of work into keeping the grounds in such good condition. Walking around the resort was genuinely a pleasure. The restaurant was nothing particularly special. We had dinner there once, choosing from the à la carte menu, and the food was tasty and reasonably well presented. There was also a buffet available, although we did not use it. The pool bar was pretty much what you would expect from a pool bar. The drinks were good, although prices in both the bar and restaurant are certainly not among the cheapest — but this is the Seychelles, so that is perhaps not a major surprise. Overall, you could say that the hotel is "okay" — **but unfortunately, there are some serious issues that made our stay disappointing and confirmed some of the negative reviews we had previously read from other guests.** From the moment we arrived until we left, we had the strange feeling that we were more of an inconvenience than welcome guests. It felt as though our money was welcome, but our presence was not. During our entire week-long stay, not a single member of staff greeted us with even a simple "Hi" or "Good morning". Even when we greeted staff ourselves, we were often completely ignored. This happened repeatedly and really made us feel uncomfortable. The reception was another disappointment. There seemed to be a great deal of chaos hidden behind the "magic doors". Our check-in involved three receptionists, who seemed to take turns starting the procedure, stopping, and then handing it over to someone else. Everything was conducted in the local language, while we stood there for around 20 minutes without really knowing what was happening. Again, there was no proper welcome, no explanation and barely a word directed towards us. We stayed in a **Garden Apartment**. We were not expecting luxury, as we already know the standards on the Seychelles, particularly on La Digue, but we did expect something a little better. The problem was not really the equipment or furniture. The room simply was not properly clean, despite initially giving the impression that it was. The floor was unpleasantly dirty, and some of the grout between the tiles was disgustingly black. There was a noticeable amount of sand under our feet, particularly in the bathroom. In our opinion, the rooms are in need of a serious renovation and, more importantly, much better attention to cleanliness. I will not go into every detail regarding an incident with housekeeping, but the service was far below any standard we would normally expect. After three days, our room had still not been cleaned. The housekeeping staff member did not forget to collect the tip left for her, but somehow forgot to clean the room. When we raised this with reception, we were told that there had been a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. A supervisor was sent to speak to us and, rather surprisingly, asked what the problem was and essentially suggested that nothing serious had happened. Eventually, the "cleaning" consisted of changing the bedsheets and pillows. We had to take the rubbish out ourselves, the terrace was never cleaned, and the bathroom was left in a condition that certainly did not meet the standard we expected. In our opinion, the hotel has a **serious management and staff-service problem**. I do not necessarily blame the individual employees. What is much more concerning is the obvious lack of management, training and customer-service standards. The problem was visible in many different situations during our stay. The one exception was the bartender from Nepal working at the pool bar. He was the only member of staff who consistently demonstrated the kind of customer focus and friendly, polite approach that we would expect from a hotel of this type. There are definitely positive aspects to La Digue Island Lodge — particularly the beautiful gardens, tropical surroundings, location and pool. However, these positives were unfortunately outweighed for us by the poor cleanliness, housekeeping problems and, above all, the lack of basic hospitality and customer service. **Would we return? Probably not.**