Itsandra Beach Hotel & Resort

Restaurant staff were disrespectful, they refused to assist me and my colleague, Hakeem the manager tried to assist but the staff did not take our complaints seriously, I will not recommend this hotel to my colleagues. Very disappointed

The Itsandra Beach Hotel is a clean oasis in an island country with an enormous litter problem, where any kind of garbage collection is obviously unknown and all trash ends up in the forests, in the sea or by the roads and town streets. Very different from all the other Mascarene Islands. So after exploring the capital of Moroni and the countryside of Grande Comore during the day, we were happy to return to our accommodation, where one can see how the whole country should look like. The Itsandra has its own private little beach, kept clean as well, and only when swimming in the sea by it, one will get touched by floating plastic bags or other refuse. The sunbeds were usually all occupied already, when we went there late afternoon and the water of the swimming-pool didn't look too tempting with the temperature of a thermal spa. Very friendly was the man in charge of the beach area. Unfortunately this cannot be said of some of the other hotel staff, especially at reception (no smiles, no greetings) with the big exception of a young man called Imran, who also did our check-in. First we were offered an upgrade into a bungalow above the pool, but when we asked to have a look at it first we saw that it was more of a downgrade into an old construction with a glass front that didn't open. We preferred to be given the room we had booked, a 'Chambre Supérieure de Luxe avec Vue sur la Mer'. It had a balcony with a great view out to the sea, especially at sunset and over a coastline of black volcanic rocks and a rich green vegetation. In the mornings we could see the fishermen in the water. For a 'de Luxe' room a lot was missing though. It had only one chair in the room and no chairs or table on the balcony. There was only on one side a reading lamp by the double bed. WiFi and A/C functioned well. The bathroom was separated by a glass wall from the bedroom, which we didn't mind, but which might not be to everybody's taste. There was a good choice at the breakfast buffet, but the lady in charge was one more unfriendly person. The place we liked was the bar with a great view over the sea, where we could order good Mojitos and Caipirinhas. Also we asked to have dinner here instead of the big hall with the crowd. Even when there was a buffet only we managed to get - thanks to Maître d'Hôtel - our 'Langouste' at the bar, all by ourselves. Food on all three evenings was excellent and we got to try Comorian specialities like 'Mataba' and 'Pilao'. Compliments to the chef.

This place mirrors in perfection what's the state of Comoros: incredibly beautiful scenery (the sea, the garden), lovely and friendly people (at the restaurant), but terribly managed. The rooms are dirty and with maintenance that probably never happen, the beach (and the sea) has trash that goes from plastic bottles to car tires or just clothes, and it's not like they dont have the money to clean the property: both room rates and food have western prices (a beer costs 10$!). So it's sad they dont invest it on making it a clean place. If you come here in the next months, be aware they have construction going work so you will hear loud, repetitive and horrible noise from 6 am to 8pm, so it will follow you in breakfast, dinner, even at the beach, where construction workers will be there looking at you while you're sunbathing. It will definitely last for months. I believe the lack of care is because this is the only "modern" hotel in the island, i hope when the one in the north opens they will change due to competition.

Property is set on a beautiful promontory and has a lovely, albeit small, beach. Construction work and the refueling of oil to the generator make for a noisy experience. The pool has not been in use for some time. Modern and beautiful, open slats in the door allow for insect passage.