Top 5-Star Hotels in Saint-Leu

I arrived at the airport & realized the closest place to buy a sim card was near the Carrefour in town (since neither my Hong Kong sim nor my 2 wifi eggs worked here), being the day before Christmas eve the traffic was crazy & even trying to find parking was complete madness, by the time I got to the hotel it was getting dark and being able to grab a nice meal (had the 9 course seafood tasting menu with wine pairing) and then roll off to bed felt so indulgent. So here is the conundrum, you visit Reunion to ogle the prehistoric landscapes and lush foliage, hike, take helicopter tours of the jurassic mountains, but once at the Margouillat, you just don’t want to leave. For those that want adventures and luxury.... this place is the place to be. Being in or near the water is what it’s all about, the pool was never crowded, the view of the incredible coastline stunning all times of the day. After each meal, it was nice knowing it was literally just one flight of steps back to the room, or just pass out under the frangipani tree. It was an impeccable stay except for dinner my third and last night (12/25) when they were obviously understaffed, I sat down at 730 pm, waited until 8 pm before they took my order, @ 830 pm my amuse bouche arrived, @ 9 pm since my appetizer still did not made its appearance, I decided to leave, especially since guests that arrived after me were served their main course already & I had an early flight to catch. Otherwise, would have rated this a 5.

A stay at Résidence Santa Apolonia places you in the heart of Saint-Leu, a 3-minute drive from Kélonia and 5 minutes from Musée Stella Matutina. This beach residence is 9 mi (14.4 km) from Plage de L'Hermitage and 4.2 mi (6.7 km) from Plage de la Souris Chaude.To-go breakfasts are available daily from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM for a fee.Featured amenities include multilingual staff, an elevator, and a water dispenser. Self parking (subject to charges) is available onsite.Make yourself at home in one of the 100 individually decorated guestrooms, featuring kitchens with full-sized refrigerators/freezers and ovens. Complimentary wireless internet access is available to keep you connected. Conveniences include desks and microwaves, and housekeeping is provided weekly.

We stayed at this hotel for 8 nights on holiday. The hotel is listed as a 3-star hotel, but many facilities (safe, fridge, magnifying mirror, Nespresso machine, two pools, two restaurants, etc.) are more characteristic of 4-star hotels. The same is true for breakfast, which was generous and good. The hotel is located at the outskirts of St. Leu, on a hill that is overlooking a very nice view of the sea, whales included. We had a car and therefore could travel easily, recommended at this location. Ample parking, also near our room which was relatively far from the reception. A lovely garden and pleasant common areas. Our room (Guétali) was large and comfortable, and housekeeping was good. Good beds. The bathroom was large, though it suffered from a shallow sink in which the tap was located too much to the back, something that caused constant water spillage. Service was excellent everywhere throughout our stay, with special thanks to the reception and restaurant staff. We tried to drive to St. Leu for dinner, but a traffic jam and total lack of parking led us to abandon this idea after one try. We consequently ate at the hotel’s Kotémer restaurant (see separate review). A concert of Creole music and dance on one of the evenings was very enjoyable. The most evident weakness of this hotel is the (lack of) wi-fi. While this worked reasonably well at the reception and the restaurants, we had zero reception at our room, on laptop, tablet, and phones. I use a laptop for both work and entertainment, and therefore had to sit at the reception whenever I needed the internet. The phones could be used at the room using mobile data, but this consumed a considerable amount of our monthly allocation. Overall, a very positive experience if one accepts the internet limitation, recommended while staying on Reunion Island.