Madagascar Adventure Vacations

Le Grand Bleu offers beautiful ocean views, a welcoming pool, and friendly staff. It's best suited for couples seeking a quiet, secluded retreat wanting few off-site activities. Consider before booking: The resort is **not ideal for guests with mobility limitations** due to steep walkways, uneven paths, and stairs. Wi-Fi is only available in the restaurant/pool area. The biggest drawback is the **cash-only policy** & there's no ATM on-site, **Ariary is the only currency accepted**. Plan on at least **€100 per person per day** (converted to Ariary) for meals, drinks, transportation, and incidentals. Each morning you're billed for the previous day's meals. A typical day (tea & toast, dinner for 1, 2 shots of liquor, w/2 colas to mix) was about 140,000 Ariary. This means constantly monitoring cash and making repeated ATM trips instead of relaxing. It felt more like keeping up with rent than enjoying a vacation. The **nearest ATM requires a minimum 100,000 Ariary round-trip tuk-tuk**. Meal service is limited & prices are very high compared to the excellent family café at the bottom of the hill (son speaks French, Italian. & English - bonus!) The "private wild beach" is difficult to reach and not suitable for swimming or sunbathing. Andilana Beach, 2.6 km away, offers a much better swimming beach with restaurants and shops. For those seeking more nightlife, excursions, credit card options, shopping, and dining, the **Ambatoloaka–Madirokely** resort area near Hell-Ville.

Manga Soa is as close to paradise on Earth as you will find! It is a friendly, French-managed small lodge set in the most exhuberant tropical gardens imaginable! Every tropical flower & plant are found here. The managers, Roman & Ocean, are a competent, friendly can-do couple who can handle any request. Their staff is impeccably trained, yet friendly & personable. We loved the French-inspired food! With tasty tropical touches, every meal was a delight! The chef's brioche rolls were scrumptious! This is the perfect paradise! Each oversized bungalow is masterfully made from local hardwoods with true island touches. We loved the huge bed with crisp, cool linens. Lying in bed looking out over the Indian ocean is true luxury! The beach is beautiful but not always swimmable with the low tide. Ask Roman to arrange for their boat to take you to a reef or one of the nearby islands! Don't miss having a massage or 2! Prices are so reasonable & the ladies are very knowledgeable! We loved everything about our stay here and were treated like VIPs! It is a shining gem on Nosy Be. The road is now paved & it's a smooth & easy trip to the airport or Helleville.

We stayed at Ravintsara Wellness Hotel for five nights on a half-board basis and had a wonderful and very relaxing stay. The dinners were excellent throughout, with beautifully prepared food and a good selection. A special thank you to the restaurant team for taking such good care of my husband's dietary requirements. They were extremely accommodating and made sure his needs were catered for every evening. The spa was definitely one of the highlights. The treatments were excellent and the prices were surprisingly reasonable - considerably less than we normally find in hotel spas. Dina gave me an amazing facial, and the massages with Tendra and Patina were extremely professional, deep and incredibly relaxing. We thoroughly enjoyed the spa and would highly recommend it. Our bungalow had a beautiful view of the sea. Nosy Be has an extreme difference between low and high tide, but we found the view beautiful at both times and really enjoyed sitting and looking out over the water. The only negatives were a couple of unusual extra charges. We were surprised to be told that there would be an additional charge if we wanted to use the Jacuzzi bath in our own room, and there was also a charge to have an iron. For a hotel of this standard, we felt that both of these should really be included in the room rate. These were relatively small issues, however, and did not detract from what was otherwise a lovely five-night stay. Excellent food, a fantastic and reasonably priced spa.

Amazing hospitality and beautiful hotel in great location on island