Hotel Overview

Constance Tsarabanjina, part of Mauritian based Constance Group, was a wonderful “get away from it all” private island, with only 25 individual extremely well-appointed bungalows spread across two beaches, North and South.  We were lucky enough to have Villa 14 which was slightly separated from the other bungalows on North Beach with the most amazing outlook, including a private lookout/seating area literally hanging over the pristine white beach.  You can check out the hotel website at https://www.constancehotels.com/en/hotels-resorts/madagascar/tsarabanjina/

Would I stay here again?

Yes, absolutely, when can I go back!

Location

Constance Tsarabanjina is located 40 miles off the coast of Nosy Be (pronounced ‘Noosy Bay’).  We flew to Nosy Be with Air Madagascar from Antanarivo, an hour’s flight if direct (and that’s another story!).  Because of the arrival time, we had to have an overnight stay at Manga Soa Lodge and were then joined by fellow guests for a shared transfer by boat to the island  the following morning, which took about an hour. On the return the journey was slightly longer, about ninety minutes and we were taken to Hell-Ville Nosy Be Port, about a 20 minute drive back to the airport (Fascene). The airport at Nosy Be is accessible from Johannesburg direct on a weekly flight and I believe several direct flights from Italy and France, nothing direct from the UK. You can find out more about Air Madagascar at https://airmadagascar.com/en.

Originally a deserted island, this was the location for Joanna Lumley’s ‘Girl Friday’ series back in 1994.  Since then a small-lodge hotel was built by a Johannesburg businessman before being bought by Constance where they undertook extensive refurbishment and built some additional lodges.

Accommodation

Every lodge/bungalow seemed to be the same, each with a large double bed (with mosquito netting) in the front part with a beautiful bathroom at the rear.  Although the website seemed to indicate the only difference between north and south beach villas was that the south beach villas only had air conditioning in the bedroom area, whereas north beach villas had air conditioning throughout including the bathroom, in a north beach villa there was only one air conditioning unit at the front of the lodge, which was more than ample.  The difference could have just been that there was a sliding screen between the bedroom area and bathroom, thereby allowing cool air to circulate throughout. Their website details the villas on both beaches, I would highly recommend North Beach https://www.constancehotels.com/en/hotels-resorts/madagascar/tsarabanjina/?slider=services&tab=accomodation&subtab=south-beach-villa.

There was a well stocked mini fridge (included within the all inclusive ‘Cristal’ package) with beer, wine and soft drinks; as well as some chocolate snacks like Mars, Bounty and Dairy Milk and Pringles, peanuts etc.  This was replenished on a daily basis, as was a morning delivery of bottled water, left outside the entrance like an early morning milk bottle delivery!

The bedding and towels were of the highest quality and were changed on request, the bathroom was also well stocked with toiletries.  It was serviced morning and evening, was spotlessly clean and pristine every time we came back to the room.

Food and Drink

There was only one restaurant which served breakfast, lunch and dinner - breakfast and lunch were buffet style with an excellent choice, even accounting for the remote location of the island.  Dinner was not buffet style, but a three course a la carte menu each evening with good choices of food, including a good selection of fresh fish at both lunch and dinner.  As a vegetarian, I also had an excellent choice of food at both breakfast and lunches, each morning the restaurant manager, Eric, would bring their bespoke vegetarian menu to select that evening’s meal.  There was ample selection including curries, pastas, pizza.  I was a bit surprised as some reviews on TripAdvisor had referred to limited choices and repetitive meals - this was not our experience at all.  All waiters were extremely friendly, especially Eric who was very attentive.  On our last night we decided to opt for a private dinner, this could either have been located on the beach (drawback being this is in front of the main restaurant/bar) or at a hidden location above the restaurant on a  bluff overlooking the sea.  We opted for this, because of the privacy, and also it’s beautifully lit as you ascend the sandy steps to the top.  Service throughout could not be faulted, there was a good selection of all inclusive cocktails and drinks before dinner, and wine/water with the meal.

Facilities & Service

In keeping with the remote island location, there were things to do if you wanted, equally if you just wanted to chill then this was the perfect place with stunning scenery and near-deserted picture perfect beaches.  There were daily activities including boat/snorkelling/whale watching trips as well as island walks, a small spa SHACK located at the end of south beach for massages etc., and a PADI diving school, table tennis table as well as a small shop for any essentials.

The lodges did not have TV or Wi-FI, there was Wi-Fi in both the restaurant/bar building and also at the main reception - we did find this a bit patchy, but it didn’t matter as again it was in keeping with the remote island location and it was nice to remove yourself from the world for a few days.  There is a nurse on site if required, and a heli-pad either for quicker transfers to/from the airport or presumably for medical emergencies too. 

Service was excellent throughout, it was low key during the day and if you wanted to organise trips, massage, diving etc. then the respective managers would be in the bar area every evening during cocktail hour to take bookings, answer any queries etc.

We actually missed our first day on the island thanks to the unreliability of Air Madagascar, the hotel were very attentive to our changing plans and what I particularly liked was that Eleni, one of the managers, stayed in touch via WhatsApp as our travel plans took shape.  There were many Italian guests and this seemed to be the predominant language, as well as French, but English was used for all hotel information, menus etc. and most of the staff were fluent in all three languages.