Itsandra Beach Hotel & Resort

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.

If you like sea views from every room and private beach, there is only one hotel on the island which is Itsandra. Apart from that the hotel is really nice with good internet and suprisingly tasty restaurant , highly recomend sea food plater - perfectly fits for 2 people. Hassan is making good job with removing trash from the beach. He speaks good english and is kind and knowledgeable person. He is also a tour guide. Breakfast is superb. Every room has sea view but i highly recommend taking luxury room which is slightly more expensive but has amazing full sea views and 100 % privacy which is not the case in Basic rooms.

I enjoyed my stay (6 nights in a Luxury room with sea view). The room was pleasant though not at all luxurious. Bed very comfortable. Missing obvious things like a bedside light or even a bedside light switch. Bathroom basic - just a handheld shower, toilet which was very high off the ground and sink, inside a glass cubicle. Bathroom floor very slippery when wet. One towel, and that often disappeared for hours while they washed them. Frequent power outages (easily 10 some days, 10 mins - 45 mins long) but room air con good when power working. No air-conditioning anywhere else. Small balcony with lovely view, table supports has rusted through. Lots of flies at breakfast. Cooked eggs always excellent, pastries mixed quality. Pool had been drained which was a major disappointment and hadnt been advertised as such. Beach lovely however. Some building works going on - digger making lots of noise. There was no transport provided to Moroni, it's a shame there wasn't a shuttle or tours offered. Instead, hotel books you a very expensive and relatively low quality driver if you want but it feels quite a bit of hassle. Outside restaurant did excellent and reasonably priced food and drink. Grounds quite well kept though it was odd when they started screwing down the decking, in the middle of dinner, when it was dark. Plenty of staff who were polite though not proactive and sometimes didn't appear to be doing anything useful. Rooms quite expensive for what they were.

I really enjoyed my 3 day stay at Itsandra - the facilities and the service were outstanding - in particular, Anichat at reception could not have been more welcoming, helpful, informative and professional. I’ll definitely return to Itsandra.

Good hotel. Literally on the sea. Nice private beach and pool. Well-kept. Breakfast and dinner are very good. Perhaps the rooms could be kept better. there are frequent power outage but presumably that is in the whole island. Service is excellent.