Constance Tsarabanjina All Inclusive

One of the most beautiful places in the world. White sand, clean waters, amazing diving nearby the hotel, great snorkeling and two gorgeous beaches to relax during the day and watch the unbelievable sunset. The team at Tsarabanjina is really nice and friendly and they do provide a top notch service. Rooms could not be better, providing everything that is necessary. The only item that I personally think could improve is the food. The buffet breakfast is good, but I think the lunch should not be a buffet and the presentation could be much better. A la carte dinner is good, but definitely the food is not the highlight of this place. Other than that everything is perfect and I am willing to return. Unforgettable!

The location of the hotel is stunning, pristine beaches, great barrier reef and overall great nature. Staff is also great, Giulia the marine biologist is very knowledgeable and explains you all marine life during snorkeling sessions. 3 stars are mainly driven by 1) the kitchen: I ate much better in 3-4 stars hotel also in madagascar (food sometimes is pre-cooked, or in case of buffets runs out very easily if you are not among the first in line) and 2) management: Elena (resident manager) seems more a manager of local guest house than a constance resort. She blames misses on the staff or the other guests (food is over cause other guests are eating too much) without doing anything to actually repair from the damage. Only on last day she actually asked us how everything is doing after pointing out my disappointment, a nice word before would have been nice also with younger guests (that cannot afford an helicopter ride).

We spent seven nights at Constance Tsarabanjina and were utterly captivated by the island’s natural beauty. With only 24 standalone lodges scattered along pristine white sand beaches and surrounded by crystalline blue water, the property feels incredibly private and quiet. Unfortunately, the culinary side of our stay fell far short of expectations for a 5-star resort: • Limited menu & poor preservation: Unlike other high-end island resorts where fresh seafood abounds, the fish here tasted off or tasteless. Choices were scarce, repetitive and of low quality. Many guests (including ourselves) resorted to ordering plain pasta or white rice just to fill up and avoid the tasteless fish and low quality food. Given the island’s active fisherman community, we anticipated daily offerings of freshly grilled and raw fish. Instead, the menu featured only off-tasting “fresh” fish, poorly cooked, with any premium seafood (large shrimp or crab) available only at a substantial upcharge. • Breakfast woes: Only few kinds of fruit were offered each morning—and none were chilled. Deserts (i.e. pumpkin cake) from dinner were re offered on the breakfast buffet the day after. On our final day, the omelette chef discovered two of the six eggs were already brown inside, indicating spoilage. • Service glitches: Between forgotten main courses (twice!) and general confusion at the restaurant, mealtime became more frustrating than relaxing. Indeed, we skipped lunch twice. We raised our concerns directly with Lucas, the resort director, who was attentive and made a noticeable effort to improve service on our last day. We raised our concerns on the Monday morning and did not received any special treatment during that day, we skipped lunch again because we were so sick of the food and my dad also had stomach issues. Our last dinner on Monday evening was better than average (very low), but nothing special and the five plates we ordered were exactly what was offered from the dinner menu, including starters and main courses, and nothing more than what we were entitled of. We left on Tuesday morning (with no breakfast cause the eggs were expired) so the team had 24 hours to make a special effort, which did not happen. We just received a kind service from Lucas at dinner, which of course we were grateful of. I am writing this because the team has tried to answer my review on TripAdvisor saying that we received a special treatment on our last dinner, which is absolutely not true but I cannot reply there. I find this very impolite and unprofessional. Unfortunately, attempts to escalate the food quality issues with Elena, the resort manager, failed. On our second to last dinner on Sunday evening, we asked the waitress to speak with Elena but she avoided us, and just sent us a single, non-committal WhatsApp message the on the afternoon of the day after and yielded no tangible changes. The management team would say that we have not raised our concerns on time, but we really tried on our last days. Many other Italian guests share the same feelings, I hope they will write their reviews too or share feedback with their travel agencies. We did not report any concern the first few days, trying to see if things would improve, and honestly we did not want to spoil our entire holidays. But we tried and eventually made very clear that we were upset. Any 5 star manager would have addressed this issue more carefully instead of trying to minimize and deny customers reviews online afterwords. Constance Tsarabanjina is a hidden gem in terms of setting and serenity—but the dining experience undermines what could otherwise be an idyllic escape. If you can look past the subpar meals, this resort offers one of Madagascar’s most peaceful island getaways. However, at this price point and star rating, we expected consistently fresh, well-executed cuisine and smoother restaurant service. There are other resort options around Nosy Be which we have tested during previous holiday experiences in Madagascar, which are cheaper and offer better quality food every day.