This fifth star is a crowning achievement for Naïade, a Mauritian hotel group, and for the Grand Hotel du Lagon’s manager, Stephane Baras, and his team. Since the Naïade Group bought it in 2007, the hotel has been completely renovated, with considerable attention given to staff training in order enhance hotel service standards. This distinction is also an asset for Reunion, which is aiming to develop into one of the main holiday destinations in the Indian Ocean. Having obtained the title of “Best Hotel in Reunion” at the World Travel Awards in London in November 2009, Grand Hotel du Lagon is now the island’s first 5-star hotel, indeed Reunion’s flagship hotel. “It gives me and Naïade a great deal of pride to receive this fifth star. It rewards all the effort that the various teams have put in each day to give hotel guests the very best,” says Stephane Baras, the hotel manager. “And the hotel is now a leader within the Indian Ocean region.” Grand Hotel du Lagon’s colonial style has been retained but with modern touches added. The 174 rooms feature contemporary elegance with fresh colours and materials blending harmoniously together. The hotel has four restaurants specialising in gastronomic and Creole cuisine, as well as all the facilities to be expected of a luxury hotel. It also provides an opportunity to promote local craftsmanship and produce. Moreover, the Hotel borders Reunion’s only lagoon and also has the largest swimming pool on the island. Grand Hotel du Lagon is at St Gilles, on one of the island’s most beautiful beaches. Grand Hotel du Lagon is in fact Naiade’s fifth 5-star hotel, after Beau Rivage, Les Pavillons and Legends in Mauritius and Diva in the Maldives. This classification is awarded after 10 months of checks and controls by mainland French and regional authorities, to ensure conformity with the standards required for this category of hotels. The new classification schedules, published in the Official Journal by the 1st of January 2009, redefined existing criteria and created new ones based on guests’ current expectations in terms of standards of comfort and environmental health. It introduced new standards for service, accessibility, sustainable development and access to the latest technology