Geeta Soobrayen

There are guests you welcome with open arms, and then there are those you wish had taken a wrong turn and ended up somewhere else. I knew the moment I saw him that he would be trouble. He arrived at our small hotel in an all-white linen outfit, a Panama hat perched at an angle that suggested he thought himself charming.

Thirty years in the hotel business have taught me to spot trouble before it unfolds. I am forty-nine now, and the island has changed beyond recognition. The big luxury hotels have taken over, drawing in tourists who want five-star treatment without ever touching the real Mauritius. But our hotel is different—modest, family-run, a place for those who prefer simplicity over extravagance.

This man, however, didn’t seem to understand where he had booked himself. From the moment he arrived, he fussed over the heat, the scent of the sea, and the sound of the waves.

Every morning, he found something new to grumble about. The sheets were too stiff, the coffee too strong. When he wasn’t complaining, he was preoccupied with his appearance, checking his reflection in every surface.

One night, he came running into the lobby, demanding immediate attention. There was, he claimed, a lizard in his bathroom, staring at him. I followed him upstairs, expecting to find one of the small geckos that often wandered into rooms. Instead, I found him standing on the bed, pointing at a tiny creature frozen on the wall. I clapped my hands, and the gecko darted behind the mirror.

He refused to sleep in the room that night, claiming the gecko had a “territorial air.” He spent the night in a chair in the lobby, arms crossed, watching the door to his room as though the gecko might emerge seeking revenge.

Two days later, he checked out early, citing an “uncontrollable environment.” I watched him drag his too-small suitcase down the path, already feeling lighter. The waves crashed against the shore—aggressive, unapologetic. The geckos clung to the walls, unbothered. And our little hotel stood just as it always had, waiting for guests who would embrace the island rather than fight it.