Honeymooners still flock to Michaela murder hotel

THE hotel where Michaela McAreavey was murdered a year ago is still one of the Indian Ocean’s most popular honeymoon destinations, despite its dark history.

Michaela, 27, was found strangled to death in the bathroom of her suite at Legends in the resort of Grand Gaube on Mauritius on January 10, 2010.

The former beauty queen, daughter of Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte, had returned to her room for biscuits to share with her new, husband John McAreavey, on a luxury beach when she was fatally attacked.

She had only been married for 11 days when John, now 27, discovered her body in the bathtub of here suite.

But the appalling tragedy that made headlines across the globe has failed to put other honeymooners off, with newlywed couples still flocking to the hotel.

Last month, resort chiefs made an effort to distance themselves from the tragedy by re-branding the Legends hotel the Lux Grand Gaube, after the fishing village north of the island where it is based.

And according to TripAdvisor.com, the travel review website, the hotel is still the premier destination in the sun-kissed resort.

Out of 711 reviews on the website, 524 rate the hotel as “excellent”, while 116 describe it as “very good”. Just 34 said their experience was “average”, while 20 rated it as poor and only seven recalled their experience as “terrible”.

One Australian honeymooner, who rated his holiday last month as “excellent”, wrote: “I would highly recommend it for a honeymoon or a relaxing holiday. The hotel and service were top shelf.”

Only a handful of visitors mentioned the hotel’s dark history, including a man from Newcastle in England, who urged tourists not to be put off. “I am pleased to see that people are still speaking highly about the resort given the tragic circumstances,” he said.

An anniversary Mass for Michaela will be held in Ballymacilroy, Co Tyrone, at 8pm on Friday.

Last week, Mickey Harte told how his faith had helped him through his ordeal over the past year, describing his daughter as “a blessing from God”, adding: “You may have heard it from me that time is a great healer. For my part, true healing only comes from God.”

Two hotel workers, Avinash Treebhowen, 30, and Sandip Moneea, 41, have been officially charged with Michaela’s murder and await trial in Mauritius.