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meandering through mauritius
Published in the January-March 2010 issue.
For some fun in the sun followed by a good night’s sleep in a luxury resort, look no further than Mauritius. Elizabeth Markham reports.
Mauritius is one of the world’s true getaways, a tiny sparkle in the middle of the Indian Ocean, so remote that it wasn’t even discovered until the sixteenth century. But there must be something irresistible about this island, for no sooner than it had hit the world’s maps than the Dutch, French and British turned up in succession. So did African and Indian labourers and Chinese and Muslim traders. Independent since the 1960s, Mauritius now has an extraordinary multicultural society and cultural heritage. Expect French cuisine, Hindu temples, Chinese corner shops, African rhythms to the music, and elegant colonial-era mansions. Needless to say, a magnificent cuisine features the best of all these worlds and local produce. Hearty Italian pasta meals, buttery French fish, spicy African rice salad, sweet-and-sour Chinese pork and zesty Indian curries can all be found on menus in Mauritius – quite often on the very same buffet table.
The latest arrivals on this magical isle are tourists, and no wonder. Not only is accommodation world-class, but so are the golf courses and spas, where the emphasis is on luxurious treatments and French standards. The sun shines often, the beaches have almost blinding white sand, and you’ll find the world’s third-largest coral reef in a sea that seems to be endlessly turquoise. Snorkelling, scuba-diving and deep-sea fishing are just some of the water sports to enjoy. Water-skiing is also popular, and you’ll find plenty of opportunities for canoeing and windsurfing. On land, tropical landscapes and virgin forests unfold against a rugged backdrop of interior mountains and volcanic outcrops. If you want an active holiday, there is no end of horse-riding, canyoning and hiking in order to explore the beautiful countryside.
One of the dilemmas of a visit to Mauritius is the choice of accommodation that is offered on the island. Where to stay? Mauritius has so many superlative resort properties that you’re going to have a hard time deciding which one to pick. The range of facilities on offer is amazing: everything from fine-dining restaurants to luxurious spas, abundant water sports to golf courses and lagoon-style swimming pools. And it would be fair to say that these resorts have some of the most stunning locations anywhere in the world: dipping their toes in white sand beaches, facing turquoise seas, surrounded by lush tropical gardens, and with their backs to the mountains of the interior.
Getting to Mauritius couldn’t be easier. The national airline, Air Mauritius, flies from Perth to Melbourne and, in great news, will also extend its routes to Sydney this year. The airline’s long-haul aircraft feature on-demand video and TV screening in both classes and, in business class, travellers can enjoy the comfort of lie-flat ‘cocoon’ seats which will waft them across the Indian Ocean in style.
Beau Rivage
Located on a superb beach at Belle Mare in the east of the island, Beau Rivage has a natural class and relaxed elegance, without being ostentatious. The majestic and spacious lobby has a large pool with turquoise mosaics opening onto the delicate lines of the crystal-clear swimming pool and the aquamarine lagoon. Thatched roofs invoke legendary Mauritian hospitality and give all the buildings an authentic charm, with a décor that unites the sophistication of wrought iron, pure cotton and linen material with the natural warmth of wood.
Beau Rivage Spa offers sensory experiences from far away places, with treatments of Mauritian, Indian, Chinese and African origins in association with PAYOT, one of the most prestigious French brands in the spa industry. The spa incorporates a sauna, steam room, plunge pool, hydrotherapy pool and double treatment rooms with private showers. The resort also has a huge, 2,000-square-metre swimming pool, close to the beach and the lagoon. Complimentary water sports include windsurfing, pedal boats, kayaks, mini-sails, snorkelling and water-skiing, and there is also volleyball, table tennis, tennis and mini-golf.
There is a very wide range of restaurants and bars at Beau Rivage. The main restaurant, Rive Gauche, is set under a high-beamed, thatched roof, open to the sides, with wonderful views of the lagoon and the swimming pool, absolutely magnificent when its palm trees are lit up at night. Indouchina offers French haute cuisine flavoured with little Indian and Chinese touches, while Le Langoustier specialises in seafood and has a special four-course lobster extravaganza once a week.
Constance Belle Mare Plage
Erected on the most beautiful beach of the eastern coast of Mauritius, the resort offers a wide range of leisure facilities besides being an ideal location for golf addicts – from beginners to professionals – with two 18-hole championship golf courses. The resort lies on a two-kilometre white sandy beach and is set in a 15-hectare tropical garden. The two golf courses offer an extension of pastoral green for another 140 hectares. Protected by a coral reef, the lagoon is ideal for all water sports from swimming to snorkelling. Guests can also discover the serenity and calmness of the resort’s spa.
Interconnecting prestige rooms are available for families. Children receive a welcome present on arrival, while parents are presented with the new brochure Travelling with Children in Mauritius. The Kakoo Club is the place to be for children aged between four and 12, with a large variety of leisure activities under the supervision of a professional team. The resort also offers a 24-hour babysitting service, high chairs and special menus for babies and children in the restaurants.
The 92 ocean-facing prestige guestrooms are located in the south wing of the resort. Each guestroom has access to a private balcony and some directly overlook the swimming pool. The 137 newly built Junior Suites (some on the beachfront) are nestled in the north wing of the resort and have their own balconies or terraces. The villas of Belle Mare Plage, meanwhile, are the embodiment of a new art of living. The 20 luxury villas offer separate lounge and outside relaxing areas overlooking a private pool.
Constance Le Prince Maurice
The five-star Le Prince Maurice sits on 60 hectares of beautiful land where lush vegetation blooms. The air-conditioned guest suites are luxurious, and all come equipped with TV with internal DVD channels, compact disc player, wireless Internet access and even a pillow menu that allows guests to chose the pillow most suited to their comfort. Thatched Junior Suites face the beach and have separate sitting areas and bedrooms, separate shower and bath, as well as a terrace or balcony. Senior Suites have an additional outdoor soaking bath and dining area, and some have private heated swimming pools. If you really want the holiday of a lifetime, the secluded Princely Suite comprises three consecutive suites with garden patio, dining terrace and two swimming pools.
Facilities at Le Prince Maurice are outstanding. Guests can use the adjacent Legend Golf Course at Belle Mare Plage or relax at the innovative and cutting-edge Guerlain Spa, while kids can enjoy the amenities of the kids’ club, Les Petits Princes. Another oasis of tranquillity is the library, with its rich collection of literature, compact discs and magazines, as well as complimentary Internet access. The resort also has several dining venues offering a delicious range of Mauritian-influenced and international cuisine that blends the flavours of Asia, Africa and Europe. L’Archipel Restaurant also overlooks the water, with some romantic al fresco areas and light, spicy à la carte gourmet meals. But with its spectacular setting in the mangrove trees, the floating restaurant Le Barachois, offering grills, seafood and Mauritian specialties for dinner, is bound to be a highlight.
Heritage Awali Golf
& Spa Resort
Situated on the magnificent Bel Ombre Estate, a former sugar plantation edged by translucent blue lagoons, Heritage Awali is ideal for family holidays, and stands out for its exceptional range of services tailored to both young and old. Children aged three to 11 years old can enjoy the fun learning environment of the exclusive kids’ club, and there is also an array of land- and water-based sports, from sailing dinghies, pedal boats and kayaks to tennis, archery and volleyball. Then there’s the magnificent 18-hole championship Golf du Château golf course which covers 100 hectares between mountains and sea in an undulating landscape interspersed with lakes, streams and tropical trees. Guests can also relax at the Seven Colours Spa, where there are 20 treatment rooms as well as two massage kiosks right on the beach. The spa also features Vichy showers, steam baths, a huge sauna with a cold-water pool, and divans in kiosks designed especially for relaxation.
The architecture of the resort incorporates volcanic stone floors set against terracotta tiles and teak parquet floors, as well as sumptuous cabinetry fashioned out of local Filao wood. The resort’s deluxe rooms and suites open onto private terraces, a stone’s throw from the two swimming pools on the edge of the beach. The bathrooms reflect the latest in contemporary design, with their square basins and oval baths framed in black stone. And the resort’s single villa is a true haven of comfort, its décor coming straight from Out of Africa, with its own terrace, private swimming pool and gazebo.
Heritage Le Telfair
Golf & Spa Resort
Also located on the magnificent Bel Ombre Estate, Le Telfair is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Named after a famous naturalist who lived in the area in the 19th century, the hotel setting is inspired by Mauritian colonial architecture and the style of the time, and opens out onto a magnificent tropical garden through which the Citronniers River flows. Le Telfair offers a variety of luxury accommodation in a village-like design, with 20 different villas of six or eight rooms. There are also 158 guestrooms and suites, which have beautiful and relaxing views over the ocean or river, captured through floor-to-ceiling French windows, through which you can step onto private balconies or verandas.
A choice of restaurants at the resort offers a mix of tradition and modernism in their fusion of international flavours. The chic brasserie Anabella’s offers a unique interaction between diners and chefs, allowing guests to contribute ideas while the chefs create dishes in full view of everyone in a spectacular open kitchen. Built on the white sand at the lagoon’s edge, Gin’ja Restaurant tempts with a variety of delicious Japanese and Asian cuisine, both traditional and contemporary, while Le Château de Bel Ombre offers old-fashioned charm and a variety of Mauritian dishes.
Guests here can also enjoy the Golf du Château golf course, as well as complimentary sports and a kids’ club. The Six Senses Spa, surrounded by tropical gardens, is dedicated to relaxation and features nine treatment rooms, each equipped with a bathroom and opening out onto a small private garden. This includes a Honeymoon Suite, an intimate retreat for two offering exceptional comfort, a private pool and a relaxation area.
Les Pavillons
Les Pavillons is part of the Naiade group, which has several outstanding properties in Mauritius. Les Pavillons lies close to the World Heritage site of Morne Brabant and is poised between a beautiful beach and the calm, turquoise waters of the lagoon. Needless to say, there are plenty of water sports for guests to enjoy, as well as tennis, table tennis and volleyball. Families with children can also take advantage of the Twinkle kids’ club for children aged between three and 12 years of age, as well as the Djemble teens’ club, which offers various activities for teenagers, including excursions outside the resort.
For most guests, though, relaxation is the order of the day, whether by its four pools – such as the infinity pool with its magnificent backdrop of Le Morne Mountain – or at Nymphea Spa. Designed around a water theme, the luxurious spa soothes with the sound of its waterfalls as guests enjoy the hydrotherapy and thermal suite, with its steam room, sauna and hot tub.
Just as relaxing are Les Pavillons’ restaurants, offering worldwide cuisine, from Thai and Mediterranean to Mauritian. From the veranda of the Nautilus, which opens out onto the lagoon, to the thatched roofs terrace of Obergine, the luxurious soberness of the Nipa and the show cooking of the Horizon, all the restaurants reflect the hotel’s emphasis on delicious cuisine.
Each guestroom provides guests with intimacy, comfort, and elegant but simple contemporary design. There are two guestroom types, deluxe and superior, with outdoor terraces overlooking the ocean, as well as three suite types.
One & Only Le Saint Géran
Nestled peacefully in the private white sands of its own peninsula, this elegant resort combines friendly calm and easy luxury. Suites are handsome spaces of fine proportions, offering sweeping vistas of the deep blue of the Indian Ocean and featuring private terraces and spacious bathrooms with great cascading showers. Beds are covered with Egyptian cotton sheets and piled high with goose down pillows. All guests at the resort also have personalised 24-hour butler service to help with unpacking, room service, ironing and much more.
When it comes to activities, guests have a wide choice: scuba-diving, yoga on the beach, volleyball, water-skiing, putting with the golf pro on the Gary Player-designed golf course, or a game of tennis at the Peter Burwash International Tennis Club. Children aged four to 11 are cared for in the complimentary KidsOnly Club, with supervised daily programs and age-appropriate activities. Recently renovated, the kids’ club has a shipwreck theme, games and arts-and-crafts area, computer room, movie room equipped with the latest video-game systems, and a colourful Toddler room with dedicated outside sand play area. Meanwhile, activities for 12- to 17-year-olds provide the opportunity to make new friends and take part in dynamic activities, sports, events, excursions, discos and theme evenings.
At Le Saint Géran, the jewel in the gastronomic crown is the gourmet restaurant Spoon des Îles, creation of world-renowned, Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, which explores a tempting array of multi-ethnic cuisines matched by the finest selected wines. The spa is also acclaimed internationally and is nestled amongst a lush tropical landscape overlooking a reflecting pool with ocean views.
The Residence Mauritius
One of the great things about holidaying in Mauritius is the wonderful food, which blends the flavours of several continents. The Residence certainly prides itself on its delicious food, in which native island produce is blended with diverse recipes from Asia, Africa and Europe. There are several venues to enjoy it all. The Dining Room features Mauritian food, with its emphasis on spices, The Plantation on the oceanfront offers Creole and seafood dishes, and The Bar is the spot to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, high tea or food accompanied by live entertainment in the balmy evenings.
When it’s time to work off some of the good eating, complimentary sports activities include tennis, volleyball, water-skiing, windsurfing, kayaking and snorkelling. Kids who make use of the Planters Kids’ Club, also complimentary, can enjoy all manner of supervised fun, from pony rides and evening shows and movies to tours by glass-bottom boat. Also available at the resort are scuba-diving, catamaran hire and deep-sea fishing by arrangement. But for those in do-nothing mode, the resort’s 600-square-metre spa is a temple of relaxation offering a wide choice of massages, custom-made programs and skincare treatments.
The cool and elegant guestrooms at The Residence have a very relaxing white and beige décor, with wrought-iron elements and beautiful honey-coloured wood. A butler is assigned to each guestroom to unpack luggage, run a bath and take care of laundry and ironing. In the evening, in a nice touch, warm ylang-ylang by the bedside casts a wonderful scent – something that’s bound to send you off into a blissful sleep. •
Photography courtesy hotels and resorts.
TRAVEL FACTS
getting there
getting around
where to stay
furtherinformation
- Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority,
visit www.tourism-mauritius.mu, or contact TWP Marketing Communications
on 03 9685 2680.
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