Angsana Balaclava
Angsana Balaclava is a five star hotel that ticks all of the boxes, and certainly gives the other luxurious Mauritius hotels a run for their money.
There are 52 suites and villas at Angsana Balaclava spread out around the tropical gardens and along the beachfront, many of which have private pools. The architecture (some have thatched roofs) and interiors are typically Mauritian, with a mix of Oriental and African influences prevalent throughout. The suites and villas are all decked out with all of the necessary mod cons such as Wi-Fi, LCD TV and electronic safes.
The hotel's main restaurant, Oryza, serves a mix of international, Asian and local cuisine. For fresh local seafood, head to Passion Grill and Bar, and for delicious cocktails and fine wines Sylea Bar is the place.
Facilities include the Angsana Spa that offers a range of treatments, a gym, an infinity pool, and a saltwater lagoon pool. There are numerous water sports, such as sailing, snorkelling, deep sea fishing, glass bottom boat trips, windsurfing and scuba diving.
Why We Love It
Angsana Balaclava also offers activities for guests interested in Mauritan culture, from folk dancing (an acquired taste perhaps), to cookery classes.
20° Sud
Discreetly hidden away in a coconut grove surrounded by private estates sits the first boutique hotel in Mauritius.
The hotel and gardens are on the waterfront overlooking the Grand Baie in the north west of the island. The excellent restaurant is on a terrace overlooking the beach, but guests can also dine aboard the MS Lady Lisbeth, an antique motorboat lovingly restored by the hotel owners. A large array of watersports, including kite surfing, sail boat cruises and big game fishing are available as well as diving, and spa treatments and a Turkish bath.
Why We Love It
This charming and sophisticated small hotel was designed by renowned Belgian interior designers Flamant.
Constance Le Prince Maurice, Mauritius
Occupying a 60-acre site with three beaches and its own lagoon, this is arguably the most aesthetically beautiful of all the properties on Mauritius.
The suites have a colonial feel with polished teak floors, dark wooden Venetian blinds, louvred doors and hessian-lined ceilings. Some suites have indoor and outdoor bathrooms as well as two terraces over the lagoon, one with loungers to sleep on, the other with a table and chairs to eat at.
The service is excellent, and if you're lying on a sun-bed by the 120-foot pool for longer than about 10 minutes an attendant will bring you not just iced water and a towel, but an Evian spray to refresh your face. Lie on the beach mid-afternoon and someone will appear with a little tub of sorbet.
Opt for a treatment in the Guerlain spa, and find a bowl of ylang-ylang blossoms under the face cut-out on the massage table so that you have something to reflect on as you lie prone.
There are excellent facilities and activities on offer from diving and water-skiing to tennis, and the two restaurants serve delicious Mauritian-influenced and international cuisine.
Why We Love It
The hotel is the only one on the island to have suites built on stilts over the water, although the majority of the suites are actually on dry land.
Sankhara Villas
Two villas on a pristine private beach looking out across the turquoise waters of a beautiful lagoon. What's not to like?
The three-bedroom Villa Almira has an indoor and outdoor dining room, heated swimming pool with jet-stream Jacuzzi and outdoor showers. With the same facilities as Almira, the slightly larger Villa Tiara has five guest rooms and is also equipped with a hammam steam room.
Both properties are private and sold on an exclusive basis, catering to guests' every need through a personalised and discreet butler service. Activities in the vicinity include boat excursions, catamaran sailing, deep-sea fishing and dolphin-watching, watersports, riding and visits to wildlife and nature parks, all of which can be arranged (at additional cost) by your butler.
Why We Love It
An award-winning chef is on hand to prepare a blend of 'Evolution' fine-dining, offering a choice of à-la-carte or tailor-made international cuisine.
The Residence Mauritius
Inspired by turn-of-the-century colonial plantation houses, The Residence overlooks a breathtaking half-mile white sandy beach and reef-enclosed lagoon.
The resort is located on the island's east coast, approximately 50 minutes by road from the airport or much quicker by helicopter transfers, which we can arrange. The discreetly luxurious rooms and suites sit in the lush tropical gardens or close to the ocean, each one featuring a living area, generous marble bathroom and private furnished terrace. Blonde woods, natural fabrics and neutral colours establish a particularly soothing ambience. Private butler service comes as standard. There is plenty to do during the days, with complimentary watersports, a superb kids' club and floodlit tennis courts. Horse riding and diving are also available. In the evenings, there are three excellent restaurants to choose from.
Why We Love It
The resort's Sanctuary Spa is a temple to relaxation, and has been voted among the top 20 spas in the world.
The Oberoi Beach Resort, Mauritius
The Oberoi Beach Resort is where one heads for privacy and pampering. It is very, very beautiful.
All the accommodation is in secluded pavilions and villas, 16 of them with eight-metre slate-lined private swimming pools. Even if you do decide to venture out, it is easy to find yourself alone in the hotel's 20 acres of luxuriant, mature gardens, or by one of it's two stunning, cobalt-tiled swimming pools. This felt pretty close to perfection.
The villas are exquisite: white-wood walls and a steep-pitched ceiling, a vast, modern, limed-oak four-poster with a towering sea grass headboard, pale-wood African artefacts, and sand-coloured, geometrically patterned rugs. And the bathroom - acres of polished limestone, a sunken bath, mother-of-pearl framed mirrors and more Crabtree & Evelyn aloe Vera unguents than you could ever hope to get through. Outside, in the walled garden, there's a thatched dining pavilion meticulously set for breakfast. Not that the open-sided dining room isn't a lovely place to eat.
Why We Love It
The proximity to the Mauritian capital, Port Louis, means you're not compelled to eat in every night, and the sunsets make up for just about anything.
