Mauritius
Mauritius is a diverse tropical island, bringing together Indian, French, Creole and Chinese cultural influences. Like a scene from one of Gauguin's paintings, its tropical landscape is a beautiful mix of jungle-covered mountains, waterfalls, sugar cane fields and white sand beaches. The island's colonial history and cosmopolitan lifestyle make this a great place to explore, with the rhythm of the Séga dance keeping it very much alive. Mauritius is a beautiful beach holiday destination.
Friends of Bairdstravel have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Mauritius. Here is their trip.
This is a quick run down on my recent holiday in Mauritius . We booked thru Hayes and Jarvis for the Belle Mare Plage on half board basis.
The flights were from glasgow to Dubai approx. 6 hrs then 2 half hours stop over then another 61/2 hrs to Mauritius on Air Emirates.
On arrival we were met with cold bottled water and flowers from our rep(not all companies did this) the journey to Belle Mare Plage was about 45mins from airport but it was nice to see some of the island.
On arrival at hotel you do not go near a reception but taken to lounge area were you are offered drinks while they organise everthing. we had a junior suite which was fantastic it had a large balcony with couch 2 padded chairs small table with a couple of wooden chairs. All rooms face the beach. There is an abundance of staff to attend all your needs like towels for the beach loungers which were lovely wooden ones with nice thick covers the staff even passed by with cold face clothes.
We had breakfast in a beautiful restaurant on the beach with most of it outside. I even enjoyed watching the birds steal the rolls of the tables, there was a good variety of things to eat and plenty. we also eat at the same restaurant at night which is the same buffet type but covered every palate (asian,Italian, mauritian, British) the dessert were to die for. We ate at another restaurant that was very posh but was part of our deal for our anniversary which was very special but overall we were statisfied with the buffet.
The one think that on reading reviews for the hotel is the price of drinks so we brought some of our own. We met a couple of people so we enjoyed meeting them in the lounge for drinks before dinner which had a happy hour a few nights a week (8euros for 2 cocktails) other than that the drinks were expensives 6 euros for a small wine 4.50 for a local beer .
There was plenty watersports that was included in the price like watersking, sailing, snorkling, glass bottom boats and pedlos. There was also plenty classes going on in the gym, I took part in the aquaerobics everyday while Albert played golf which was also included in the price can't say much about golf but Albert enjoyed both courses.
We hired a car for the day as i wanted to see the island this was again quite expensive but i didn't want to go that far and not see the island.
Mauritius has a lot of cultures we found some of the small towns very indian they are mostly hindu. One part of the island has lovely waterfalls and is very green then you have the other half that is beaches. I hope you find this helpful and all i can say is that both Albert and I had a wonderful time and can't fault anything.
Margaret Knox
OUR HOTEL
Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius Mauritius
Enjoying a perfect location, overlooking a stretch of white sandy beach, with a diving centre perfectly placed for exploring the protective offshore coral reef. Priding itself on its extensive sports activities, which include two exclusive championship 18-hole golf courses, the resort was awarded the Best Golf Resort of the Year 2005.
Facilities
7 Restaurants
7 Bars
4 Swimming pools
2 Whirlpools
Furnished sun terraces
Reception
3 Boutiques
Shopping arcade
Two 18-hole Championship golf courses (complimentary green fees)
4 Floodlit tennis courts
Mini-golf
Squash court
Watersports including pedaloes, windsurfing and water-skiing
Spa.
Accommodation
Rooms have double or twin beds and feature bath, shower, air-conditioning, television, mini-bar, safe, telephone, hairdryer and a balcony or terrace with garden or beach view
Junior Suites have exclusive décor and fully furnished terrace
Deluxe Suites have a separate lounge.