Travel notes from Mauritius

Trip to the island of Mauritius in January 2001

Hotel Beau Rivage

Hotel Group Naïdes, a recent Mauritian chain regrouping 5 hotels.

Situated on the east coast of the island, on the Belle Mare beach close to the hotel of the same name. Still quiet zone when compared to the region of Grand Bay now too urbanized. Nothing to do with the charm of Grand Bay as seen during the course of a first trip in 1982.
Of recent conception (1999); average in seize: 162 bedrooms all with a view on the sea. The architecture is inspired by traditional houses: all have thatched roofs; the buildings are alongside the sea (2 stories max).

Excellent personalized welcome: Comfortably seated in a lounge and welcomed by the Clientele Manager (a job specific to this hotel), glass of champagne, very VIP check-in.

Very comfortable rooms: 60m² and beautifully decorated (furniture, quite successful harmony of colours), very functional (dressing) Beautiful bath room with bathtub and vast shower; beautiful bathroom linen. large king-size bed.

Big and beautiful pool on the edge of the beach. The beach is somewhat of a deception: white sand but not very large… Separated in two parts on one side and the other of a sand point reaching into the sea; not completely in keeping with the island’s reputation. The coconut trees from which some shade is hoped for are still a little small and there aren’t enough parasols for everyone!

Restaurants = one of the strong points of this hotel 4 restaurants :
- the big restaurant ("Rive Gauche")
- a beach restaurant (light meals for lunch, fish in the evening (the "Mediterranean")
- a gastronomic and exotic restaurant for the evening ("Indochina")
- a gastronomic restaurant alongside the pool ("le Langoustier").

The big restaurant proposes a simply astounding cuisine; it is rare to fine such quality served within a full board formula Great delicacy, variety and the systematic use of local products and flavours Efficiency of the waiters. The chef is French, of course, but he was smart enough to highlight local products, achieving with these a fine cuisine (in particular a white tuna fish recipe never seen elsewhere). Other restaurants are not of great interest.
Furthermore, "Le Langoustier", next to the swimming pool, is part of the "Rive Gauche" and is not enough specified: more or less the same restaurant with different menu. Nightly animation rather varied diner and dance (Rive Gauche) variety of spectacles (indian dances) presentation of boat models.

In brief, an excellent address on the Island of Mauritius, to be recommended without hesitation.

The hotel has a very good quality/price ratio. It would be nearly perfect if it were not for the slight imperfection of the beach: it is true that when one comes to the Island of Mauritius one is demanding! The Beau Rivage has an authentic and truly client oriented politic (not only words).
This hotel illustrates well the new norms that are henceforth becoming effective in the hotel business as concerns client relations.

For more information:
www.naiade.com/Site-1024/Collection/Beau-Rivage/index.html
www.mauritius-travel.com/hotels/Categorie/Infos/hotel-le-beau-rivage-ilemaurice.html

Le Prince Maurice

Further north but still on the east coast, situated on a peninsula jutting out into a vast lagoon.
Very wild area far from any village. Architecture based on natural materials, wood, stone, thatched roofs… very open onto the exterior.

Magnificent reception area (pool in “trompe l’œil” with the sea. Large space remaining human in size.

89 suites all oriented towards the sea and sunk in greenery. large suites (70m²) certain ones built on pilotis magnificent decoration mostly in teak very beautiful bath room, original yet functional (beautiful bathroom linen).

Restaurant
Excellent restaurant (of course, here again the chef is French !) very good quality cuisine (menu). Discrete yet efficient service Beach Big beach with numerous small and enjoyable nooks and crannies if one is looking for tranquillity the result being that one sees few people… the hotel appears to be almost empty!

Big lagoon but the water is not very deep… difficult to swim... in fact, foremost a lovely beach to gaze at..

SPA original SPA centre sponsored by Guerlain; the service is impeccable and sympathetic.

Conclusion
Prince Maurice without a doubt belongs to the 5* luxury hotels of the island.
More expensive of course than the Beau Rivage… but if one is not to price conscious and if you are looking for calm, then this is a good address.

For more info on the Prince Maurice (in French):
www.princemaurice.com/index.php