Paradise in name and reality, we could go on forever about the wonderful Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa, Mauritius. The resort offers its very own brand of personified escapism, and you couldn’t possibly hope to experience it all in a dreamier location than right here, on the Morne Peninsula.
Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa is a large, family-friendly beach resort with a sporty emphasis. With three miles of perfect beach, a championship golf course and a raft of sporting activities on offer, this is a high-end location for anyone interested in keeping healthy on holidays. The protected lagoon provides three miles of picture-perfect sandy beach, perfect for paddle boarding, water skiing or swimming with dolphins.
It’s a sprawling place, virtually a village, so it never feels crowded and there are plenty of quiet pockets to find moments of calm. Golf buggies arrive promptly to ferry you around if you need them, but equally, we found it pleasant to walk along the beach from our room to where the action is.
After arriving in darkness, we woke up in one of the hotel’s 280 generous rooms and opened our windows directly onto the beach. We even ran in for a refreshing dip before our first sip of coffee of the day, which was a first. Those looking for extra glamour may opt for one of the four double-sized Beachfront Suites with their own private beach. All in all, the hotel offers thirteen different room tiers, and guests benefit from excellent service across all of them.
Brabant is the main restaurant situated poolside and offers a huge buffet with every possible taste catered for from all over the world. Dinner buffets are themed, rotating between Asian, Italian, French and more. Meanwhile, La Ravanne offers creole cuisine beneath rustic thatched gazebos, at the far end of the resort and right on the beach. Take it from us; fine cuisine while you wiggle your toes in the sand to a soundtrack of waves is truly the tone of life’s great pleasures (although live music at the poolside bar provided a great jazz and blues soundtrack for an evening aperitif, too!).
| Perfect for | Fly into | Right on time |
| The Escapist | MRU | GMT +4 |
| While you’re Out There |
| Make the most of the area’s natural beauty with a trip to Black River Gorge National Park to see the last of the ebony trees that once covered the island. You’ll soon find that rum is a big part of life here, so if that’s your thing, you might as well try the good stuff at La Rhumerie de Chamarel, a distillery nestled in a spectacular oasis. The landscape and architecture are stunning and the rum is delicious. |
It’s a safe bet the restaurants are going to be good at any hotel once you stay at a certain calibre of property. That’s why it’s extra noticeable when they go the extra mile. My partner doesn’t drink alcohol, and we noted it under the dietary preferences when we booked. Though most hotels ask for this, it is often ignored. It’s not a big deal, but when we’re excitedly presented with wine pairings, invited to cocktail-making classes, or plied with champagne (yes, yes, poor us!), we sometimes wonder why we bother filling the information out. That’s especially when the alternative tends to be a lacklustre list of soft drinks and half-hearted mocktails.
For this reason, the Blue Marlin restaurant was a welcome surprise. Our waiter welcomed us by name and after showing us the wine list, went on to tell us about the special, alcohol-free drinks they had paired with our courses. We found this to be a genuinely nice touch, and the kind of extra mile high-end hotels must go to set themselves apart. After all, when everyone has a sprawling pool, stylish accommodation options, and mouth-watering dining options, these little touches are the things you remember, and tell people about.
In general, we found the staff to be friendly and attentive throughout. We learned that many of them are long-serving, some having worked at Paradis Beachcomber for decades, which speaks highly of the hotel’s management.
The resort is in the shade of the Le Morne Brabant mountain so trekking and horse riding are on offer, as are water-based excursions like catamaran trips and dolphin swimming. There’s also a tennis academy, a PADI diving centre and the aforementioned, spectacular 18-hole golf course. Add to that a large, well-equipped gym and this makes for a fantastic location to keep active.
If pampering is more your style, the spa has airy treatment rooms beneath the signature thatch rooves, offering a range of treatments with products made by the hotel. A frangipane garden around a pool dotted with Buddhist statues offers a wonderful spot to unwind. That’s if you’re not already extremely relaxed from all the tropical bliss!
Zack travelled to Mauritius from London with Air Mauritius. For more information on the island nation, visit the website of the Mauritius Tourism Authority.
Photography courtesy of Beachcomber Tours
