jp-mco

The difference between Mauritius and the Maldives is that Mauritius offers a holiday with culture. You can visit a rhumerie, hike in a national park, explore a Hindu temple or do a tea tasting in a plantation. Mauritius doesn't have beaches like the Maldives in the sense that the sand is more coarse but they are still beautiful and a lot of the resorts have done work to make them even more so. We spent 10 wonderful nights in Mauritius back in 2013 and I would go back in heartbeat. Mauritius is a little bit of Asia in Africa - a wonderful blend of cultures that exist harmoniously. One of the local sayings is, "Many people, one Mauritius". The Maldives, though amazing, is just manufactured and most people visit without ever experiencing more of Maldivian culture than a special buffet night. The resorts are beautiful but can lack soul - Mauritius is different. It is very popular with French and South African visitors but due to direct flights also popular with Brits.

We stayed at the St Regis in Le Morne, which at the time was pretty good, but it seems to get very mixed reviews since Bernard de Villele left. It had only just opened so felt very shiny and new.

When we return it will most likely be to the Four Seasons or Constance Le Prince Maurice.

heronb

Thinking of a last minute trip to Mauritius, end of March, I was tempted by Touessrok but after reading the comments above regarding S-la service issues my thoughts are turning to the other properties. Le Prince appears to be well thought of here. Does the variations in weather on the island impact one more than another as this appears to be shoulder season?

Regards

jp-mco

My understanding is that the weather is generally better in resorts in the north of the island during the shoulder season (less rain). I've also heard that the east side of the island is more windy. Le Prince is very highly regarded and would be my first choice. I've heard very good things about Royal Palm though.

vuittonsofstyle

I much prefer Le Prince Maurice to Royal Palm, which is not in the same league, IMHO.

jp-mco

That's useful to know - thanks! I wonder why Royal Palm is in most cases more expensive that Le Prince Maurice? Not that price is indicative of quality but I just wonder how Royal Palm can charge as much as they do.

heronb

Thanks for the replies, after a little research Le Prince does look very nice. The only issue I can see with my plan is the weather, March does appear to be very wet which would be very disappointing and I think I may push this out a little further in the year.

vuittonsofstyle

I think that Royal Palm has a vey high opinion of itself!

pauljeff

Just bumping this thread - we're looking to go with a 16 month old in April this year. We don't care about golf. Trying to figure out where is best. 'The resort anahita' which I think is really the golf and spa resort there seems to get good reviews of the creche but maybe less useful if we don't golf?

Otherwise comes down to Le Prince vs FS vs St Regis but the latter has gone downhill and the former sounds like its maybe too non-family?

Am I missing anything?

P.S. Looking at last two weeks of April - reviews of weather then seem to be a bit mixed? Can't really think of anything else thats Sunny warm Zika free and a direct flight from london...

jp-mco

Sunny warm Zika free and a direct flight from London --- Dubai? You'll get better weather in Dubai in April than Mauritius. You will find the weather quite mixed in Mauritius in April. There's likely to be rain and the evenings could be cool.

If you do decide on Mauritius I would avoid the StR - from a lot of accounts it has gone seriously downhill since we stayed in 2013. There's far better resorts on the island.

ps9a

If you're willing to stomach a connection en-route, I'd throw a vote out for the Seychelles. Late April should be fantastic weather-- we took our (then 13-month-old) son last spring and had a blast.

Currently on a 2-day layover in Dubai, flying to SEZ this morning with no kid but a pregnant wife. ZIKA clearly came into our travel planning also-- had originally planned on MLE, but we postponed that trip for a bit.

Jasper2009

How about Bermuda? BA operates a non-stop flight LGW-BDA.

pauljeff

Hmm, I hear you, but I'm a bit worried about Dubai being 35 degrees- possibly a bit hot for Mummy and toddler... I think Alila Jabal Akhdar probably not quite ideal for the toddler otherwise I'd consider the mountains

Nice- super jealous. We went to SEZ for our babymoon and it was phenomenal. Think Mummy is a bit anti a one-stopper otherwise I would be all over it.

Good point, but I couldn't find anywhere decent to stay there - any thoughts?

(Mods, sorry this appears to be going a little bit OT - happy to start my own thread if you prefer.)

Jasper2009

There are several solid options IMO. My top three picks would probably be:

- Rosewood Tucker's Point
- Elbow Beach
- Fairmont Southampton (consider a room on the Gold flor for better service)

synd

Looking for advice regarding Mauritius for a 2 weeks trip for my parents. I will first say they really want to go discover Mauritius, have been to the Seychelles before and are not interested in the Maldives.
Their most important requirement regarding the resort is a nice beach to be able to swim and walk.
From what I gathered, it seems to be the STR that has the nicest. Is the service so bad that it should be avoided?
Constance Le Prince is available during their stay but only for 9 of the 14 nights so that would make them change hotels.
They're looking for a beach villa.
Any advice you guys could share would be greatly appreciated.

vuittonsofstyle

I would not go for the st Regis - there are much nicer options. My favourite is Constance le Prince Maurice, which has the best of everything, so it is a pity they are booked. Would splitting their stay be that much of an issue? I would. They may enjoy The Oberoi Mauritius, as it is more of an adult escape and attracts very few children. They have a great beach villa right by the sand and service and food are very good, in that typical Oberoi fashion.

Four Seasons at Anahita is more of a family resort, although if your parents are going out of school holiday season, then it could work, especially if they took one of the villas. It is a much larger resort, though, and the beach is man-made, so not ideal.