Marvellous Mauritius

Join me on my recent trip spending a week with the fabulous Beachcomber Tours, staying at, and visiting their 8 beautiful hotels.

Day 1

I left home in the morning and headed for Heathrow. I travelled with 27 other travel agents on Air Mauritius. It was a 12-hour night flight which I wasn’t looking forward to, but it was actually great! The crew were fabulous and the flight flew by. Their gluten-free food was pretty good too.

There were a few health checks required in the airport once we departed but they moved us through pretty efficiently.

We had an hour transfer to our first hotel, The Victoria. This is a 4-star hotel located on the northwest of the island. It was lovely to get a chance to see some of the islands en route.

The staff at the hotel greeted us with a warm reception and a cold drink! They were able to get our room ready early so we could freshen up. I am staying in a deluxe ground floor room which has direct access to the garden, which leads on to the beach. It’s so lovely!

We were given a tour of the hotel and got a chance to see some of the other rooms. The hotel has a lovely relaxed feel but with excellent and attentive service.

There is an adults-only area in a separate block called Victoria for 2. It’s a hotel within a hotel. It has just 40 rooms, it’s own pool and restaurant. Guests can also use all the facilities at the main hotel. The best feature here are the swim up rooms on the ground floor. They offer direct access to the pool and to the bar. They are stunning!

We had lunch at the Al La Carte restaurant, La Casa, in the main hotel. It was fabulous! Their gluten-free catering was superb and they didn’t compromise on my meal. I had a proper dessert, not just fruit!

We didn’t have much downtime on this trip but we did have a couple of hours to recover from our flight. I took the opportunity for a swim In the pool and a paddle in the sea. It was wonderful!

During the evening we were hosted at another Beachcomber Resort, Trou Au Biches. This is a five-star resort spread out over a much wider area. We were given a tour of the hotel including visiting some of their pool villas. Absolutely stunning! Some have outdoor baths, others with outdoor showers, and many with a private pool. Their kids club facilities are outstanding. They even have their own catering for the children right in the club.

We finished the tour in time for sunset with a fresh coconut cocktail. Absolutely perfect.

Our evening meal was held in the Indian restaurant, Mahiya, at the hotel. The food and service was absolutely super. Some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had. A fabulous way to end the day.

I was so impressed by what I have seen of Mauritius and Beachcomber and I couldn’t wait to see more!

An early start today for us. We had to be on the coach at 7.45am. I’m glad I didn’t stay up at the bar last night!

We were welcomed for breakfast at the Mauricia Beachcomber. Another of the 4 star priorities. We enjoyed their buffet with choices for everyone. They even brought me my own gluten free pancakes. Obviously, I couldn’t refuse them….

The hotel is located right in Grand Baie which means you are overlooking the harbour area. You can also walk to shops, bars and restaurants. It’s a great access point for water and land tours of the island's most interesting attractions.

We had a tour of the hotel and saw their standard and superior beachfront rooms. They had lovely views over the bay. What an amazing sight to wake up to each morning!

We also visited the family apartments. They are set back further in the hotel and have room for families to spread out.

The kids club was also on our tour. It's a lovely fun space and the staff are highly praised by guests.

The spa is an oasis of serenity amongst the tropical trees and plants. Their couples massage suite is a very special place with its own waterfall.

We were also lucky to see locals removing the coconuts from the trees on site. It was terrifying and fascinating to watch.

We had a chance for a little look around Grand Baie. And of course, we all know I love a foreign supermarket so I popped in for a quick browse! It was inside a shopping mall so it was fun to look around.

We then transferred to the Cannioner, another 4 star hotel. This hotel was used as a military base for both of French and British. There are still buildings from this heritage, including several original cannons. Hence the name!

The hotel sits on the headland so has 180° views and you can see both sunrise and sunset.

It’s a great family accommodation, which has been recently renovated. The teen club is even inside one of the 18-century buildings.

We had a chance to look at a deluxe sea view suite, with stunning views. We also saw the beautiful spa, built into an ancient Banyan tree.

I really like the feel of this hotel, and we enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch in their comfortable and relaxed outdoor dining area.

During the afternoon a small group of us were able to visit the exclusive Royal Palm Beachcomber Resort. This property is a five star plus hotel, with very intimate service.

There are only 69 suites so the level of service is very high. Each suite faces the sea and the hotel pride itself on tailoring its experience to every individual guest. The number of repeat customers is incredibly high, as those who go there are desperate to visit again.

They have three restaurants, which is incredible for the number of suites that they have. They also hold a weekly barbecue on the beach. There is a beautiful spa, and full sports club. You can play tennis, weights, cardio exercises, squash, table tennis and much more.

They have a lovely kids club area which has its own pool including mini sun loungers.

This hotel really is the pinnacle of luxury, particularly for families, as this is their main target audience. However discerning couples would also love the high level of service at this resort.

Following our visit, we returned back to the Victoria hotel, and were given a few hours to rest and relax.

The sunset in Mauritius is pretty early, at 5:45 pm. So we enjoyed relaxing in the pool and enjoying the last of the sun. The sunset seems to be unique here because after the Sun has actually set, the light in the sky continues to glow for at least an hour later.

It starts at yellow, turns orange, and finally turns a bright blood red.

I have never seen anything like it, and is truly stunning. We remained in the pool till the very end and enjoyed this amazing spectacle.

This evening we were treated to a private dining experience at one of the restaurants at the Victoria hotel. We were able to experience some Mauritian street food which was truly delightful.

The following day we left the Victoria Beachcomber hotel to head towards the southwest of the island, and apparently there will be some adventures on the way.

We had a leisurely breakfast and packed our cases to leave the Victoria.

Instead of a bus transfer, we were split into groups and given a hire car. We were given a map, a route and a few challenges to compete enroute. The idea was for us to explore the island as tourists.

It’s easy to get around here as they drive on the left and the roads are excellent. Road signs seem to be optional though but getting lost is part of the fun.

We drove through some stunning scenery and saw some of the real Mauritius. One particularly interesting area was the River Gorge. We didn’t get a chance to explore the whole area but we did drop into the Chamarel Rum Distillery. It was interesting to learn about how this local run inside, and have a small taste of their products.

We arrived at the Paradis Beachcomber in the later afternoon. This hotel is located in the La Morne area of the island, and, in my opinion, it is the most beautiful as it is as it’s backdrop is the striking Le Morne Mountain. You can see its imposing presence from most places on the property. <We had a full tour of the hotel later on the week.

Next door to this hotel is another Beachcomber property called Dinarobin. It’s an equally beautiful hotel, with a slightly quieter vibe. This has another stunning entrance looking out across the main pool to the sea. I’ve never seen anything like this in any other hotels, except these Beachcomber properties.

We were taken around the hotel to look at the various facilities. Like all the other hotels it has a lovely spa (with the best view from any I’ve seen so far), kids club and a variety of dining areas. We saw one of the lovely senior suites that have a large outdoor area that opens into the room, overlooking the sea. What could be better!

We dined at their Umami restaurant. It’s an Asian restaurant with an emphasis on fish dishes. The food was once again excellent, and with five courses we were very stuffed at the end.

Another fabulous, and exhausting day!

It was a lovely start to the morning, looking out of my window and seeing the beautiful beach. The hotel is located right on a golf course and as you make your way to reception you pass by this. It’s in the shadow of a normal mountain and the setting is stunning.

Was a full conference day. Although we are here to learn about Mauritius and Beachcomber hotels, it is also a Not Just Travel agents conference. We spent the day learning about better ways to run our business, hearing from experts who have been in the industry a little longer than me.

It was a lovely and useful day, and Beachcomber fed us well with loads of snacks and drinks in the breaks.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well this afternoon and so I decided to stay at the resort rather than join in the agents activities.

It was nice because I was able to enjoy my lovely room a little more and walk the 50 steps to the beach. I could not be any closer unless it was at the door of my room!

There was on and off rainy weather during the evening, but it was still really warm. I know some people want perfect sun all the time, but I really like it when you have a small change in the weather. The island seems to come alive after it rains. The showers are very short and sometimes very localised to just a few metres. They went as quickly as they came. The weather has been absolutely perfect, just the right temperature not too hot not too cold. I never wanted to leave!

When I felt a little better I went to explore a bit more of the resort on my own.

Something I don’t think I have mentioned is that Beachcomber resort allows you to inter-dine between the different hotels. So hotels of a similar standard allow you to visit, use their facilities and eat there. The two hotels located on this peninsular have eight restaurants between them. You can visit all of those restaurants and whatever board basis you have, you can use in the other hotel.

The food here is an excellent quality, and that night was an international buffet. There was food from all around the world, including many cooking stations where food was freshly prepared by the chefs.

There were so many gluten-free desserts, I came back with a plate full. There was too much even for me to finish!

We rounded off the evening with a few drinks in the bar before retiring to our rooms. We packed up again that night to move to another hotel the following day.

The hotel even left us a lovely free gift of a swim bag, which will come in very handy on our last day before our night flight home.

Sadly was our last day at Paradis Beachcomber. I have really loved this hotel, the outlook is incredible and the staff are first class (the food isn’t bad either!).

Before we left we had a full tour of the hotel. We saw some of the different rooms that are available, including the rooms that we were staying in which are being renovated shortly. It’s actually amazing because I already thought they looked really lovely. One of the best features of this hotel is the golf course which I previously mentioned. I cannot imagine golfing in a better setting!

The great thing about staying at this hotel or Dinarobin next door is that the golf fees are very low to play this course (around £20 per day). You can also get golf packages which include a golf buggy and multiple rounds of golf. I can’t imagine anyone who plays golf or come here and not want to pay for this course. It even made me want to take up golf, and that is a very unlikely prospect!

We also visited one of their outstanding three-bedroom villas. Honestly, these rooms are so amazing. They are beachfront and have their own private beach. They come with a butler who will facilitate your every need. You can hire a chef from the hotel to come down and make lunch or dinner for you. You may never want to leave!

Sadly it was then time to leave for the next hotel.. En route we stopped at a wildlife park to see some giant tortoises. I’m not sure I would necessarily recommend this place to my customers, but it was interesting to see the huge creatures. There was also lots of mating going on which was hilarious!

We arrived at Shandrani Beachcomber, and were treated to a lovely lunch at their buffet. Once again the staff here are incredibly lovely and gracious, a theme is running through all the hotels we have visited and stayed at. I don’t think I’ve been to any country with people consistently as warm and welcoming as they are here.

We had a full afternoon of conference, and we spent some time thinking about all the different Beachcomber resorts and which ones are best for which customers I feel very confident now that I can make sure I will get the right customers to the right hotel. If you want to test me out, drop me a message!

During the evening we were hosted at the Italian restaurant. The food here was excellent, four courses were far too many after all we have eaten this trip! They looked after me very well, and I was once again given an actual real dessert, not just fruit! Hurray.

We were up bright and early for a conference this morning. There is a great choice of food for breakfast at the hotels, but at this hotel in particular they have a fabulous range of tropical fruits. It’s not often you see a dragon fruit by the bowl-full at a buffet!

There’s not much else to report during the day because we were in the conference until later afternoon.

During the evening the women were asked to return to the conference room with our outfits provided for the evening.

We were all wearing full saris and some lovely ladies came to dress us properly. It was the first time I’ve ever worn a sari, and there is a lot of material!.

I’ve also been able to get some henna tattoos. Which is also the first time I have ever had this. The ladies were so talented and quickly whipped up a very intricate design.

The hotel held a special gala dinner to celebrate our last night in Mauritius. Although they often host travel agents, this is the biggest trip they have had since Covid. As such many senior members of the Beachcomber hotel group were in attendance. We are really lucky to have access to these individuals. It really means we can provide the best possible service to our customers when they come and visit these hotels.

We had a lovely evening with an Indian style buffet. Throughout the whole trip, the food was excellent.

We had some drinks and danced before it was time to get to bed.  

Sadly the last day finally arrived. The Shandrani is located only 10 minutes from the airport, we had a night flight and the hotel was able to give us a late checkout, so we didn’t need to vacate our rooms until 6 pm. Generally, the hotels will try their best to do this for guests, but when they are full it’s not always possible. But they can usually arrange a guaranteed late check out for a small fee.

We had a leisurely breakfast, and then we were given a proper tour of the hotel. This resort has four beaches, including a spectacular wild beach. It’s not one I would necessarily recommend swimming in as it does have a strong current, but it is absolutely beautiful to sit and watch.

The resort has six restaurants, five of which are complimentary. It really gives you a lot of choices and some of those restaurants a la carte for lunch as well as dinner .

The spa here is also really lovely, and about 50% bigger than most of the spas at the other hotels. A running theme is that all the spas we’ve been to have been very quiet, so if you are looking to get away from other guests, this is the place to come.

All the Beachcomber hotels include nonmotorised and motorised watersports as standard in their packages. Shandrani has the biggest range of included watersports on the island, and it is a fantastic value that you don’t need to pay any extra for these.

They also have loads of other activities many of which are complimentary and other activities such as snorkelling boat trips or bike tours to the local towns that are a small extra charge. It would be impossible to be bored at this resort!

After our tour we decided to have lunch at one of the complimentary à la carte restaurants. There are two large pools at this hotel. The main pool near reception is a little bit busier but the second pool near the à la carte restaurant is a little quieter. For most of the afternoon I was the only person in the water.

The quality of the food at these restaurants is really amazing when you compare it to other all-inclusive resorts and Cruises I have been on. I also find that the a la carte restaurants are especially good at catering to my dietary needs.

Too soon it was time for us to leave, and make our way to the airport. As I said the bus journey was very short, which made the last day much more relaxed.

We were all really sad to leave because this has been a wonderful experience. I have loved Mauritius, and I have loved learning about Beachcomber. There is no doubt in my mind I will definitely be back on this island I cannot wait to share my knowledge and newfound passion with my customers.

If you think you would be interested in a holiday to Mauritius or even just chatting about some of the options, I’d be more than happy to schedule a call with you.

Email me at emma.summerill@notjusttravel.com for more information.

Thanks for accompanying me on my trip!