Hotel Review: LUX* Belle Mare Mauritius

We arrived at LUX* Belle Mare a jetlagged and tired after a long journey from London. The drive from the airport took us roughly 45 minutes to an hour. We had rented a car straight off from the airport and took it upon ourselves to drive to our resort. We were welcomed by a friendly concierge and were served some refreshing welcome drinks. After checking in we were escorted to our room in a golf buggy with bags arriving shortly after.

Since it was our honeymoon we had booked the Junior Romantic Suite that was overlooking lush green palm trees with the beach just beyond them.  We were welcomed with some champagne and fresh fruit and some flowers decorated on our bed. Our room was probably larger than most apartments in London. It had a huge king size bed that was so comfortable that the only way I think I can adequately describe it is that while sleeping on it I felt like my body was melting into a complete bliss. We had a nice lounge besides it with a sofa that could be pulled into a sofa bed for families or a group of 4.

View from our room

Our Room

What impressed me the most was that every small detail was taken care off. I guess that is to be expected at 5* resorts however, it makes you wonder how much value for money you receive at destinations like this as compared to similar priced hotels in Europe. We had a walk in closet and a huge bathroom with a shower and bathtub.

We received a call from a woman named Jennifer who was assigned to us to make sure our stay at LUX* was comfortable. Since we had booked the Honeymoon package we were offered a complimentary breakfast on the beach or by their pond, a complimentary dinner at any one of their restaurants with a special menu and a couples cooking class introducing us to Mauritian cuisine. We were unable to take the cooking class because of time constraints on our end however; the breakfast and dinner were amazing.

The breakfast was served to us on the beach with tiny waves brushing against our feet. We were served fresh coconut water directly from the coconut, fresh fruit platters, flavored yogurt and eggs of our choice. Their breakfast spread on a daily basis while having continental options also showcased some of the local cuisine mixed of Indian and Chinese delights as well. From lassi, which is an Indian yogurt drink to dumplings you could find it all in the breakfast spread. During breakfast hours we could also avail their special coffee from their coffee bar. LUX* Belle Mare boasts that it makes the best coffee on the Island. Needless to say the breakfast was definitely our favourite meal of the day and it felt like we were feasting like kings.

Juice Selection in the Breakfast Spread

Live Egg Station at the Breakfast Spread

Fresh Fruit Selection at the Breakfast Spread

Breakfast on the Beach

 For the romantic dinner that was arranged for us we could choose any of their restaurants or for an extra fee we could have a private dinner at the beach or the pond. Since we had already done breakfast on the beach we decided to go dine at one of their restaurants called Beach Rouge that overlooked the beach. The vibe at Beach Rouge was very young, modern and it seemed like a great place to hang out post dinner for some drinks as well.  The food served to us that night was not on their usual menu but it has definitely got to be one of the most scrumptious meals I have ever eaten. I specifically loved my starter and made a special request to eat it once more before we left Mauritius.

My Three Course Meal at Beach Rouge

My Husband's Three Course Meal at Beach Rouge

 There were three restaurant options and one buffet style international dining called MIXE to choose from for our daily dinners. Aside from Beach Rouge, there was a Chinese restaurant named Duck Laundry that soon became my husband’s favourite and an Indian restaurant named Amari owned by Michelin star chef Vineet. In the day time there was a food truck that offered burgers, hotdogs chips etc as well as an ice cream stand as well. While lounging at the beach or pool side during lunch times often you would see staff from the hotel offering small complimentary quick bites as well. The burger from the food cart was absolutely divine and if you read my introduction I am a sucker for good burgers!

Both my husband and I have traveled quite extensively before but what truly made this holiday unique was the personalized service we received. Almost every one knew us by name despite there being hundreds of guests.

The first 4 days we spent exploring Mauritius with our Catamaran cruise, Under Water Sea Walking and Seat Karting however; we left the last 4 days to completely enjoy the resort and all it had to offer. Our daily schedule looked something like this

-       We would wake up get dressed and head over to have breakfast

-       Head to the beach and relax and let our gigantic breakfast digest

-       Sign up for some of the complimentary activities such as snorkeling, glass bottom boating, water skiing, paddle boating, tubing and wind surfing

-       Finish those activities and then grab a bite from the food truck

-       Take a dip in the pool

-       Head over to the spa to spend a couple of hours before going to dinner

While for some this might be monotonous but I have to say after such a stressful year of planning a wedding, moving continents and other things this was definitely the most relaxed I have ever felt!

The spa offered complimentary use of their sauna, jacuzzi and steam room. You could also book massages and other treatments as well. The resort also offered yoga classes and a gym with personal trainers.

My View of the Beach

My View of the Pool

The Spa

The great part about LUX* Belle Mare is that it is ideal for couples and families with one side of the property reserved for couples accommodation hence, giving them privacy and a bit of quiet and the other side for families which had a play area, tennis courts, an entertainment area for pool, snooker and fuse ball as well as a small library. 

We left our honeymoon well rested, relaxed and with a perfect start to the rest of our lives together.

Planning a trip to Mauritius

View of Belle Mare Beach on the East Coast of Mauritius
Picture Courtesy Google Images

My fondest holiday memories as a child have been in tropical places such as Thailand and Indonesia. White sand beaches, palm trees and turquoise water are an idyllic choice for a honeymoon. Our first step towards planning our holiday began with choosing a location.

While many options come to mind when you think of a tropical island getaway the reason why we chose Mauritius boiled down to some key factors. We had set a budget for our honeymoon and we wanted to choose a location that fulfilled those requirements while adhering to our budget. Setting a budget early is a great way to start planning your holiday. It avoids disappointment and most importantly saves you the hassle of planning a whole trip only to realize you can’t afford it.

We wanted a complete 5* luxury experience without breaking the bank and for the budget we had set Mauritius fit perfectly. However, for those of you looking for cheaper accommodation there are plenty of options that are extremely nice as well. Our next criteria were flight prices and flight times. From London most of our potential honeymoon destinations had long flight times. Mauritius for us took 14 hours of flight time with a stop over in Dubai for 3 hours. There are direct flights as well but at the time of booking, this flight worked out to be cheaper while only saving a couple of hours on flight time.

We ideally wanted to travel first week of May so it was important for us to check the weather. Mauritius is a tropical country, and weather throughout the year is generally warm.  November to April are classified as their rainy and humid period with temperatures ranging from a high of 31^oC to a low of 24^oC whereas, their cool and dry weather begins in May and ends in October with temperatures ranging from a high of 29^oC to a low of 19^oC.

Next on our agenda was picking the right hotel in a location that fit our preferences. As a honeymoon couple we wanted to live somewhere that afforded us exclusivity, luxury and away from hustle bustle. The East Coast in that regard offered us that. The East Coast boasts having some of the most luxurious hotels and is home to one of the most beautiful beaches named Belle Mare. We chose to stay at a resort called LUX* Belle Mare. I will do a more detailed review on our hotel in the next post.

LUX* Belle Mare
Picture courtesy Google Images

The East however, while granting us privacy and seclusion is less developed compared to the North i.e. outside of the resort there aren’t many options to dine out or go partying if that is something you wish to do. Other beaches in the East include Ile Aux Cerfs Beach. This is an island just off the East Coast and is easily accessible by boats.

The North in contrast offers a lot more activities and has a larger selection of restaurants and nightclubs. Although many reviews you find online say that the North offers other activities such as wind surfing, sailing, parasailing and gliding I found that to be untrue. While you can do those activities in the North most resorts including LUX* Belle Mare in the East also offer these activities with some of them being complimentary.  Some of the best beaches in the North include Trou aux Biches and the Grand Baie public beach where you can find a great selection of street food, beach restaurants and many more.

The South is the most unexplored region in Mauritius with cliffs and rocks and beaches that are not recommended for swimming.

The West has beautiful sunsets and is famous worldwide for having beaches such as Le Morne and The Tamarin that are ideal for surfing.

Since we were spending 9 nights in Mauritius we wanted to make sure we utilized our time wisely. My husband and I decided that we both were looking forward to some water sports as well as spending a good time relaxing at the beach and our spa spending lots of good quality time with each other. We researched activities that were on offer in Mauritius and narrowed down the list to what we were most keen on doing. While dolphin watching alongside swimming with them was something that appealed to us, waking up at 5 am did not. We narrowed our list down to taking a day trip to Ile Aux Cerfs Beach, Under Water Sea Walking which was a completely unique experience, Sea Karting – we originally wanted to jet ski but we found out that jet skiing in Mauritius is illegal as they deem it unsafe and also to protect their coral from dying.

Sea Karting
Picture Courtesy Google Images

My Husband and I enjoying the high speeds of Sea Karting

We also went snorkelling multiple times as well as glass bottom boating, water skiing and kayaking. These activities alongside tubing, windsurfing etc. are offered by many resorts complimentary.

In order to avoid disappointment I would recommend booking activities such as sea karting and under sea walk in advance since they do tend to book fast. Link for the Under Sea Walk that we did located in Grand Baie is here and the link for Sea Karting is here.

Although Mauritius is a tiny island moving around can be slightly tricky. Moving from the East to the North or East to the West approximately took an average drive time of 45 minutes. While most hotel concierge help plan trips for you, the main mode of transport for tourists is taxis. For all our excursions such as the Under Sea Walk and Sea Karting, which were located in the north and west respectively, we had to arrange our own transport to the locations. Taxis in this regard worked out to be just as expensive as the activity itself. We were better off hiring a car. We had arranged to rent a car from the airport from a car rental called Maki Car Rental. Link found here.  When we arrived we had someone from the car rental company waiting for us who handed us our keys and a GPS system that we then used to navigate our way to the hotel. Renting a car in my opinion was great because it afforded us the flexibility of movement and we used it for our excursions, making trips to the North for some amazing culinary experiences and over all exploring the Island at our leisure. The GPS System however, was a little out dated and we had some adventures where it gave us some faulty directions but having said that by and large it worked adequately to get us from Point A to Point B.

Mauritius was a complete Heaven on Earth experience, from beautiful tea plantations, sugar cane fields and picturesque beaches it did not fail to impress. The main cultural influence in Mauritius is that of French, Indian and Chinese. You can find that cultural influence in their food as well. The people in Mauritius were extremely hospitable and friendly. While French was widely spoken, English is just as well understood.

Before you visit make sure your travel documents are valid and check for any visa requirements. British, American and Canadian passport holders do not require a visa and are issued a visa on arrival. You can find whether you need a visa or not here. Tips for travelling in general and in Mauritius are that always be cautious, don’t walk alone in dark isolated places and be wary of pick pocketing and avoid drinking water directly from the tap. Although we didn’t face any security issues in Mauritius it is always better to exercise some caution. Also consider getting travel insurance.

Welcome!

Hi! I am Umehani but most of my friends call me Hani. I recently got married and moved to London UK. In midst of settling into a new life in a new country I hope to rediscover myself and make London truly home.

Somethings about me

I love to :

Discover new places and travel. In the last year I have travelled to Mauritius and Greece and a short road trip to South of Wales.

Eat burgers! I am on the quest to find the best burger in London. So far my favourites are Dirty Burger and Dip and Flip

Partake in adrenaline pumping activities. The most daring thing I have done is bungee jumped 134 metres the 3rd highest jump in the world in New Zealand. Here is a picture to prove it.




I dislike:

The cold! I have a strong aversion to the cold plus it makes me lazy. I suppose moving to a country that almost never has a summer was a bad idea. I am adjusting!

People making chewing sounds and burping. I am a stickler for table manners. I think I suffer from misophonia which literally means a hatred of sound. People with misophonia are usually only triggered by specific sounds. In my case I am particularly sensitive to sounds while eating and it can really put me off my food.

In this blog I hope to share with you my musings, travel experiences and some lifestyle tips. I want this blog to help me self reflect, learn and grow as a person and I hope maybe you can inspire me and perhaps maybe I can inspire you a little too.

Welcome to my blog and happy reading!