Flying is particularly stress-inducing these days and as I boarded my flight in London my brain was buzzing with worries: had I printed my travel insurance documents? Would my PCR certification meet requirements?
The 12-hour flight landed and I emerged from the airport frazzled and sleep-deprived. There was, however, one rather important consolation: I was in the sun-drenched paradise island of Mauritius.
My first stop was the Lux Grand Baie, which opened late last year on the buzzy northern coast of the island. The hotel’s design — a collaboration between British interior designer Kelly Hoppen and Mauritian architect Jean-François Adam, and loosely inspired by the old Mauritian sailboats — is sleek, shiny and modernist. The huge, high-ceilinged lobby has direct views across the sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean while palm trees fringe the crescent white sand beach. I was travelling without the family, which meant my four days in Grand Baie were filled with strange and unfamiliar experiences. I stretched out on one of the red-and-white striped day beds by the largest of the three swimming pools, opened a book and actually read it; I ordered a breakfast of truffled scrambled eggs on sourdough from Beach Rouge and ate it in delicious and restorative silence.
There are three restaurants at the hotel but most days I found myself dining at Beach Rouge, which serves delectable ice-cream made on site and boasts a pizza oven that resembles a giant glitterball. It’s all part of a strategy to appeal to a younger, hipper breed of sun-worshipper — hence the infinity pool at adults-only roof bar Bisou, which offers stunning sunset views while dance music plays. The hotel even has its own underground nightclub. Those keen to venture outside the hotel should check out N’Joy, a restaurant cum live music venue — it was bustling on the night I visited with a concert from Linzy Bacbotte, one of the most popular singers on the island.
I got chatting with Sebastian who manages the restaurant. I told him I was keen to see the Grand Baie that most visitors never see and he offered to take me for a drive. The next day we spent the afternoon driving past churches, Hindu temples and a man selling a wardrobe he was carrying on his back on our way to remote unspoilt beaches. Grand Baie is famed for being touristy but this was a wilder and more natural Mauritius. I wanted to experience more of that, so I left Grand Baie and travelled down the island to spend a few days at another Lux hotel— the Le Morne. The hotel, which has recently undergone a refit, is overflowing with indecently Instagram-friendly photo opportunities: tree swings in tropical gardens, a 600-metre powdery white sand beach and, my favourite, a hammock in the sea. The Le Morne, named after the dramatic mountain that looms behind it, is surrounded by nature.
I skipped the chance to hike up Le Morne itself and opted instead for a speedboat excursion to spot dolphins. I was hoping to see one or two but I lost count of how many spinner and bottle nose dolphins we saw — leaping out of the air and swimming alongside our boat, a truly magical sight.
With my time nearing a close I visited the spa for a massage unique to the Lux Le Morne — the therapist picking three coconuts from a tree at the hotel and using the powder as a body scrub and the coconut balm for the massage. By the end of my week, Mauritius, like the massage, had truly got under my skin. I left replenished and rested, ready for the inevitable stresses that were waiting for me at home.
Rooms at Lux Grand Baie, from £250; Le Morne, from £144 (luxresorts.com)
