First Trip to Mauritius

I became a TC because of my love of travel and love of creating dreams for other people but I never imagined where it might take me as part of my job. I was lucky enough to have been picked for this wonderful trip to Mauritius along with 7 other TCs and our hosts, the lovely Emma from Constance Hotels and our own Mauritius expert Zoe from Head Office.

My first time to the island certainly did not disappoint. We flew with Air Mauritius who looked after us very well and 12 hours later we made our way swiftly through immigration and on to our home for the first 3 nights of our 5 night trip. Constance Belle Mare Plage is a stunningly stylish 5 star hotel with a relaxed but warm and very friendly feel. There’s nothing stuffy about this gorgeous beach hotel so it was perfect for a group of ladies who wanted to experience some relaxation and activities during the day and fine dining with a little music and dancing before bed. Our schedule was crammed full of aperitifs, stunning meals, a massage in their beautiful spa, a golf lesson, a wine flight, a cookery lesson (plenty of spice and flavour) and finally mixology (cocktail making and sampling).

The beautiful accommodation at Belle Mare Plage is spacious and very chic and stylish with all the little extras you expect from a 5 star hotel. My Junior Suite was far too large for just one person but it was reassuring to know that there would be plenty of space if I was offering it for a family holiday. With a lovely beach, a great kids club, 7 restaurants and 6 trendy bars, there’s no need to leave - everything is there on site.

If you didn’t leave your hotel though you would miss out on the beauty of this volcanic island. There’s lots to see and some fantastic adventures to have. One of ours was the “One Love” speedboat adventure with snorkelling and a barbecue lunch on the beach. What a great day out!

On the day we departed from Belle Mare Plage, we had another adventure to see the island’s capital, Port Louis. With its port, its fortress, waterfront, fruit and veg market and craft markets, I would recommend a quick visit but en route definitely don’t miss out on Pamplemouse Botanic Gardens where you can wander the serene gardens surrounded by 80 species of palm tree, a giant baobob tree, giant water lilies and more and don’t miss the giant tortoises. Watch out for the spiders though, they are also a little on the large side! Also en route we were taken to experience some true Mauritian cuisine. You would never find it by accident but it was certainly a superb lunch. A very “twee” restaurant, very quirky but not to be missed.

After a great day out it was time to check in to our home for the next 2 nights, Constance Prince Maurice! Wow! Described as a romantic hideaway with stunning architectural design in a luxurious setting, it isn’t surprising that this wonderful hotel is one of the “Leading Hotels of the World”. Much smaller and more intimate than Belle Mare Plage, it would be very easy to hideaway here and never leave. Again, we experienced service with attention to detail second to none from the amenities in our junior suites to the little man who turned up to clean your sunglasses and bring you water on ice and freshly cut pineapple on the beach. All the staff members clearly love their life and you can’t help but smile back when they greet you. Gorgeous!

We did so much in just two nights and two days. We had another wine tasting, this time in the largest wine cellar in the Indian Ocean which is housed here. We were invited to the Manager’s cocktail party on the beach, we were spoiled with another massage in yet another beautiful spa, a lesson making traditional Mauritian pastries was fun, if a little messy and enjoyed our last evening in a floating restaurant in a lagoon where a fairly large shark called Johnny was swimming around beneath our feet. Such a great setting and so different from the norm!

We landed back after our 12 hour flight into a sunny Heathrow. Well at least that made it a little less painful coming home from such a stunning Indian Ocean escape from the office. People had seen what I’d been up to on the trip on social media so many asked me if I’d had a lovely holiday. I suppose it looked a little like a holiday and I suppose it felt a lot like a holiday but I have to keep pinching myself to remind myself that this was work! I promise!

I’ve brought away such wonderful memories of this trip. Emma and her Constance colleagues treated us like royalty (as they did all their guests), my fellow TC travelling companions were amazing company and I will remember this wonderful experience fondly forever.

Thank you Mauritius! I’ll be back!