Gold conference 2012: Mauritius
The conference was split across the sister hotels of Dinarobin and Le Paradis, part of the Beachcomber hotel group. I spent four nights at Dinarobin and it is truly a wonderful 5* hotel. The main reception area is extremely spacious with many seating areas, a sunken bar area and surrounded by beautifully landscaped pools and gardens. Like most Beachcomber hotels, Dinarobin’s rooms are set out in crescents of three storey thatched pavilions which all face towards the sea. You can see the sea from most of them but the lush vegetation gives those rooms further away a lesser view. Decked pathways lead along the beach through the grounds, with seating areas under the trees where you can enjoy a coffee, lunch or even a cocktail with great sea views.
The beach here is soft white sand and like most hotels on the island, you will find coral in the shallows. You can also see the off shore reef which almost entirely circles the island. For those of you who like to walk along the beach, you have a good long stretch of beach which if you follow it will take you all the way along to the Paradis hotel. The rooms are spacious with huge bathrooms – all furnished in lovely natural colours and materials. Each one has a covered patio or balcony outside which is extremely private and useful for those unexpected ‘fat rain’ downpours which you do get in the tropics. For families with children, it is lovely to have a ground floor one as these lead directly on to the large lawns – easy for playing outside.
When I go on one of these business trips, I often make the time to visit other hotels and I did have the opportunity of spending some time at Le Paradis. It has quite a spectacular pool area dominated by the iconic Le Morne Mountain, and a fantastic beach. It also has its own 18 hole championship course and golfing academy. The bonus of staying at either of these hotels is that you get to enjoy both with golf cart shuttles between the two and exchange dining and privileges as well. The food at both hotels was superb.
The other hotel I went to see was Beachcomber’s Shandrani which is their only all-inclusive option. With its close proximity just 15 minutes from the airport, you will get 747’s flying overhead several times a day, and from personal experience they are quite low! But after seeing several of them, you do actually ignore them. It is classed as a 5* but we felt it wasn’t quite as luxurious in the public areas as Dinarobin and was probably more of a 4* superior accommodation overall. The rooms however have all been recently refurbished in off white and natural woods with splashes of vibrant accent colours. It has been done with great style and the family suite accommodation is spacious and would work well for any large family unit.
The hotel has three beaches – the main beach, the water sports beach and the wild beach where you can just enjoy the natural beauty of a beach with no resort facilities such as beach chairs, umbrellas or a restaurant. We enjoyed a lovely lunch here with the sales director and the food and service were impeccable. I certainly would come back here for a holiday with my daughter with no hesitation at all.
I saw quite a bit of the island on my previous trip, but this time I got to go on a boat trip where we did see wild dolphins, which was lovely! I also went to the rum distillery where we watched the staff working away and it was an interesting experience.
And all too soon I was on my BA flight home to my family. It was another fantastic experience in Mauritius and I hope that it isn’t my last.