Mauritius by the Emirates A380

I was very fortunate to fly Business Class all the way to Mauritius whilst for the return it was Economy to Dubai and then Business Class from Dubai back to London.

It was a real treat and the bar at the rear of Business Class and the Lie Flat beds were wonderful. I was also impressed with the Economy cabin and service.

Upon arrival in Mauritius I was transferred in about 1 hour to Le Morne, a peninsula in the South West of the Island, where Beachcomber's 5 Star Paradis Golf Resort & Spa can be found.

I stayed in a Junior Suite Beachfront room on Half Board. The suite had an enormous bathroom/dressing room with a bath and walk-in shower and double sinks. The bedroom had a large double bed with some enormous pillows and a mini-bar with tea & coffee making facilities and some furniture to relax in.

The balcony was also very large and contained a comfortable relaxing chair, a large sofa and table and a couple of chairs with another table. The balcony directly overlooked the beach and each suite has it's own beach furniture and loungers so people putting towels on loungers is not an issue.

Paradis and it's sister hotel Dinarobin each have 4 restaurants and a number of bars and guests are able to dine in any of them. I did an inspection of Dinarobin and ate 1 lunch and 2 dinners in some of the restaurants.

Dinarobin also has some very private 4 Bedroom Villas which would be ideal for a large or extended family.

The properties are side by side and linked by the Golf course which is beautiful in itself.

Both have their own Spas and Watersports centres. I used the Kayaks a couple of times but their were lots of options including Water-Skiing, Surf Boards, Windsurfers, Paddle Boards and Paddle Boats.

The beach is very clean partly because of the outer reef but also because the staff clean the beach every day. The water is also very clear and a nice refreshing temperature. The sunset is also directly in front of the beach.

You do see a lot of people riding bicycles of all sizes and styles and all ages are accommodated, from small child to adult and I did hire one myself for 1 hour. I did a circuit of the 2 resorts and went on to the main road to see the Slave Memorial which is close to the entrance to Dinarobin.

This memorial is to some slaves who had escaped and ran up in to the mountain to hide. When slavery was abolished in Mauritius some Missionaries went up the mountain to tell the escaped slaves that everything was ok and they could come back down, but they didn't believe them and instead committed suicide by throwing themselves off the mountain. A very sad story.

There are also 6 nice tennis courts at Paradis in the Sports Centre as well as Table Tennis and the Gym.

Paradis is an immaculate resort and clearly every effort is made daily to maintain it's appearance and the general service within the resort is very friendly and efficient.

One afternoon we took a speedboat which ferried us at wonderful speed over the reef to a Catamaran which was waiting to take us on a Sunset Cruise for approximately 4 hours. The crew were very entertaining and kept us regularly fed and watered with a selection of drinks and some great food from the on-board BBQ.

One day we headed off to Casela Nature and Leisure Park. They do have a Safari and it is possible to have an interaction with Lions but to be honest this is more like a group of people with sticks standing around a lion and touching it!

Some of our party did the Zip Wire and evidently had a great time.

I opted to do the Quad Bike Safari and had an absolute blast. We zoomed around in convoy through lots of mud and little rivers and bounced over rocks and boulders and to be honest we covered a lot more ground than the Safari in the trucks we had been on earlier.

Also, because we went further afield we saw a lot more animals including great herds of Zebra, Impala, and some kind of Dear as well as lots of Giant Turtles and Ostriches.

I came back all splashed in mud, but it really was great fun and a new experience for me.

On another day we went in to the Capital Port Louis where there are lots of shops and markets. I managed to get a few presents and in the markets and I would advise it might be a good idea to haggle a little bit. You do see a few familiar business names there including a couple of branches or Barclays Bank.

After a couple of hours we made our way to the Lambic Restaurant and Bar which prides itself on being a Beer lovers haven. There are imported bottled beers from all over the world plus I did see Fuller's London Pride on draught.

They do have their Flying Dodo Brewing Company so I did sample a couple of their own brew and it was indeed very tasty and refreshing.

Lambic did seem to be a popular venue at lunchtime and no doubt popular in the evening too.

Mauritius is a year-round destination but the weather can vary day to day depending where you are on the island.

At Paradis in Le Morne we only really had a light shower once or twice and it was sunny the rest of the time.

I really did not notice any Mosquitos and certainly never got stung and there wasn't any noticeable humidity either. There was a nice breeze there which was refreshing, not cold and not hot and the strength of the breeze may be why it is a popular place for Kite Surfers and Windsurfers.

It seems that everyone speaks fluent English and French so communication is never a problem there.

It is a very popular destination for Honeymooners but caters very well for couples and families alike.

I had an absolutely fantastic time there and would love to return again one day.