Family Holiday to Marvellous Mauritius
From the moment we stepped off the plane, I could really feel that the Mauritian people were friendly and we were going to have an amazing family holiday.
We took the direct flight from Gatwick with British Airways which I would recommend if travelling with children as the flight time is 11.5 hours on a night flight both ways which makes it much easier as we could all sleep and wake up in paradise. As I was travelling with my 9 and 6 year old on their 1st long haul flight I was apprehensive but I would not hesitate to do this again, it really was fine. When we arrived into Mauritius, I had booked a hotel on the west of the island as when travelling in our summer months (their winter months) west is best with Mauritius. I had booked a private transfer which took approx. 1 hour, We got to see a lot of the lovely mountains, and I was surprised how green it was!
When we arrived at our hotel - Beachcomber's Victoria Hotel - we were met by 3 different staff members offering us cold flannels, fruit punch and a comfortable seat to check us in - amazing hospitality. From the moment you walk into the Victoria you can see what an amazing location the hotel is positioned on - a beautiful infinity pool leading straight onto the Indian Ocean - I was so stunned.
I had booked a garden ground floor room, all the rooms are Sea facing at the Victoria and only steps from the beach which is just great. The rooms are 60 square metres so very big and comfortable for a family of 4. They did offer other rooms which I did get to see but I was so happy with our room even though this is the lead in grade it was fantastic. We had a mini bar which was filled up every day, and we had a lovely walk in shower and tub. The beach at this hotel is simply stunning, a few steps walk from our room, lovely sunbeds serviced with a beach bar offering lovely drinks and freshly made baguettes brought to you on the beach if you did not want to move for the day. The hotel does offer 2 different meal plans, All Inclusive or Half Board. We were on All Inclusive so pretty much everything was included. Mauritius is expensive so I personally feel All Inclusive is the best option.
The water sports offered on the beach were fantastic. The beach boys who help you if you are not sure how to Windsurf or Water ski , they will help you. We spent most of our time going Snorkelling. We snorkelled every day from the beach as it has its own reef but we did go on the boat trip on several days to go outside the reef to see other types of fish. My kids loved going on the Kayaks and the pedalo which again are all included. If you do not like snorkelling, the hotel provides Glass bottom boat trips several time a day but this did seem to get booked up quickly, so I would book this on arrival. The beach also has a lot of coral, so take beach shoes as it makes it easier to walk out into the sea. One of the nicest things is having so much room, no rush for getting a sunbed, a space on the beach. I have been on holiday so much in the school holidays and it can feel so busy but it just did not here even though the hotel was full it was just wonderful. The sea life you see from this beach is amazing - my kids saw 15 starfish in one morning! We saw so many beautiful fish.
The infinity pool at the hotel has a fantastic waiter service if you want a lazy pool day looking out to sea. Occasional activities go on at the pool throughout the day but it is very large.
Food - As many of you know, food is very important to me. This hotel does not disappoint, 3 restaurants to choose from - 2 to make reservations for- an Italian and Seafood. Then a buffet restaurant which has everything to a very high standard. Another must is the crepes that are served between 4-6 on the seafront. They are wonderful. Some items in the A La carte restaurants do have a small supplement but there are plenty of things to choose from that are on the all inclusive.
The hotel does have a few beautiful shops but they can be expensive. My son wanted to purchase a bucket and spade and it was 1200 Rupee (approx. £14). If you take a walk out of the hotel there are some shops about 10 min walk and lots of little holiday things and a bucket and spade which cost 300 Rupee (approx. £7) - so worth taking a wander. I did buy some of the hotel’s Pineapple and Papaya jam from the hotel which was amazing though! I was lucky enough to get a couple of hours to myself and stepped into the spa - I wish I had gone sooner because I would have gone twice it was just fabulous. There was a gym at the hotel with Spinning classes and other things going on, also if you know me I did not participate, but it looked great if you are one of my clients that like a state of the art gym.
There is an amazing kids club on the beach that’s run from 10am-10pm in this hotel. You can take a look at the activities and book your children in for as much or as little as you wanted. My children wanted to snorkel and be on the beach with us so they did not go in but we watched some of the activities and they looked very fun and very friendly. I watched a pillow fight in the pool one day as I did not understand what it would be but the kids seemed to be loving it very much.
For my adults-only clients - there is a great part of this hotel which is called Victoria 2 and it is the adults-only part of the hotel. It has beautiful swim up rooms facing the sea with a restaurant just for adults.
The entertainment at this hotel was more lower key than in med hotels I have been to but still something every night. One night was a 5 piece band, another night a local ritual with a light show which was just lovely, another night a Walt Disney show. So always something, do take a pack of cards as it is nice to be able to do that if it is an evening with music. The hotel seems to have a fantastic entertainment team. The entertainment always finished at 11.
The weather in August was about 25-28 each day. It is cooler than in their summer but absolutely fine to have a lovely warm holiday getting in and out of the pool each day. The evenings can get a bit colder so take a cardigan or a zip up for the kids.
We enjoyed Mauritius very much, it was a lovely hotel giving a good offering to families or adults only which was very well done. My children loved every moment like we did. I could go on and on as I have so much to say. Please get in touch if you want to ask anything.
