Mauritius is famous for many things… its coral reef, its Salt Flats and its coffee production… Oh, and it is also famous for being an idyllic paradise of crystal Indian Ocean waters and ivory coloured sands.

I have been fortunate enough to see these first hand. You know you are on a special beach when your Instagram photo is quite literally just you picking up sand….

One such beach is the private stretch of the Sugar Beach Hotel in Flic en Flac. (Also, I quite like saying Flic en Flac?)

This is pretty. This is postcard pretty. This is a jealousy-enducing Monday morning photo pretty.

The Rooms & Villas:

Set in 12 hectares (Around 30 acres) of lush tropical gardens, there are 16 “Mauritian Villas” with 10-12 individual suites each.

Each of these 258 rooms comes complete with Private Balcony/Terrace with sun loungers, Ottomans and Sofas. You know, incase you want to try out different types of comfort while looking out to the ocean of your dreams.

I had a beach front villa which was close enough to hear the ocean at night and far enough to give it that gallery-worthy outward view.

The Restaurants:

There are a few to choose from and I would say have the right balance of what I would call “relaxed and effort free” to “dressed up clutch bag/dinner jacket”

First there is Tides. This is set balancing in between the beach, the blue lagoon and pool areas… (Hence the name) and is open in the day for a light lunch or at night for a slightly more upscale dining experience… As a side note, you can order this menu to your daybed on the beach. (Because sometimes you just don’t want to part with your sunlounger even to eat your crab Maki Rolls)

There is also Citronella’s Café (which has a bar that is open pretty late), serving Italian cuisine facing the beach and then the über romantic Paul & Virginie Restaurant which serves Mauritian Cuisine set amidst thatched pavilions with views of the Indian Ocean.

There is also the Mon Plaisir Restaurant, which is the main restaurant at Sugar Beach and is open for Breakfast (which is a pretty extensive choice) the whole way through the day.

The Spa:

If for whatever reason, laying on the beach with the soundtrack of the ocean is not relaxing enough for you, then there is the Aura Spa where your relaxation level may well go into unconscious…

There are Hamam, Massage, Beauty treatments by the dozen and a heated pool incase you have strained yourself in your morning beach walk to breakfast.

If you are slightly more active than most then there is also a fitness centre, 6 flood-lit tennis courts with equipment available and also table tennis, badminton, volleyball, mini-football, pétanque and Frisbee… I’m not even sure what pétanque is, but truthfully if I cant do it while holding a Mai-Thai and a hand-fan, then you can count me out.

 

Mauritius and indeed Sugar Beach essentially caters for everyone and outside the hotel, there are a whole host of nature reserves, Waterfalls, and something called… “Walking with Lions”. If you never take my advice on anything again, take this…

As a cynical westerner I had expected this to be less “walking” and more “Looking through enclosures” but as Mauritians are true to their word, we in fact walked and stroked 2 adult lions for 2 hours and then casually moved onto sitting with 4 young leopards… actually with them…. laying beside me. The proof is in the actual pictures I took literally “face to face”…

This is not for the faint hearted, but it was and remains to be one of the best things I have ever done.

Tips: 

Should you want to exert yourself, then there are lots of activities provided to do so. From water and land sports, boat trips and diving excursions you are pretty set. The hotel will arrange everything for you.

With average coastal temperatures between 22°C in winter and 31°C in summer months, water temperatures vary from 22°C to 27°C… Sugar Beach Mauritius is always a good idea…

Sugar Beach Hotel – Wolmar, Flic en Flac, Mauritius

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