Honeymoon Discussions

Mauritius?

Thinking about Mauritius for our honeymoon in October.  Anyone been?

Thanks!

Re: Mauritius?

  • I was there last year on a non-HM trip. I combined it with the Seychelles. We stayed at the Grand Mauritian, which is actually closed right now because of some fire damage. It's ashame that it is because we really liked the property. Mauritius wasn't quite the tropical paradise we had imagined. We thought the Seychelles were a better picture of that. Once you land, you have quite a drive to get to many of the resorts. The island itself is not very breathtaking, but the a lot of the resorts are quite oppulent and many of them are on somewhat decent stretches of beach. The beach quality and color of water weren't what i had imagined either- the water wasn't quite as blue and the beaches weren't quite as white. Ile aux Cerfs was advertised to be a secluded romantic spot, but in reality, it was an island with market and a few restaurants. It was nice to sit there and grab a bite to eat, though. We took a private speedboat tour around the island and saw some interesting things- ile aux cerfs, and old lighthouse and some good snorkeling at Blue Bay. We also went to Casela Park and did a walk with the lions. So, the activities were interesting, but long drives from the resort. However, you money goes further here than it does in the Seychelles. Our private boat tour was only around $400 and it was for almost the entire day. That being said, we did enjoy our time there (we did 5 nights), thought the people were friendly and the service was good, but we've been spoiled by having been to French Polynesia a few times, Fiji, the Seychelles, etc, which I think are more of what a tropical paradise should be. For the cost of the flights and length of time to get there (two full days- PHX-LHR, LHR-JNB, JNB-MRU), I would rather go to other places on that side of the world. However, if you are also doing a safari or South Africa, Mauritius is easier to get to than the Seychelles. It's still a 4 hour flight, though.
    Hope that helps!

     







  • Thank you so much for the info --this is really helpful!  The photos I have seen look amazing but people keep telling me that they have heard it's not as great as it looks and we should continue to do our research . It's been so difficult to find recent reviews of the island online. We would be staying at the St. Regis which is on the Le Morne peninsula -- opening this September.  We are actually going to be starting in London (flying to London from LA) so would fly London to Mauritius (about 12 hours) for 7 or 9 days but are open to other Indian Ocean destinations, too.  My main priority is lying out on a beach with beautiful water.  Where would you recommend?  Seychelles?  Maldives?  Thanks again!
  • I was originally wanting to stay at the St. Regis, but they have delayed their opening several times. i'm SPG platinum, so I'm all about Starwood and their brands :) I believe the St. Regis grounds will be breathtaking, but I still think the island would be a let down. I also used my American Airline miles to fly business class into London and getting miles tix on that direct flight to Mauritius was impossible! I think maybe you can get them in coach, but business class was much easier to get going through Johanesburg. So, just a head's up if you are planning to use miles. Again, not sure if you are set on an airline, but British Airways does not have flights into the Seychelles. You would have to connect up with the Air Seychelles flights at London Heathrow. We really enjoyed our time on the Seychelles. We stayed at Denis Private Island and one night each at both Le Meridiens for transit purposes. Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove is the nicest, but a little bit of a let down compared to Denis. We're thinking of postponing our trip to the Maldives that we wanted to take next year and combining it with the Seychelles and a short stay in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. when we go back, I'm looking to stay at Raffles Praslin and Denis Island again. The Maldives would have been our HM this year had we not decided to have a destination wedding, as weddings are not legal in the Maldives. As for the Maldives, I was looking at staying at the W for part of the stay and not sure about the other. There are a TON of fantastic private island resorts to choose from! I haven't had the time to decide which best fits what I'm looking for. If budget plays a factor, as Mauritius is less expensive than the other two, I would say the Seychelles is not quite as expensive as the Maldives. I don't think you can go wrong with either, and not having been to the Maldives yet, I can't say for sure which I'd like better. Unless you stay on Fregate or North Island, I think the private island resorts in the Maldives are more luxurious and cater to those who just want to get away from it all. Sounds perfect, huh? LOL

    As for London, we spent last Thanksgiving there. We had connections in London when going to Mauritius and the Seychelles and decided we just had to come back to get out of the airport! So, we stayed at Le Meridien Piccadilly for 5 nights. Not sure if you have a place picked out, or if you aren't really a SPG person, but we really liked the hotel. It was centrally located to everything, a very short walk to the tube, and as SPG Plat, we got upgraded to a suite on the top floor and had free breakfast, drinks, tea, and light dinner every night!

     







  • Thanks!  I am an SPG person, which is why the St. Regis sounded so perfect, but I am now rethinking things.  We have United miles so we will fly to and from Europe on United.  Good to know about the hotel in London.  If we end up going to the Maldives, we won't be staying at a Starwood property (the Sheraton looks too "family friendly" for a honeymoon and you need to fly a sea plane to the W and I don't do small planes) so we will definitely be needing to save money on the rest of the trip by using Starwood points in London (we'll be using Hyatt points in Paris at the Park Hyatt).  I'm all about using miles and points but I don't want to fly 12 hours to Mauritius and be disappointed!!  Thanks so much for your advice -- I really appreciate it! Going to start saving every penny now for the One and Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives (our dream honeymoon hotel!).
  • I have heard excellent things about the One and Only! A long time ago there was a knottie on here who had been. I saw the pics and they were amazing! (I was married once before, so i've been around here for awhile. LOL). I like very small properties (we're getting married at a resort that only has 6 rooms and Denis Island has fewer than 30), so I like the idea of Cocoa Island in the Maldives. Just so you are aware, unless you have already booked, United broke it's alliance with Qatar Air and Emirates. As far as I can tell, you need to fly Singapore Air to get to the Maldives with miles. I could be wrong, though. I switched from AA to United a few years ago when I moved to AZ, so now I'm a United person :) If you are only using your miles to get to London, then should be no problem! It sounds like an amazing trip! If you need a TA, check out www.linaratravel.com. I've had them quote for me before, but we ended up booking our trip on our own, as I used miles/points for everything but Denis Island when we went to Mauritius/Seychelles. I know they will work around you using points/miles, but in my case, it was just one resort and one flight and didn't think it was worth anyone's time!

     







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