See more of Mauritius with a stay in both the north and the quieter south coast, ending with a relaxing stay on a stunning beach at a luxury resort.
What's Included:
3 nights North Coast Mauritius half board; 7 nights Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa including breakfast and excursions as detailed. Includes flights and transfers.
12 days from £2,770pp
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On the beach - 8 days
Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa
Set on the less developed southern coast of Mauritius, the Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa is the only hotel on a long stretch of white sand backed by lush hills. Extremely tranquil yet gloriously indulgent, it also offers a glimpse of traditional local life.
Chic and elegant Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa offers all the comforts of a luxurious resort with beautiful rooms, a gorgeous stretch of beach with safe swimming, good snorkelling and a selection of non-motorised water sports.
What really sets it apart though, is a clear effort to offer guests an insight into life on the island. Along with fine food from the main restaurant, guests can get a real flavour of traditional Mauritian dining with rustic beachside barbecues at the Fish Shack, classic local dishes cooked by village women in La Kaze Mama, and traditional snacks at the atmospheric Rum Shed where you can sample 180 types of rum. Fresh produce comes from the herb and vegetable gardens, cookery classes are available and you can take a guided tour of the local village market.
Wellbeing is also a key feature of the resort with a wide ranging activities schedule featuring everything from yoga and Pilates to guided meditation and spa treatments. The 61 suites and villas here are generously proportioned and come in a wide range of options, all of which face the sea. Decor is sleek and contemporary throughout and all villas feature private pools and gardens.
Before the beach - 4 days
North Coast Mauritius
Explore more of Mauritius by visiting the contrasting coasts of the north and south of the island. Visit bustling Grand Baie’s restaurants and shops or take a visit to the capital, Port Louis, stopping en route at the Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens created in the 18th century and famous for its rare species.
20 Degrés Sud is a charming boutique hotel, perfectly located to explore the north of the island. With only 36 rooms and an elegant, colonial style it offers a beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle in a quiet residential area, yet Grand Baie is just a short boat ride across the bay on the hotel’s shuttle boat.
Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa
61 rooms, 4 restaurants, 4 pools
Description
Shanti means peace in Sanskrit and as soon as you enter the gardens of Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa, you’re surrounded by tranquil groves of frangipani trees and bougainvillea blooming in the dappled shade. Set on a secluded cove on Mauritius’ quieter southern coast, the hotel looks out across the Indian Ocean, with the Chamarel Mountains rising up behind.
Just 61 generously-proportioned rooms and villas are tucked between the foliage. The designers here have worked hard to balance aesthetics and functionality with contemporary furnishings and traditional Mauritian thatched roofs.
For families
Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa welcomes families — children will be spoiled by staff — and has a complimentary children’s club open 10am to 10pm for 3-12 year olds. The villas have plenty of space for children to explore.
Location
The south of Mauritius is far less developed than the rest of the island; as you drive to and from the hotel you’ll pass sugar cane fields with views beyond of deep forests and dramatic black mountains.
Shanti Maurice is set on a long, gently curving bay of white sand overlooking the turquoise Indian Ocean. The town of Chemin Grenier is approximately ten minutes’ drive away and has a small selection of shops, restaurants and bars.
Our opinion
We love the ruggedness of the surrounding landscape which adds to the secluded, relaxing feel of the resort — and with only 61 rooms set over such a large area it never feels busy. The range of dining options makes this ideal for long stays where you can try a different experience each night.
Rooms
The spacious rooms and villas have been carefully designed in a contemporary style with all the facilities you could want for a luxurious stay. All are air conditioned and have a television, DVD player, tea/coffee facilities and minibar.
Beachfront Suite Pool Villa
The Luxury Suite Villas not only offer the garden setting, private pool and enclosed courtyard with outdoor rain shower and lounge beds that the Luxury Villas do but also an additional large living room, bringing the total space up to an extravagant 376 sq m.
Junior Suite Beach Access
Set on the ground floor of two storey buildings in the gardens, these 81 sq m rooms have ocean views and patios just a few steps away from the beach.
Junior Suite Oceanfront
These spacious 81 sq m rooms are set on the first floor or two storey buildings scattered through the gardens and offer fantastic ocean views.
Luxury Double Suite Pool Villa
The luxury suite villas not only offer the same facilities that the luxury villas do, but also an additional large living room, bringing the total space up to an extravagant 376 sq m (4,047 sq ft).
Luxury Pool Villa
The eight luxury villas are set within their own palm-dappled gardens, each with a private pool, sala pavilion for dining, an enclosed courtyard with outdoor rain shower and loungers. At a spacious 208 sq m (2,238 sq ft), there’s plenty of space to relax and the beachfront is just a few steps away.
Pictures of the rooms
Activities, diving & excursions
Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa offers a range of non-motorised water sports including stand-up paddleboards, kayaking, snorkelling, and pedalo. There are no motorised water sports at the hotel.
Land based activities include two floodlit tennis courts, beach volleyball, circuit training, bicycles and various yoga or meditation classes along with a weekly schedule of activities.
While the beach at Shanti is lovely and usually quite peaceful, please note that it is affected by tides that mean at certain times of day the water is too low for some activities. The boat house staff are on hand to advise.
The hotel does not have its own dive facility, but will be happy to help you arrange diving locally. There are a number of dive sites around the coast from a shallow lagoon reef suitable for beginners, to more challenging caverns and crevasses.
Food & drink
The range of dining at Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa is certainly one of the hotel’s highlights with some creative concepts to try.
La Kaze Mama, or ‘Mama’s house’, is set within the hotel’s herb garden and offers an authentic, home cooking experience with a Mauritian ‘mama’ cooking up traditional dishes for a small number of guests in a relaxed, intimate setting. We suggest booking a table in advance.
Stars is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with an innovative menu that takes as its inspiration the traditional dishes of the many nations that border the Indian Ocean.
For a relaxed dinner with the feeling of the sand between your toes, Fish Shack offers a traditional barbecue on the beach. Driftwood furniture is set on the sand and the menu depends on the catch of the day, with some dishes grilled to order in front of you. There’s often a traditional sega band performing.
The Rum Shed bar and restaurant is popular with both locals and guests alike. Following the design of the traditional rum shed frequented by Mauritians for decades, this rustic style shed has a relaxed, friendly feel. Sample one of the 180 different rums or relax with a beer along with the locals who head there particularly at weekends. The menu offers sharing platters with an international street food theme.
Picnics can also be arranged throughout the gardens and there’s also a lounge bar to relax in the evenings for a cocktail or two as the sun sets over the ocean.
Please note that restaurant openings will vary according to weather and hotel occupancy, but there should be a choice of two or three options every day.
Spa Facilities
The extensive spa at Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa is one of the largest in the Indian Ocean. Set among scented fig trees and palms, there are 25 treatment rooms, a calming spa pool, a yoga pavilion, Pilates and a Jacuzzi.
North Coast Mauritius
Location: Mauritius North Coast
Mauritius’ north coast is home to both the capital of Port Louis and the island’s largest resort town of Grand Baie. There’s plenty to see and do here. In Grand Baie, oceanfront streets are lined with shops, restaurants and bars, while the beach looks out onto a calm bay that makes a great spot for swimming. Just outside the town are several smaller beachside villages that are also becoming more popular as destinations to visit, including Mont Choisy and Pereybère.
There are also quieter spots to discover in the north if you’d prefer to relax on pretty, more secluded beaches, while inland you’ll find sugar cane fields, botanical gardens, piles of volcanic boulders and scenic roads that pass through small towns, where locals can be seen going about their day on bicycles or on foot.
20 Degrés Sud
Accommodation: 20 Degrés Sud
Tucked away from the rest of the island, Hotel 20 Degrees South is a great little place, known to few. The hotel has a good position on the northwest of the island, overlooking Grand Baie, but hidden in a coconut grove, and surrounded by private estates. Nestled at the mouth of the bay, it faces east, and catches a light sea breeze that is very welcome in the tropical heat.
The resort is part Relais & Chateaux, with the style of a colonial club or relaxed country house and a much more intimate feel than many Mauritian resorts. With only 36 rooms, the hotel is unique for Mauritius, priding itself on offering a personal service to all guests. After a drink in the stylish bar, delicious food can be enjoyed in the main restaurant in the evenings, and out on the pool deck during the day.
A wide choice of excursions and water sports is at hand for those who love to be on the go. For further exploration of the island, a complimentary water taxi service is provided, taking passengers back and forth from Grand Baie and offering guests the chance to eat out in the evenings, and enjoy some shopping during the day. Alternatively, for a day of relaxation you may prefer to enjoy a treatment in the lovely spa or read a book on the whitewashed solarium. Along the water's edge, both innovative shelters and small coconut groves make for a wind-free day in the sun. A week can easily be spent at this hotel in total peace and relaxation.
Itinerary
Day by day
Day 1
Board your overnight flight to Mauritius.
Day 2
You will be met at the airport by our representative and taken by private road transfer to Grand Baie on the northwest coast.
20 Degrés Sud is a charming, boutique hotel well placed to discover the restaurants and shops of Grand Baie.
Day 3
Your first full day at leisure. Before you head down to the sleepy south of the island you might like to explore the island's capital, Port Louis and the renowned Pamplemousses Botanical Garden as well as L'Aventure du Sucre museum.
Day 4
The hotel has bicycles you can borrow if you'd like to explore the local area and there's also a choice of water sports at the hotel. The boat shuttle can take you across the bay to Grand Baie for lunch.
Day 5
Today as you drive to the south of the island to your next hotel, your private driver and guide will take you to explore more of the island on a full day tour. Visit Chateau de Labourdonnais a beautifully renovated example of one of the island's French colonial homes and take the time to visit Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, one of the largest and oldest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Day 6
Today is yours to enjoy as you wish. There's a great range of water sports at the hotel as well as tennis courts and beach volleyball. If you're looking for something a little more relaxing, the spa is one of the most extensive in the Indian Ocean and there are also yoga and meditation classes.
Day 7
Why not take a sailing trip to enjoy the clear waters of the ocean surrounding Mauritius and visit some of the small, outlying islands?
Day 8
The south coast location of Shanti Maurice Resort & Spa means it's well placed to explore the Chamarel Mountains. Today your private driver-guide will collect you from the hotel and take you to the Chamarel region including the rum distillery, as well Bois Cheri Tea Factory and Le Domaine des Aubineaux, a 19th century colonial house.
Day 9
Hiring a car is a great way to explore the island independently and meeting some of the charming local people.
Days 10 - 11
At leisure.
Day 12
You will be collected from the hotel and transferred by private vehicle to the airport for your flight.
Start planning your trip with Audley
Tailoring your trip
This itinerary is designed to give you a flavour of what is possible.
We can tailor this trip to suit your specific requirements
Any aspect of the itinerary can be altered, from excursions to accommodation
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