Where: One&Only Le Saint Géran – Poste de Flacq, Mauritius
What: Exotic Luxury Resort with Secluded Indian Ocean Island Tranquility
When: January 2020 (7 Nights)
Who: Just Us
THE OVERVIEW
Mauritius has always been one of those destinations calling our name from afar but seemed almost irrational due to its remote position in the southern Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Madagascar, a world away from NYC. For precisely that reason (yes, we’re a little crazy about our travels), we decided to make the long trek to this exotic island– and we are so glad we did!
After having recently stayed at One&Only Palmilla in Cabo, we knew that we were in for quite the experience at the newly-renovated One&Only Le Saint Géran property. The hotel is uniquely positioned on its own peninsula flanked by an emerald green lagoon on one side and beautiful white sandy beach with turquoise water on the other. In addition to perfectly fitting the mold for our favorite type of island vacation, Mauritius also delivers a rich cultural experience with a fascinating history. Prior to obtaining independence as an African island nation in 1968, Mauritius was originally colonized by the Dutch, then the French, and ultimately the British. The island’s deep European roots are evident throughout but it is also complemented by cultural influence from Southern African nations, India, China, and other Southeast Asian countries.
One&Only Le Saint Géran is certainly one of those resorts that is a destination in and of itself, which explains why most people never leave the property. The quality and attention to detail is impressive–from the extensive food and beverage offerings, to the beachy yet sophisticated suites which felt like a home away from home (in fact, our suite was probably 3x the size of our NYC apt). Perhaps it was because we were there for seven nights with a very light itinerary, but Le Saint Géran induced a sense of ease and tranquility in us from the moment we arrived– something that we always strive for when escaping the grind of NYC life.
THE BASICS
Room: Upon arrival, we were lucky enough to be upgraded to a one-bedroom beach-front balcony suite, which rightfully earned the We Travel For distinction as one of the top three hotel rooms we’ve ever stayed in around the world. With two full bathrooms, a large open living and dining room, massive balcony, master closet, and bathroom bigger than most other hotel bedrooms, the excitement of seeing our new home for the week was enough to wake us up from the delirious state that we were in after traveling for almost 30 hours! Greeted with a bottle of champagne, personalized welcome letter and itinerary, fresh fruit and snacks, and flowers in every room, we quickly popped that bottle and started to celebrate. ($$$$)
Le Saint Géran has a wide variety of accommodations including:
Room Images Provided by One&Only
Food & Drink: This was one of the absolute standout areas of One&Only Le Saint Géran. With 4 restaurants to choose from, an extensive room service menu, and a cocktail and wine list that rivals that of the world’s best restaurants, we ate and drank like kings (or queens) for seven days!
Prime: Steakhouse restaurant with an amazing wine selection and a dirty martini which nearly passed our stringent taste test and US standards.
Tapasake: Asian-fusion restaurant perched above a pier on the property’s lagoon and our favorite food of the trip. Its spicy salmon and tuna sushi rolls, seared miso-glazed cod, and yellowtail hamachi with crispy rice were standout dishes.
Le Terrasse: The resort’s main restaurant with an extensive buffet served for breakfast and dinner with a limited ala carte lunch menu. We’re not ones to write home about breakfast, but the spread here was very impressive–from almost every kind of fresh fruit and juice you could imagine, a champagne bar (yes, we definitely took advantage of this), and full stations of different global cuisine that resembled lunch more than breakfast (think: charcuterie, fried rice and pad thai, curries, and pizzas or calzones.) They also have an entire pastry and dessert room called L’Artisan which served fresh croissants, crepes, waffles, donuts, along with some delicious gluten-free or vegan alternatives (power-balls, açai bowls, and fiber bars) and ginger fire-ball and green shots.
Le Point: We really enjoyed the chill vibe at this lunch-only spot. Situated at the edge of the property where the lagoon meets the ocean, it offered great wrap-around views and an always-on breeze. The rock shrimp tempura dish was a standout–we pretty much ate that every day and it was as delicious as the one made famous at Nobu.
A day of rain resulted in one of our favorite experiences of the trip when the hotel kindly offered us a cooking demonstration with their Head Chef from Le Point, Rajiv. Rajiv showed us how to make a delicious hearts-of-palm and prawn salad as well as a traditional Mauritian chicken curry. We sampled and learned about the local ingredients and flavors while helping to assemble our finished lunch dishes. If you’re staying at One&Only Le Saint Géran, ask them to arrange this for you!
Another cool experience that we would highly recommend is having breakfast on the resort’s private boat while cruising around the lagoon. The staff arranged this for us on our first morning as a celebratory breakfast for our arrival. Breakfast came complete with fresh pastries, fruit, smoked marlin (a local delicacy), coffee, juice, and champagne. This felt very special, private, and was a great way to take in the hotel views from out on the water.
Service: We were once again blown away by the service that One&Only provides across the board. From the personalized welcome experience to the fact that everyone knew our names on day one–they really made us feel like we were the only ones at the hotel despite the fact that there are 143 rooms!
While everyone was great, we wanted to highlight some team members who made an extra special impact:
Luchtmee - Breakfast Restaurant Manager
Kiran – Private driver and best off-property tour guide
Alain – Beach Manager
Rajiv – Head Chef at Le Point
Vinod – Pool Bartender and funny guy at Le Point
Alex Gregory Peak – Marketing Consultant and Concierge Extraordinaire. Seriously, if you’re planning a trip to Mauritius or Le Saint Géran, reach out to her for assistance and consultation.
Amenities: Le Saint Géran has all the five-star amenities you’d expect from a luxury property of this kind, and then some.
The boat house provides every type of water sport and activity you’d want from a beach holiday, with complimentary boat trips out to the reef for snorkeling twice daily.
Given the whole “eating like kings” thing mentioned above, we made sure to take advantage of the property’s fitness facilities, which included an Equinox-rivaling gym, yoga studio, outdoor jungle gym/boxing room, and tennis courts. The gym also offered daily “elixirs” such as fresh watermelon juice, ginger cayenne shots, celery juice, and hibiscus tea.
The spa was also top notch, with their signature deep tissue massage pushing us over the edge of relaxation more than once during our trip. With complimentary steam rooms, saunas, and perhaps the most beautiful sunset-facing spa pool we’ve ever seen, we made sure to allocate an hour or two to this every single day.
SPA - IMAGE Provided by One&Only
THE REAL TALK
Where the hell is Mauritius? Probably the question we got most often when telling our friends about our upcoming trip! Located 700 miles off the east coast of Madagascar, this independent island nation is truly in a world of its own and a small spec on the vast Indian Ocean map.
How was the trip to get there? Not for the faint of heart. At more than 30 hours door to door (JFK > AMS > DBX > MRU for us), it’s no wonder why Americans don’t make the trek very often! There are direct fights to Mauritius through Johannesburg, Dubai, Paris, and London, and you CAN fly with only one stop from NYC, but no matter how you slice it, you’re in for a long haul. With the Caribbean Islands, and even Hawaii, more easily accessible to Americans, we would recommend adding Mauritius as a 3 to 4-night extension to any South African or Safari itinerary.
What were some of the hotel’s stand outs? The room and food were incredible, but it was some of the little touches that made Le Saint Géran stand out from the rest.
Everyone knew our names from the moment we arrived
Beach attendants would come over and clean your sunglasses and hand out fresh fruit popsicles every afternoon around lunch time
The chic O&O merch they gave each guest, the hats and bag were our favorites
The full-sized bars of soap in the shower (sounds silly, but we hate those little guys)
The welcome and check-in experience was perfection – we were picked up in a chilly air conditioned WiFi-enabled Range Rover from the airport, had welcome drinks awaiting for us upon arrival at the property, and had a personal greeting from the Director of Sales & Marketing
What kind of trip is it ideal for? Ideal for those seeking total disconnection, calming rejuvenation, and on property culinary indulgences.
What did you do there? Lounged by the beach and pool, read books, ate (really) well (and very often), and explored the islands beaches and waterfalls.
Is the wine affordable? We were pleasantly surprised to see a variety of price points on the menu, and while cocktails added up quickly, the wine was not outrageous–or maybe we just didn’t process the Mauritian Rupee-to-USD conversion properly. Cheers!
What was the best thing you drank? All the mojitos were delicious– they use fresh mint from their garden. Being heavily French influenced, the flowing champagne wasn’t bad either.
What was the best thing you ate? Rock shrimp tempura at Le Point!
Who else was staying there? Europeans, Russian families, honeymooners, and no Americans in sight. We enjoyed hearing that we were some of the very few Americans who ever make it to Mauritius.
What was the overall vibe at the hotel? Tranquil and exotic with hints of luxury at every turn.
What’s one thing you would change about the hotel? The pace of the beach service was slow and probably the only area that could be improved.
How was the surrounding area? We didn’t make it to Port Louis, the island’s capital, but there you can experience some local markets and culinary adventures. There are also endless hikes, sights, and monuments to check out, ranging from 20-minutes to 2 hours distance from the hotel. One thing to note is that the roads in Mauritius are not conducive to speedy drives so even a short distance on the map, can take longer than expected.
If you could compare Mauritius to another island, what would it be? It reminded us of Hawaii with its dramatic landscapes, beautiful beaches, various waterfalls, tropical fruits, snorkeling and reefs, and coastlines dotted with luxury hotels.
What are some activities not to be missed? Swimming with dolphins with Vitamin-Sea, hiking Le Mourne Brabant to see the island’s iconic underground waterfall, doing a day trip to Ilê Aux Cerfs, and snorkeling the island’s world-class reefs.
THE RUNDOWN
From 1 to 10, here is how we felt about each aspect of our experience.
Rooms: 9
Location: 7
Scene & Crowd: 8
Arrival Experience: 10
Value: 8
Food: 9
Drinks: 9
Service: 10
Amenities: 10
WOW Factor: 9
Recommendability: 9
Contact Us with any questions as you start planning your Mauritius & One&Only Le Saint Géran getaway.