Mauritius lies on the east coast of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. It is an island nation that is part of the Mascareignes islands. It’s a very popular holiday destination due to its beautiful beaches, clear blue water, beach resorts and wide variety of water sports. It’s also a great destination for nature lovers and hikers, with its mountain vistas, peaks, forests and many waterfalls to hike to.
Hinduism is the most practiced religion in Mauritius and we were lucky to be visiting over Diwali so we got to join in the celebrations. Every room received a little box of Indian sweets and there was a special buffet with a show in the evening.
We spent nine nights at the Four Seasons Mauritius Resort at Anahita, which is situated in Beau Champ on the east side of the island. It’s also just a short boat ride to the stunning island of Ile aux cerfs where the resort has a private beach.
Over the years we have stayed at many Four Seasons resorts and hotels, including Kuda Huraa in the Maldives, Four Seasons Resort Seychelles and the private island resort of Desroches, Four Seasons Mumbai and Downtown New York. It’s safe to say it’s a brand we know we can count on to provide a luxury holiday experience.
The resort
Four Seasons Mauritius Resort at Anahita is around a 50 minute drive from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. It’s in a gated community with neighbouring Anahita Golf and Spa resort, as well as a number of private properties located around the various golf courses. If you’re a golf enthusiast, it’s free to play if you’re a hotel guest but probably more importantly, the course was designed by South African golf champion (and legend) Ernie Els.
There are six different types of guest rooms, 10 residence villas and a presidential suite to choose from. We stayed in one of the recently renovated Beach Pool Villas.
As the resort is fairly large – it’s divided in two by the lagoon – guests are offered bicycles for the duration of their stay. Where our villa was situated though meant that we never needed to use our bikes to get to restaurants as they were all within a couple of minutes walking distance. But we loved being able to cycle and often went for a ride outside the resort to the next resort and back – this took around 30 minutes so a decent ride.
Given how big the resort is, it’s surprising that there is only one swimming pool. Well, technically it’s two however they are right next to each other.
Everyone has their own private pool at their villa, and there’s beaches, so perhaps it wasn’t deemed a necessity. It is a lovely pool though!
Actually the gym also has a pool but it’s to swim lengths in and not one you’d necessarily lounge around. The gym has both indoor and outdoor equipment and you can hire a personal trainer if you wish to. Tennis courts are situated next to the gym if tennis is your thing!
The spa
The resort has an award-winning spa, which has over-water treatment rooms. We treated ourselves to a couples massage one evening but I stupidly didn’t take a photo of the view beforehand and by the time the massage was over it was dark! I did take a photo of the outdoor relaxation area though. The spa also runs free morning yoga classes.
Free water sports
The resort lies on the edge of a lagoon and has beaches on two sides. When the tide is low, it’s not the best place to swim however they have a private beach at Ile aux cerfs, which is much better for swimming.
What the lagoon is great for is water sports! There are lots water sports included, such as kayaking, paddle boarding, water-skiing and more. We tried our hand at stand up paddle boarding a few times and let’s just say I was a pro. My husband… not so much. It’s all about that core strength – all those years of ice-skating paid off!
Ile aux cerfs
Ile aux cerfs is a popular, public island about 15 to 20 mins away by boat. The Four Seasons has a private beach there with a bar and restaurant which is for guests only. There is a free boat service to and from the island every 45 minutes. As the sun goes down fairly early, and the tide goes out, the last boat back is at 4:15pm.
What the resort doesn’t tell you is that there is life beyond their private beach! It was only after chatting to some fellow guests on the boat back one day that we discovered that if you walk around the island there’s an awesome lagoon, a bar and restaurant (belonging to another hotel, but is open to the public), a little market selling arts, crafts and souvenirs and also you can do a number of water sports, such as paragliding and take an excursion to see a nearby waterfall.
Just a note as we didn’t know until another guest told us – the resort doesn’t take you to the private beach at Ile aux cerfs on Sundays as that’s the day their bar and restaurant staff have off.
It’s a very pretty island and well worth visiting! There is also a golf course on the island, designed by Bernhard Langer, which is free for guests.
The villa
Every villa we’ve ever stayed in at a Four Seasons has been stunning and Mauritius was no exception. Our villa was situated near Bambou restaurant and had direct access to the beach. It wasn’t the most private we’ve had as anyone walking on the beach could see straight into our garden but this didn’t bother us at all.
The rooms went through a design refresh in 2020, emulating the Resort’s acclaimed Sanctuary Collection by Virginie Dalais. The villa is bright and airy with soft palettes contrasted against dark wood.
As always, the bed was super comfy and the linen and bedding was luxurious.
The large bathroom consisted of a bath, indoor shower and an outdoor shower. I loved how you could slide the mirror across to see into the bedroom – as well as a view of the beach. And there were two sinks – which I always love as I don’t have to fight over the sink when brushing my teeth!
There is a generous walk-in closet, with ample space for luggage, with a door so that you can close it off. I particularly loved that there was an iron and ironing board in the closet so there was no need to ask housekeeping for one when I needed to iron a dress.
I always love little touches that make a difference when staying at a hotel. We had a welcome bottle of wine on ice when we arrived as well as a handwritten note from the resort manager. The wine is actually from Takamaka boutique winery in Mauritius! I honestly had no idea that Mauritius produced any wine so that was a lovely surprise.
The restaurants
There are five restaurants at the resort as well as in-villa, poolside, beachside dining and private dining options. Bambou is the main restaurant, specialising in Mediterranean and Mauritian cuisine, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s also where their themed nights take place. The breakfast buffet was back, which made us very happy!
For lunch you can also order poolside or at your beach lounger from a limited menu. The only other restaurant open for lunch is La Plaz Beach Grill, which is located on the private beach at Ile aux cerfs – and reservations are highly recommended. We ate at La Plaz a number of times as the food was delicious and the view was stunning.
There is also a beach bar at La Plaz, which has swings as seats! They made a great Pina Colada.
The three restaurants that are only open for dinner are Aquapazza, serving Italian food, Beau Champ, serving French cuisine and Umi Zaki which serves seafood-inspired Asian food. Our favourites were Aquapazza and Beau Champ.
There is only one bar (apart from the bar inside Aquapazza), which serves pre-dinner drinks and after-dinner drinks. BluBar overlooks the lagoon and Aquapazza, and has tiered seating. At the time we visited it was quite new as the bar used to be where Umi Zaki is now. They were still waiting on their lighting so it was very dark after sunset, if you chose to sit outside so we found that the best time to go was around 6pm. On certain nights they have live music, which was lovely.
I was delighted that the resort stocked South African Pongracz Rosé as it’s one of my favourite wines. And yes, we drank it every day!
The verdict
The Four Seasons Resort in Anahita is a lovely resort with beautiful villas, a great choice of restaurants, a stunning private beach and friendly staff. It wasn’t perfect though. We experienced a few issues, such as a fair amount of confusion over which restaurants were not included in half board and lack of communication over things like the private beach being closed on Sundays. Because of Covid, the resort had actually been closed for 18 months and had only opened one month before our stay so these may just be teething issues whilst staff adjust.
We loved our stay and had total relaxation – which is exactly what you want from a holiday!
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