Review of LUX* Grand Gaube

The LUX* Grand Gaube offers one of the best locations in northern Mauritius. Nestled within lush tropical gardens awash with bougainvillea, coconut and banyan trees, the resort sits on three golden sandy bays, overlooking the Coin de Mire Island.  

Nearby, there is the Château Labourdonnais museum created from a colonial home dating back to the 1800s whilst Grand Baie and Cape Malheureux are both around a ten-minute drive away with Port Louis, the capital, around a 30-kilometre journey away.

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is around a 75-kilometre distance, a transfer time dependent on traffic of between 60 – 90 minutes. For those who want to arrive sooner, helicopter transfers can be arranged.

Featuring 186 sea-facing rooms suites and villas, British interior designer legend Kelly Hoppen has put her inimitable stamp on the look of the LUX* Grand Gaube with a beach chic style throughout the nine different room categories. Wooden floors, bright white luxury linens on Sleep Tight beds complemented with strong navy and mustard tones, white shutters leading out to that priceless Mauritian beach view with objets d’art adding levels of texture, give a more residential feel to the property, making you feel you are holidaying in someone’s swish beachfront mansion. Surrounded by tropical gardens, the lead in superior rooms (51 square metres in size) are long and sleek with both an indoor and outdoor seating area on either terraces or balconies. Moving on up, there are four junior suites – Junior, Ocean Junior, Wellness Junior and Prestige Junior. The Wellness Junior Suite – one of which features a four-poster king bed – enjoys retro-styled bathrooms; yoga mats and exercise cards; consultations with the Wellness Concierge and two Rejuvenation spa treatments as well as access to many of the sports and wellness areas and activities on site. The Ocean Junior meanwhile enjoys a furnished glass enclosed terrace/balcony overlooking the beach with a large standalone bathtub enjoying the best views, designed for couples. The two Prestige Junior Suites have a 25 square metre terrace covered with a thatched roof with a dining table, sun loungers, an outdoor bathtub as well as a Jacuzzi, set around a sheltered bay on the adults only part of the estate. 

The four premium categories include the LUX* suite with more space to move around; the Family Suite designed for little ones to spread out and enjoy; the LUX* Villa with around 300 square metres of living space and the peaceful enclave of the Ocean Villa. Looking at the latter two types which are set away from the rest of the resort, the LUX* Villa enjoys the privacy of its own private and sheltered beach with a large deck with loungers, dining area, its own swimming pool and 24/7 butler service. The retro bathroom has a curved walk-in shower, its large standalone tub enjoying its own space with shutters opening out onto leafy foliage and the sea view. There is a circular indoor dining room with soaring rafters right up to the ceiling and several multi-level spaces giving an apartment feel to the accommodation. The thatched two-bedroom Ocean villas enjoy a similar vibe and also have their own swimming pools and private outdoor landscaped gardens with round the clock butler service.

There is much to do and see here at the resort including enjoying the lush landscaped tropical gardens which surround the resort with its two serviced beaches and calm lagoon, perfect for marine adventures. Talking of which, there is everything from water skiing, windsurfing and wakeboarding, to kayaking, swimming with dolphins and diving. For those who like to fish, experience traditional Mauritian fishing with experienced fishermen. On land, enjoy tennis in the sun at the Tennis Academy with its four floodlit tennis courts and one padel court with tuition available on request; horse ride along the beach; play beach volleyball; go to battle on the croquet lawn; enjoy some bocci ball or simply take to the skies with a seaplane or helicopter flight to see the region from above. 

For those who like to while away the hours relaxing, the resort’s two main swimming pools are a lure for all with one heated during the winter months and the other reserved just for adults. Even golfers will be happy here with an on-site driving range and a partnership with the nearby Mont Choisy 18-hole championship golf course with guests staying at the prestige Junior Suite and above enjoying unlimited green fees. 

When it comes to wellness and fitness, the resort has it covered with a fully equipped TechnoGym fitness centre and a dedicated space for meditation, yoga, Tai Chi and stretching classes devised with the team from Healthy Minds. Enjoy a guided session around the Mindfulness Maze, a cardio bootcamp circuit or if you prefer to exercise en plein air, head to the Vitality Parcours for group and individual training sessions under the Filaos trees. 

For pampering and rejuvenation for body and soul, enjoy the calming sanctuary of the LUX* ME Spa with its 12 treatment rooms offering a wide range of bespoke treatments including those from Shirley Page who has created the range of luxury LUX* Me Aromatherapy Oils or even a sound bath therapy. The spa includes three pools set at varying temperatures, a steam room and sauna plus serene indoor and outdoor relaxation spaces to feel at one with the world. Treatments can also be enjoyed in-room, if desired. For that vital finishing touch for a new you, there are dedicated beauty salons for both men and women with even a LUX* Me barber service for him and a mani-pedi for all. 

Families are welcome here too with Play, a daily club for little ones aged from three to eleven years of age, a teen programme for teenagers aged from twelve to seventeen and even spa treats too with special age-appropriate treatments. Other activities include cycling, family golf or even stargazing with the resort’s resident astrologer. 

Other loves include the indoor cinema – a proper picture house with popcorn – where you can enjoy children’s films right up to Hollywood tearjerkers … and a “British” red phone box from where you can “phone home” (like E.T.) for free!

Just like its sister Mauritian LUX* properties, the LUX* Grand Gaube is styled around feel-good, feet in the sand carefree luxury. It is unstuffy beach chic living with a beautiful simplistic interior design cleverly conjured up by Ms Kelly Hoppen, one of the UK's most interesting designers. It’s three bays offer sheltered waters with a raft of facilities to enjoy with the accommodation spread out to allow everyone their privacy: the premium accommodation hidden away from the rest to allow that extra piece of exclusivity. 

The wide range of cuisines will ensure that everyone will find something to satisfy their palate whilst the water sports, wellness and fitness areas will ensure that there is something to do every day. Or if you would prefer, just order room service and relax looking out over the sea, the ultimate in relaxed holiday making where you can switch off and just be. Add to this, a sustainable ethos at all their properties, Lux Resorts are a serious player in the sophisticated, luxury resort market.

Tour around the world with the range of bars and restaurants available on site at the resort. The signature restaurant is INTI, an interesting fusion of Peruvian and Argentinian cuisines, melded together to offer a wide selection of fresh fish, tapas, ceviche and grilled meats – the first Peruvian restaurant on the island. Looking out over the ocean, there is seating inside and outside on the wide seafront terrace.  Bodrum Blue, by contrast, offers a Turkish feast on the ocean, with mezze, baklava, grilled octopus, raki and more. Beach Rouge is part beach club and part restaurant, with Mediterranean cuisine and rose by day with pastas, salads and seafood whilst, when the sun goes down, there is cocktails, dancing and dinner with calamari, pastas, seafood platters, catch of the day and even beef tenderloin medallions. 

For a whole host of cuisines under one roof head to The Palm Court Restaurant & Bar with different stations serving an enticing mix of cuisines from Asia, Italy, Japan and more with rattan furnishings, comfortable armchairs and banquette seating overlooking the ocean. There are pizzas and pastas, Teppanyaki and rotisserie-style delights. It is also the place to come to for cocktails as the sun goes under the yardarm. 

For barista style ethically sourced coffees, pastries and light bites, there is the Café LUX* whilst under the shade of a centuries-old Banyan tree, try some pop-up dining with the Creole Smokehouse with curries, grilled fish and meats. Climb up to the Rum Treehouse for a wide menu of around 88 types of rum or hunker down for a gourmet burger (meat or plant based) or hot dog at BB’s Hamburgers, adjacent to the Creole Smokehouse. If all else fails to tempt you, enjoy one of over 100 types of gin at the G&T 100 Club whilst looking out over the ocean.

Responsible tourism is writ large within LUX* Resorts brand DNA who have aligned themselves voluntarily with initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to the United Nations Global Compact with its four pillars of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption. They also work with Ray of Light to help the marginalised and Tread Lightly, their signature environmental project which focusses on renewable energy, biodiversity and conservation. They have initiated a pilot Solar PV project in Mauritius at Ile Des Deux Cocos, contributing towards diesel use reduction and emissions. The Lux* Grand Gaube has also been recognised with the 5 Earth rating by Earthcheck Sustainability Certification in 2019/2020. 

Lux* Grand Gaube is also home to 240,000 bees who live in eight hives at the property. To raise awareness of the plight of this important pollinator, the resort offers a Hug Me Honey experience as well as using the resulting honey at the resort.