LUX* Le Morne

Review of LUX* Le Morne

BusinessClass.com review by Varun Sharma
Updated 25. Jan 2023

On the tip of Mauritius’ western coastline, lies the chic boutique resort of Lux* Le Morne. It enjoys a dramatic setting on a white sandy palm-fringed beach sheltered by the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Le Morne Peak from whence it takes its name. Offering a quiet haven of landscaped gardens, this beachfront resort offers arguably the best sunset viewing and kite surfing on the island with 149 contemporary-styled, pared back rooms and suites, all with balconies or terraces and a wide selection of restaurants and bars. These include the main restaurant, The Kitchen for all day dining; the tiny Vik’s Fisherman’s Shack for a taste of the sea … and rum; East, a gastronomic Thai restaurant; The Beach Restaurant for al fresco dining in the sand; Maison Lux* café and bar for snacks and goodies in a Milanese inspired café; The Bar for a drink or two until midnight and the Ilot & Oasis Bars for beach service until sunset. To quench thirsts, there is also ICI, an ice cream parlour for a range of gelato, sorbets, and ice creams of every flavour.

For a spot of pampering, head to the Lux* ME Spa with its eight single and double treatment rooms plus a couple’s outdoor treatment kiosk; a Hammam; sauna; Jacuzzi; Infinity pool; nail bar and beauty salon with hairdressing facilities. For keeping fit whilst away, there is a fully equipped fitness centre; no less than five resort swimming pools; a range of complimentary water sports; and land games such as tennis, beach volleyball, table tennis and bocce ball. The resort can also arrange customised activities such as hiking, mountain biking, golf nearby, scuba diving or big game fishing. Junior travellers are welcomed here with Play, a children’s club for three- to eleven-year-olds with a dedicated arts & crafts space, a library, Toddlers’ space, a mini kitchen and a Kids’ Garden. 

There is even a tree house for a private room with a view, situated in an Indian Almond tree by the shoreline, with baskets of goodies to enjoy on call - perfect for the kid in all of us.

More hotel reviews

Location

10/10

On the naturally wilder western coast of the island, Lux* Le Morne overlooks an endless stretch of golden sandy beach facing the crystal-clear waters of a beautiful lagoon where dolphins are known to frolic offshore. The area is one of the best spots on the island to learn the basics of kite-flying with the world-renowned kite hot spot of One Eye close by. According to experts, it is one of the world’s fastest and cleanest windsurf waves in the midst of the Indian Ocean. 

The forests of Black River Gorges National Park are around 12 kilometres away, perfect for cycling expeditions whilst many visitors choose to hike Le Morne Brabant’s summit and others might head to Chamarel Falls and the Chamarel Viewpoint. Le Morne is 1824-foot high – 565 metres – and takes around 90 minutes to climb … or a 45-minute drive (!) 

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is around 56 kilometres distance, a transfer time of around an hour and a quarter on a good day.

Accommodation

8/10

Jean Marc Tang’s monochromatic interior design lends a clean-lined, minimalist look to the accommodation with its pared back approach and neutral tones contrasting with the intense greens of the surrounding tropical vegetation and the blues of the majestic ocean. Designed to be meditative and escapist, nothing is out of place with crisp linens, white shutters and woven mats lying over wooden floors – the contrast in textures and the custom furnishings giving interest to the designer rooms. 

There are 149 air-conditioned rooms and suites, all with furnished balconies or terraces, dressing rooms and bathrooms offering both a tub and a shower, with the entry level superior rooms situated on the ground or first floor, offering around 42 square metres of living space. Room amenities include a fully stocked, customisable Tropical Bar rather than a mini bar which is a happy surprise, tea and coffee making facilities, 1.4 metre LED interactive televisions, luxury linens with LUX* signature bath toiletries.

Upgrading accommodation means enjoying one of four types of junior suite starting at 46 square metres of living space with one showcasing that westerly Sunset view, another focussing on the deep sapphire blue ocean (57 square metres) and the prestige (63 square metres) the largest as the name might suggest, offering an outdoor tropical shower made of volcanic stone.

Service & Facilities

9/10

Alongside the beautiful, serviced beach and the five main pools situated throughout the landscaped gardens, LUX* Le Morne offers tailor made experiences to enhance their stay such as a pop-up cinema night, big game fishing, hikes up Le Morne mountain, swimming with dolphins, horse riding along the beach or a culinary masterclass. This is also one of the best places to learn kitesurfing with the renowned “One Eye” close by. The kitesurfing school offers lessons and equipment for all levels alongside windsurfing or wakeboarding. 

Water sports abound with everything from stand-up paddle boarding to kayaking, windsurfing to snorkelling and dinghy sailing. The resort also has its own tennis courts as well as beach volleyball, bocce ball and table tennis. Nearby, there is golfing and mountain biking too. 

For rejuvenation and relaxation, enter the serene environment of LUX* Me Spa where the four double, the couple’s outdoor treatment kiosk and four individual treatment rooms lie waiting with a wide range of treatments, therapies and massages. They have even made best use of the glut of coconuts on the resort with a special coconut body ritual. Whilst there, enjoy the Hammam, sauna, Jacuzzi or the relaxation garden with its outdoor pool whilst for finishing touches, there is a beauty salon with hairdressing facilities and a nail bar. Personal coaching, yoga and meditation classes are also on offer and for keeping fit whilst away, there is a fully equipped fitness centre. 

Junior travellers are warmly welcomed here with Play, a children’s club for three- to eleven-year-olds with a dedicated arts & crafts space, a library, Toddlers’ space, a mini kitchen and a Kids’ Garden. The LUX* Me Spa also offers spa treatments for little ones up to their teens as it is never too early to enjoy a relaxing spa treatment. 

There is even a tree house for a private room with a view, situated in an Indian Almond tree by the shoreline, with baskets of goodies to enjoy on call – there is no ladder – you enter via a pully system so if you are up there first, enjoying a private Robinson Crusoe moment, no-one else will disturb your peace. 

Style

9/10

Lux* Le Morne is marketed as a mindful, luxury resort with its serenity not in doubt as the beauty of the sunset disappears over the horizon. This is luxury but of a curated fashion, with guests able to enjoy unique and customised experiences to enhance their stay, devised by a dedicated team of wonderful staff. 

It goes further with the mindful experience however by placing a good deal of emphasis on eco-tourism and sustainability with zero food waste initiatives as well as suggesting guests leave any unwanted clothes behind to be donated to those who need them most. 

Chefs enjoy the fruits of the resort’s gardens with their menus and cocktails may even be showcasing the odd herb or two either as an ingredient or as an embellishment with their Keen on Green menus showing the innovative direction of menu development for the future. 

So with a pared back, elegantly contemporary design created by Jean-Marc Tang, it will come as no surprise that this property is one of the more photo-friendly properties in the region as well as one of the most popular laid back luxury properties in the Indian Ocean.

Restaurants & Bars

8/10

For an intimate resort, there is a surprisingly wide selection of restaurants and bars to tempt that palate. The all-day dining The Beach, as the name might suggest, is just that – a barefoot, al fresco environment of Mediterranean flavours with pizzas, grilled dishes, salads, burgers, and more morphing into more sophisticated choices such as pastas, fish and meat dishes in the evenings. 

The resort’s main all-day dining restaurant is The Kitchen which faces the lagoon and pool for both indoor and outdoor dining with a wide-ranging menu which crosses continents and cuisines. For gastronomic Thai cuisine, head to the thatched roof pavilion of East where to custom design your own dish after a discussion with the waiter as there is no menu – a chef’s table for all in effect. 

For snacks and more, head to Maison LUX* Café & Bar for a smart Milanese take on café culture for macchiatos, Aperol Spritz, pastries and more. Come the witching hour, the daytime baristas turn into night-time bartenders serving, prosecco, the perfect negroni or a classic martini. Alternatively, the sophisticated Terrace & The Bar is a light-filled space that opens out onto the pool and Le Morne lagoon. With vaulted ceilings, lush green plants and a neutral colour palette enlivened with mustard coloured seating, this is the perfect tropical place to sip a glass or two of your favourite tipple. To quench thirsts, there is also ICI, an ice cream parlour for a range of gelato, sorbets, and ice creams of every flavour. 

All of the menus feature a Keen on Green option where the chefs have sourced locally grown ingredients for a plant-based option, suitable for vegans and vegetarians. 

For something a little different, head down the beach to Vik’s where his friendly face and love of the sea will introduce you to local rums or even a sea urchin in his tiny fisherman’s shack on the shoreline. 

Meal plans are available.

Sustainability

Sustainability and eco-tourism important to Lux* properties and this resort was a pioneer of the Zero Food Waste movement and a member of the IT MUST BE NOW community. They operate a Keen on Green concept in all their restaurants offering local, vegan, raw and vegetarian options and are part of Travel Light & Donate, offering unwanted items left behind by guests to local NGOs. 

With water a precious commodity, the resort has an in-house bottling plant to refill glass water bottles (they operate a no single use plastic policy on site), a desalination plant to water the gardens and have fitted water-saving devices on their taps and shower heads for water efficiency.

What We Love

  • Resort – of the three main LUX* properties in Mauritius, Le Morne is the most intimate. Somehow with the mountain behind you, and the deep blue sea in front, you are filled with that feeling of peace, calm and love. The genuine, warm and cheery service is a huge boon.
  • Le Morne Brabant Mountain - it’s there to climb … so climb it! There is just so much to see & do in the resort but the shadow cast by Le Morne is long! The resort can even “help” you with the climb. It’s around 7 kilometres in total – around 3.5 hours of walking - but the views from atop are stunning. Just imagine if you could enjoy a meal at the peak? Cue – LUX* Le Morne …
  • Details – from the s’mores on the beach, to the coffee selection in the main lounge – this property gets all the little things right. Impressive treats – the pina coladas – virgin or alcohol-infused – and Vik’s – who bathes you in human kindness, rum, and prepared sea urchin!

    Varun Sharma
    Editor-In-Chief
    BusinessClass.com

What They Love

  • Le Morne Brabant Mountain: Our resort is located at the foot of Le Morne, a majestic basalt stone mountain, which has a storied past. So much so that in fact it is a UNESCO heritage site. It forms a big part of our identity, and you can sense it wherever you are on our resort grounds. It's a beauty!
  • Golden hour: As you can imagine, sunset hour is as romantic as it gets at LUX* Le Morne. The sky is an explosion of pinks, oranges, and reds. On some days, the sky remains reddish for several hours. It's impressive! Some people prefer to sit on the beach and watch the show while others go for swims in the lagoon which is orange from the reflection. It's special. 
  • People: We are lucky to have a team of people who are naturally very welcoming and caring. Our guests can feel the contagious enthusiasm and happiness. It’s wonderful, but no surprise really…Mauritians are famous for their kindness and for helping out visitors! 

    Jeremie de Fombelle
    Regional General Manager
    LUX* Resorts & Hotels - Mauritius & Ile de la Reunion

BusinessClass.com helps you find the best offers on any hotel by comparing the prices of all leading hotel suppliers in a single search.

More hotel reviews