The Oberoi Mauritius

Review of The Oberoi Mauritius

BusinessClass.com review by Varun Sharma

The Oberoi Beach Resort Mauritius can be found in one of the most popular luxury travel destinations in the world. This Indian Ocean paradise features 71 guestrooms in either pavilions or villas, three restaurants, a unique al-fresco dining experience, a bar, two swimming pools, spa & fitness centre, floodlit tennis courts and a bijou boutique. Opening out onto a white sand beach that stretches 600 metres, the Oberoi offers a plethora of water sports including snorkelling, PADI-accredited Scuba diving, windsurfing, and sailing.

Part of the Mascarene Islands, Mauritius is volcanic in origin and is surrounded by coral reefs making it popular for social divers and snorkellers alike. Since the 15th century, the island has had many inhabitants including the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British. You will still find these international influences in the country’s cuisine, language, and architecture. The island is one of the most diverse in the Indian Ocean with many languages spoken and cultures embraced. 

Tourism is a huge contributor to the Mauritian economy and all the major luxury hotel brands are represented here. The Oberoi Beach Resort is arguably the finest property on the island.

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Location

10/10

Mauritius is part of the continent of Africa, is located around 1,120 kilometres (700 miles) east of Madagascar and around 1,900 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the African mainland. The main island is just 45 kilometres (28 miles) wide and 65 kilometres in length (40 miles) in length.

The Oberoi Beach Resort Mauritius can be found on the north west edge of the island in the district of Balaclava. It overlooks The Turtle Bay – one of the most beautiful on the island – complete with its azure water and soft-sand beaches. It is just a 10-minute drive to the capital Port Louis. 

The resort is 55 kilometres (34 miles) from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport - a journey of around 50 minutes.

Accommodation

9/10

Most of the guestrooms in the Oberoi Beach Resort Mauritius are in the “luxury pavilion” category. These thatched pavilions offer guests intimacy in comfortable and comforting surroundings. The bathrooms offer deep sunken bathtubs, and every pavilion enjoys views over the resort’s gardens and the Indian Ocean.

The luxury villas come with either a private garden or with a private garden & swimming pool. 

There are two special suites – the Presidential – that features two pavilions (that can sleep two persons in each), a private garden, private swimming pool … and those incredible views.

The Royal Villas offers an enormous private garden, swimming pool and while it only offers one main bedroom, guests can book two adjoining luxury pavilions for family, friends or indeed, staff. 

Room sizes start at 70 square metres for a luxury pavilion (398 square feet) and increase to 325 square metres (3305 square feet) for the Presidential and Royal Suites. 

Service & Facilities

10/10

The people of Mauritius are genuine, friendly, and gracious. This feeds down to the service enjoyed by all the hotels and resorts on the island. Guests can expect warm smiles and efficiency. In-room check-in takes the formality out of your arrival. 

Among the numerous facilities on offer, the glass bottom boat is a wonderful way of seeing the lagoon and its inhabitants without getting into the water. Those who are more adventurous can take out the resort’s Hobie Cats, paddle boats, or kayaks. 

Of the two swimming pools available to all guests, one is for adults only. 

The Oberoi Spa & Fitness Centre is only open to resort guests. It offers holistic healing, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Guests can enjoy exfoliations, manicures, pedicures, massages - all administered in peaceful spa cabins. 

The Fitness Centre offers workout machines but with a delightful beach to jog and warm lagoon to swim, there are less clinical ways of keeping fit. The resort offers tai-chi sessions.

While most visitors to the Resort opt not to leave the confines of this island paradise, Mauritius offers some wonderful places to visit and explore. For the sports enthusiasts, there are several golf courses on the island catering for beginners right up to tour professionals. There has been horse racing on the island at the Champs de Mars since 1812. The horse club is the second oldest in the world and oldest in the southern hemisphere.

A trip to Port Louis for shopping and sightseeing is a must. A trip to the local museum enlightens you to the “dodo” the now extinct bird (1681) that is universally linked to Mauritius. Also attending a “sega” party is great fun – sega being the 18th century national dance of the island – colourful and rather sensuous. 

Not too far from the resort, are the Grand Bassin – a Hindu temple site dedicated to the “monkey god” Hunaman, Chamarel – where seven different naturally occurring colours of soil can be seen, the Black River Gorges National Park – home to the island’s main rainforest and the Pamplemousses Garden – the oldest in the southern hemisphere – which features giant water lilies.

Style

8/10

The resort is set in 20 acres of stunning, verdant, and lush sub-tropical gardens. Being so close to the Tropic of Capricorn, the island enjoys a tropical climate – ideal for guests and the landscape. The imposing green mountains that sit behind the resort protect it from harsh winds and rains and the beach in front it offers fabulous vistas of the Indian Ocean.

The island enjoys so many cultures, so many flavours and so many tastes – both in cuisine and architecture. The hotel takes inspiration from Asian and African influences. The creators have successfully integrated the pavilions and villas into the landscape without them dominating it. The thatched roofs on each of the buildings give the resort that special beach resort feel.

Restaurants & Bars

9/10

Being an intimate resort, there are only three restaurants, and one bar on offer to guests but room service and al-fresco dining options (on the beach, for instance) are also arranged. On the weekends, the resort also offers a rather innovative evening meal expereience.

The resort boasts one of the finest formal dining rooms on the island. The Gunpowder Rooms – which dates to the 18th century and really did house munitions – takes diners back to the French colonial era. The room itself features original rustic stone walls and floors. Traditional Creole cuisine and an Omakase Japanese menu is available during the week.

On The Rocks restaurant is open for lunch & dinner and is located close to the main swimming pool. Here guests can enjoy light salads, pizzas, grills, pasta, and international cuisine. 

The Restaurant offers international cuisine but specialises in authentic Mauritian cuisine and Asian dishes. It is open for breakfast and dinner. 

Finally, on Saturday and Sunday nights, The Herb Trail hosts a unique communal al-fresco setting with a fire pit and smoke house set within the resort’s herb garden. Dishes include a smoke house meat and seafood sharing platter, lamb slow cooked for the whole day in the fire pit and hand-crafted desserts – a delightful four-course meal.  

The Bar offers wines, cocktails, and spirits. Trying some of the local potent rums is a must.

Sustainability

The Oberoi Group now has an agreement with Mandarin Oriental Hotels and they both promote sustainability at all their hotels and resorts worldwide. Their initiatives include cutting down on water wastage, recycling as much waste as possible, discarding single-use plastic items, energy saving and promoting a decrease in pollution. 

What We Love

  • The main beach – complete with soft, white sand and access to the lagoon 
  • The intimacy of the resort – you feel like you are the only guests
  • The Herb Trail - a unique al-fresco dining experience

    Varun Sharma
    Editor-In-Chief
    BusinessClass.com

What They Love

  • A Garden Hideway - Many hotels in Mauritius have gardens, but only one spectacular garden harbours a hotel - The Oberoi Beach Resort. It is located on the north west coast the island and enjoys daily sunsets to complement nature's fabulous colours.
  • A Culinary Haven – The freshest and the highest quality of local and international ingredients is paramount at The Oberoi. Simple, delicious, and unsophisticated cuisine is served under thatch roofs or al fresco under the stars.
  • Our People - Our modus operandi is to deliver clever and intuitive service where guests needs are anticipated before they realise what they need themselves.

    Dhiren Pereira
    General Manager
    The Oberoi Mauritius

 

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About the author
Varun Sharma
Editor-in-Chief
With over 25 years of experience in luxury travel journalism, Varun is responsible for all the content you see on BusinessClass.com. He works closely with all the hotel and airline brands that appear on the website. BBC-trained, Varun has appeared in print, on radio, television, and now online media - having worked for outlets including the BBC, Telegraph (UK), MSNBC, Travel Channel and Cond...
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