Review: Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa, Mauritius — Laid-back Luxury at its Finest
I’m the planner in my family. Whether it’s a birthday party, family get-together, or a holiday, the planning always falls to me. I’ll admit, I generally enjoying planning a good party but nothing crushes the spirit quite like planning a family holiday. Holiday resorts are always the safest bet when you’re planning a getaway to cater to a group of people with a wide variety of interests, but after many years of travelling, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that no holiday resort ticks all the boxes.
There are resorts for foodies, resorts for sports lovers and adventurous types, and even resorts for those who love golf. Most resorts tend to pick one or two things to be very good at and then tack on a smattering of other facilities to cater to the adjacent wives, husbands, and children who are dragged along. When it comes to offering something for everyone, very few holiday resorts get it right and finding a one-stop-holiday-shop that will please the whole family is a near-impossible feat.
Luckily for long-suffering planners like me, there’s hope in incredible resorts like Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa, Mauritius. This one-stop-holiday-shop truly caters to everyone in your group and will prove to be a dream holiday for even the fussiest travellers in your group. Stretching across 1.6 kilometres of pristine coastline, they call it paradise for a reason.
A world awaits:
The large family-friendly five-star resort was the first hotel on Le Morne peninsula and boasts an incredible amount of activities to cater to a range of interests. With a wide variety of watersports and other activities, such as yoga, bike rides and horse riding, as well as a Championship golf course, Paradis has a distinctly sporty vibe. For those who prefer to stay still, there’s a full-service day spa, an Instagram-worthy sea-side swimming pool and enough sun loungers stretched across the beach to ensure you never have to stray too far a little bit of relaxation.
Spread over 400-acres, the resort is so spacious, it never feels crowded, and offers long, undisturbed beach walks. When we visited the hotel was at 90% capacity, and we never struggled to find a table at breakfast or a sun lounger to plonk down on. Foodies will adore the comprehensive ‘dine around’ experience covering four restaurants, each with its own distinct menu and theme. With different food styles that celebrate fine Italian specialities, fresh fish and seafood harvested from local waters, traditional Creole recipes and many other culinary delights, food lovers are more than catered for at Paradis.
Parents with little ones and teenagers will be pleased to know there are load of first-class activities for kids at Paradis as well, The resort has a Kids’ club with pool, open until 11pm, with crab hunting, fishing in the lagoon, mini golf, kids yoga and golf lessons. A teens programme with booking app in high season includes tennis and golf initiation, watersport lessons, go-carting and a beach BBQ.
But wait, there’s more:
As if 400 acres of resort wasn’t enough, Beachcomber takes it one step further with a 24-hour shuttle service connecting Paradis with its sister hotel, Dinarobin, across the marina. A quick 5-minute drive in the open-air shuttle opens your world up to four additional restaurants, another breathtaking pool, as well as the Dinarobin spa with steam baths and a heated swimming pool. Paradis guests are given full reign of the neighbouring resort with restaurants and activities included in their chosen package at no extra cost. While Paradis offers more than enough for guests to indulge in, having access to the neighbouring Dinarobin Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa offers guests unbeatable value for money, especially during long stays where variety is super important to avoid boredom.
If somehow, you run out of things to do at Paradis, guests also have the option of additional excursions including a catamaran trip to nearby Île aux Benitiers, swimming with dolphins, and a ride by electric bike to Bel Ombre.
Value for money at its best:
The thing that struck me most about Paradis was the exceptional value for money. You get so much bang for your buck staying at this five-star resort it almost seems too good to be true. The boyfriend and I stayed at Paradis on a half-board package which included breakfast and dinner at any of the 8-restaurants across the 2 resorts as well as watersports and land sports. We had our pick of landbased sports like tennis, football, and volleyball while in the water we could choose from activities like waterskiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, snorkelling, sailing, kayaking, stand up paddling, and trips on a glass-bottom boat. All without having to charge anything extra to our room!
Sheltered by Le Morne Brabant mountain, the Le Morne coastline boasts exceptional weather all year round. If the windier east coast isn’t your cup of tea then you can’t go wrong with a holiday at Paradis on the southwest coast. The protected azure lagoon that surrounds Paris makes the resort ideal for watersports and novice swimmers. Snorkelling at Paradis is indeed a special experience and you’ll get the opportunity to see loads of ocean critters going about their daily activities in the serene underwater world. We made sure to make time for a quick snorkel trip every day and also took advantage of the waterskiing and SUP rentals when we weren’t whiling away the hours at the pool with a Mauritian beer in hand.
But first, we feast!
We also ate like absolute kings during our stay at Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa. The morning breakfast buffet at Le Brabant offered a feast to be savoured with a spread piled high with fresh fruits, cereals, yoghurt, freshly baked bread, pancakes, pastries, eggs, bacon, and more. While many hotel breakfast buffets offer sub-par run-of-the-mill breakfast fare, at Paradis breakfast is an occasion of note with the finest eats and treats to tempt even the fussiest diners.
Dinner was an equally impressive affair and you can’t visit Paradis without making a plan to indulge in a gourmet experience at La Ravanne. Located at the far end of the resort, the open-air restaurant on the beach offers an intimate dining experience away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the resort. Guests are invited to take their seats under rustic candle-lit thatched gazebos on the sand for a magical night under the stars. Here you’ll get the chance to dig your toes into the sand and dine by moonlighting while enjoying Mauritian cuisine at its best. From curries packed with flavour to fresh seafood dishes, La Ravanne offers guests an authentic taste of Mauritius without having to leave the resort. If you’re stumped on what to order you can’t go wrong with the traditional Mauritian chicken curry (add prawns at an additional cost for a real show-stopper of a dish!).
Another highlight was our dinner at Dinarobin’s Dina’s restaurant. With a ‘bistronomy’ concept based on high-quality local and healthy ingredients, this unique eatery offers a bistro-style menu and relaxed atmosphere with a luxury twist. The food at Dina’s is wonderfully fresh and wholesome and focuses on offering dinners a flavour-packed dinner without the use of artificial colours or flavours. Set on the outdoor terrace overlooking the pool, Dina’s brings nature to you with aromatic plant beds surrounding the terrace and plenty of greenery adorning the tables. I tried the Organic Salad of just-grilled Mauritian Octopus with Ratte Potatoes and Pecorino so start with an Indian Ocean Bouillabaisse for mains. Dessert was a selection of sweet treats including individual lemon meringue pies, éclairs, rice puddings, and orange cake. While big, multi-course dinners can leave you feeling overfull and sluggish, after dinner at Dina’s I felt light and ready to enjoy a drink and a dance at the bar.
Lay your weary head to rest:
With 280 generous-sized rooms to choose from, Paradis offers a place to call home no matter your taste. The boyfriend and I stayed in a ground floor Ocean Beachfront room with floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening up onto a terrace, a double bathroom with shower and egg-shaped bath, and a walk-in closet big enough to be another room. The decor of the rooms places a large focus on light, space, and tranquillity, giving you a serene place to call home while on holiday. Set between the golf course and palm-fringed beaches, spending an evening in your room, enjoying a drink and admiring the view from your private patio is just as memorable as time spent at the many bars and restaurants on offer at Paradis.
To make life easier for families or groups travelling together, Paradis also offers free stays for children in the low season as well as interconnecting rooms and family suites to ensure everyone in your party is a skip away.
It’s a kind of magic:
Truth be told I’ve never fallen in love with a resort so quickly as I did with Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa. While there’s so much to do at this incredible resort, it’s true magic lies in its warm and attentive long-serving staff who treat guests like extended family. It’s this warm welcoming atmosphere that keeps guests coming back for more year after year and the reason people speak so fondly of the resort when you mention its name to others who have travelled to Mauritius.
The staff at Paradis go out of their way to offer help when asked and you always get service with a smile, whether you’re ordering a drink at the bar or calling for a shuttle service to drive your lazy ass to the restaurants when a beach-side stroll from your room seems like too much to bear.
I’ve been lucky enough to stay at many other 5-star resorts in the past, both in Mauritius and across the world, and while many luxury resorts have the tendency to feel cold and uptight, Paradis manages to foster a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere while still maintaining an air of ultimate luxury and indulgence. Laid-back luxury at its finest, Paradis will quickly find a place in your heart and turn you into an unofficial Paradis ambassador for years to come.
Book with Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa
Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa offers South African travellers a lot of bang for their buck. We stayed on a half-board basis, which was well worth the price as it gave us the opportunity to order pretty much whatever we wanted on the breakfast and dinner menus without having to count our pennies or convert to Rands. There are also loads of special offers available for guests looking for a great deal.
Visit the Beachcomber resorts website and book your stay at Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa now.
Getting to Mauritius
The great thing about Mauritius is it’s a quick 3.5, 4 or 5-hour flight from South Africa, depending on where you’re flying from. We flew direct to Mauritius from Cape Town on-board Air Mauritius. Air Mauritius offers daily flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo International Airport), Twice weekly flights from Cape Town, and four times weekly from Durban. With Economy class fares starting from R5,990 per person*, it’s a no-brainer flying with Air Mauritius.
This was my second time flying with Air Mauritius and I was beyond impressed with the airline. They’ve upgraded the planes since I last flew with them a few years ago, boasting more comfortable seats, an improved onboard entertainment system, and ample storage space for carry-on luggage. The Air Mauritius staff on-board our flights were extremely friendly and helpful and even the dreaded plane food was delicious and fresh!
As if that’s not enough, Air Mauritius offers some pretty great benefits to passengers flying to Mauritius and beyond. Economy passengers enjoy a whopping 2 x 20kg check-in luggage allowance, making it an over-packer’s dream. The airline’s Travel Smart programme also offers all sorts of benefits like one free ticket for the bride for honeymooners***, ‘golf bags fly free’, free business class lounge access for the whole family in South Africa, and free flights for 2 kids under 12-years*** when flying with 2 parents.
What’s more, if you use Mauritius as a stop-over destination, you’ll also enjoy faster travelling times thanks to the island’s geographical location. Mauritius is just a 6hr30min flight to Perth, 7hr10min flight to Singapore, and 6hr10min flight to Mumbai. The airline also offers free stopovers in Mauritius (including accommodation and meals on all non-connecting flights), last-minute upgrades to Business class, and free date changes in any booking class**
Visit the Air Mauritius website to book your flight to Mauritius now.
(*Lowest published fares; subject to change) | (**subject to fare class rules) | (***Terms and conditions apply. Bride and Kids Fly Free subject to airport taxes payable).
