Back at Oberoi and after a quick spruce, we were whisked to a private candlelit dinner on the beach, and when we returned to our room, rose petals were strewn across our bed and a candle-lit bubble bath waited in the bathroom – a kind congratulations from the Oberoi team on our engagement, and a part of our story we’ll never forget.
The final stop on our Mauritian adventure was Maradiva, a family-owned, all-villa property about 27 miles further down the island’s west coast overlooking Tamarin Bay. This is the sort of place where its shoulder-dropping tranquility is felt almost as soon as you arrive, with a laidback, intimate atmosphere that can be difficult to achieve in a top-end luxury hotel. Our room, one of 64 private pool villas, was light and airy, decked out in calming neutral tones, natural woods and pale marble (if budget allows, opt for one of the nine Beachfront Luxury Suite Pool Villas, which are just steps away from the beach).
The bathroom featured a huge, deep marble bathtub, an indoor rainfall shower and an outdoor shower in the walled garden. It was all too easy to spend hours whiling away the time on the spacious veranda, reading on the sunloungers and listening to the songbirds flitting between the trees, intermittently taking a dip in the pool to cool off.
For dinner, we headed to Maradiva’s softly-lit, fine-dining Indian restaurant, Cilantro, where a creamy, herby lobster curry – mopped up with just-baked chapati and washed down with local Phoenix beer – was one of the best curries I’ve ever had.
Following a breakfast of bircher muesli and local fruits in the hotel’s main restaurant, Cassine, the next morning we walked 30 minutes to Flic en Flac beach (if you don’t fancy the walk, a taxi from the hotel takes less than five minutes), a stretch of white sand bordered by rows of filao pine trees. Come early, ideally on a weekday, to beat the crowds – we arrived shortly after 9.30am and had the beach virtually to ourselves, but crowds started to gather from 11am. For lunch, we popped to Farata AKA Vinoda – one of various beachside stalls selling traditional paratha – and picked up some delicious, flavour-packed roti stuffed with salmon and veg for 20 and 35 rupees (the equivalent of around 35p and 60p respectively).
