Luxury Travel

Review: One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius

February 15, 2023

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Wednesday newsletters all the time characteristic a resort or flight assessment.

Today: Review of One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius

One&Only Le Saint Géran, the legendary seashore resort on the north-eastern coast of Mauritius, reopened in 2018 following a whole transformation and has risen once more as the best celebration of its unmatched Mauritian setting. The property’s non-public peninsula provides two gorgeous coastlines: on the east, the Indian Ocean, fringed by swaying palms; on the west, sugarcane-covered mountain views and a tranquil lagoon. Guests take pleasure in alternatives to attach with household whereas experiencing idyllic seashores, two glowing swimming pools, the blissful One&Only Spa, and Club One – a brand new hub for all issues lively. The resort’s assortment of renovated and brand-new eating places options Michelin-starred gastronomic shows and theater-style cooking.

One&Only Le Saint Géran options in my high 10 lists of the finest luxurious resorts in Mauritius and the finest honeymoon motels on the earth.

Have you ever stayed at One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius? If so, what was your expertise? Leave a remark.

In this assessment (extra data and pictures beneath my YouTube video):

PROS & THINGS I LIKE

Boasting a dreamy location on the north-eastern coast of the island of Mauritius, One&Only Le Saint Géran set new requirements of ultra-luxury within the Indian Ocean and past when it opened in 1975. At that point, tourism in Mauritius was in its infancy and the resort’s builders had the entire island to select from, in order that they settled for the perfect spot: a secluded and sheltered peninsula with 2 miles (1.2 km) of white-sand seashores surrounding a lush and pure coconut grove. One aspect of the peninsula is lapped by the calm waters of a lagoon whereas the opposite aspect overlooks the crystalline and coral reef-sheltered waters of the glowing Indian Ocean. While it’s about an hour-long automobile trip winding previous sugar cane fields to succeed in the resort from the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, a 20-minute helicopter switch is definitely the extra scenic route, providing jaw-dropping chicken’s-eye views of Mauritiu’s rugged mountains, spectacular lagoon and glistening seashores.

One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius reopened in 2018 following a nine-month renovation and multi-million-dollar funding which has remodeled the long-lasting property as soon as once more into probably the greatest seashore resorts on the earth. Nestled inside lush tropical gardens, the much-loved colonial-style structure has been preserved, whereas a complete redesign course of has launched a cool, modern beach-inspired aesthetic, celebrating Mauritian life-style and tradition. As visitors arrive on the resort, hovering wood doorways open to disclose a majestic foyer, whose high-ceilinged stone and wooden breezeway is interspersed with huge dome-shaped open home windows. Floors of soppy silver travertine and white washed partitions echo the ripples of the seashore, reflecting gentle throughout to create a shiny and welcoming environment. The foyer opens to the resort’s shoreline the place a singular stainless-steel spherical construction is the attention catcher. Designed by Dong Sculpture within the type of a palm frond blowing within the wind, the sculpture symbolizes the power of the Mauritian folks to adapt to their altering atmosphere.

One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius options 142 redesigned visitor rooms and suites, that are situated in white-washed, low-lying pavilions whose structure was impressed by previous sugar cane factories and plantation homes. All of the resort’s 142 rooms and villas face the lagoon or the ocean, which suggests there’s completely no motive to be choosy. During my vacation, I used to be upgraded to a powerful ocean suite, which got here with a separate front room (with sitting & eating space in addition to a visitor washroom), a spacious master suite with kingsize mattress, and ensuite lavatory geared up with double vainness, cascading bathe, freestanding tub and dressing space. Both the bed room and front room opened to a beautiful out of doors, shaded terrace which provided direct entry to the resort’s beachfront lawns and white seashore past. The suite’s furnishings, materials and soothing coloration scheme of beiges and greys evoke the plush tropical landscapes, the colourful turquoise Indian Ocean, and the bleached white of Mauritian sand.

One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius’ pristine peninsula provides method to 2 km (1.2 mi) of magnificent white sandy seashores shaded by tons of of palm timber. The resort’s serene oceanfront options sugar-white sands, light waves and loads of non-public solar loungers (together with dozens of cabanas). Just behind this seashore is the primary swimming pool, overseen by devoted lifeguards. Welcoming for all ages, this pool provides canopied cabanas and swim-up bars (these in want of tranquility can all the time retreat to the adults-only pool in spa; extra on that later). The seashore on the resort’s different aspect – the lagoon aspect – is blissfully sheltered, with heat waters which are excellent for paddling. The far finish of this seashore can be dwelling to a water sports activities heart, the place visitors can check out kayaks and paddleboards (motorized water sports activities are provided for a payment). The oceanfront and lagoonside seashores merge on the high of the peninsula into a powerful sand financial institution, which makes for excellent picture alternatives and spectacular views of the sundown.

One&Only Le Saint Géran provides an distinctive gastronomic expertise created by top-notch visitor cooks. Each eating expertise celebrates Mauritius and its fusion of cuisines, spices and tradition. There are a number of eating places to select from:
- PRIME is Mauritius’ first upmarket steakhouse restaurant and frequently hosts Michelin starred cooks. During my keep, celebrated French Chef Anne-Sophie Pic hosted an unique pop-up at Prime, known as La Dame de Pic at One&Only Le Saint Géran, which showcased the Michelin-starred chef’s scrumptious dishes with a spectacular dinner menu.
- Serving thrilling pan-Asian, tapas-style fusion delicacies, Tapasake is a Japanese restaurant constructed on stilts over the lagoon. The open kitchen permits visitor to look at in awe because the cooks tackle the grills, masterfully invoking conventional strategies to create their Japanese specialties with a Spanish twist.
- La Terrace is the resort’s gorgeous waterfront all-day restaurant, which is comprised of a number of stylish pavilions floating on water ponds. Lavish buffets are nightly hosted at La Terrace, accompanied by dwell music and conventional dance. Each morning, a spectacular breakfast buffet is on show within the restaurant’s open kitchen (probably the most spectacular breakfast spreads I’ve ever seen at a resort)
- Located subsequent to Le Terrace is L’Artisan, an artisanal bakery serving barista ready espresso, tempting pastries and lightweight bites all through the day. L’Artisan additionally serves unique plant-based dishes from US celeb chef Matthew Kenney
- Located in entrance of La Terrace, below the palm timber and overlooking the Indian Ocean, is Le Badamier, an al fresco venue serving southern French and Italian delicacies with an emphasis on freshly caught native seafood.
- Located on the tip of the peninsula, subsequent to the primary pool, is La Pointe, a seashore restaurant with an informal, feet-in-the-sand ambiance, thatched pavilions and open hearth grills.

One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius includes a lovely spa heart, which is centered round a classy lap pool. Prior to, or put up remedy, visitors are invited to make use of the warmth amenities together with a steam room and sauna, or loosen up on day beds across the lap pool. Surrounding the pool are 13 remedy rooms, with some opening onto their very own non-public backyard with out of doors showers, permitting visitors to loosen up, swap off and really feel revived of their very personal hideaway. Surrounded by water ponds and plush vegetation, the spa additionally options secluded out of doors gardens for blissful open-air remedy. In partnership with the award-winning ESPA model, the spa provides tailor-made holistic experiences, starting from pure rest to distinctive and signature wellness journeys using indigenous and genuine strategies. Complementing this, the spa has additionally partnered with Biologique Recherche, providing bespoke facial therapies, and famend multi-award-winning podiatrist Bastien Gonzalez to finish the wellness providing.

At brief distance from the foyer is the excessive vitality Club One, the hub for all issues actions on the resort, together with a state-of-the-art indoor and out of doors health heart, two studios for group lessons like spinning, zumba, kick boxing, HIIT, TRX and an out of doors coaching space by MyEquilibria, the primary within the Indian Ocean. Guests may take pleasure in complimentary yoga and Pilates lessons on the yoga pavilion, and world-class sporting amenities, together with floodlit tennis courts, volleyball courtroom, placing inexperienced, and Mauritius’ first ever Padel Courts. Club One can be dwelling to a nutritious juice and snack bar, and One&Only Le Saint Geran’s devoted leisure facilities for youngsters and youngsters, YoungstersOnly and OneTribe. Offering younger visitors tailor-made actions from artwork lessons and sporting adventures, sit back areas, movie-nights, DJ events and unique barbecues, there’s a host of complimentary actions to maintain all ages entertained.

The resort is managed by One&Only, one in all my favourite resort manufacturers on the earth. The fabulous One&Only model was created in 2002 completely for the luxurious resort market by Solomon Kerzner – a South African accountant and enterprise magnate – and now options among the highest-rated resorts in probably the most idyllic spots on the earth, such because the Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Rwanda and Cape Town. Each resort within the One&Only assortment not solely provides distinctive design and ambiance which embraces the native environment, but in addition an unparalleled dedication to the best expertise on each potential degree. Luxurious lodging is complemented by impeccable service, unique wellness sanctuaries, full of life leisure and a number of actions, in addition to beautiful culinary adventures from among the world’s most completed cooks.

CONS & THINGS TO KNOW

Like in every single place else in Mauritius, the terrific white sand seashores of One&Only Le Saint Géran – which rank among the many finest on the island – are open to most of the people. However, the resort’s secluded location implies that no day vacationers enterprise out that far, so the seashores really feel very non-public, serene and tranquil. Nonetheless, native distributors are allowed on the property’s seashores to promote items reminiscent of shells, bracelets, and souvenirs to visitors. While it wasn’t too unhealthy, some seashore hawkers have been fairly persistent and a bit annoying of their efforts to promote their stuff. Maybe it will be a greater concept to not permit them on the seashores and as an alternative, arrange a avenue market with native crafts on chosen evenings throughout the resort’s premises, which may very well be a win-win for each visitors and avenue distributors.

One&Only Le Saint Géran includes a attractive adults-only pool on the coronary heart of the spa. However, it’s the one devoted adults-only space on the resort. The predominant pool on the seashore – which is comprised of two elements, one half dealing with the lagoon and one half dealing with the ocean – is open to visitors of all ages and it may be a bit crowded right here when youngsters take over the pool, particularly through the European college holidays (which was the case throughout my journey). IMHO, it will have been a greater design idea if one a part of the pool (e.g. the half dealing with the quieter lagoon aspect) was reserved for adults in the hunt for blissful seashore moments.

One&Only Le Saint Géran mentions on its web site that it has three swimming pools. However, I may solely rely two actual swimming swimming pools throughout my journey: the primary pool space on the seashore close to the tip of the peninsula and the adults-only pool on the spa. The third pool that’s referred to by the resort on its web site is the water pond surrounding the floating pavilions of Le Terrasse Restaurant, however that’s not likely a pool as its solely there for design functions (it was a swimming pool previous to the resort’s refurbishment in 2017). You may after all have a swim right here however it will be a bit of bit awkward to say the least :-).

One&Only Le Saint Géran enjoys a secluded location, which is likely one of the predominant attracts for many visitors. But whereas it could be idyllic for a honeymoon couple or if you happen to simply need full rest for a number of days, it could fall in need of expectations in case you are in search of nightlife. If you favor a little bit of enjoyable, music and motion within the night and being near all kinds of eating places and golf equipment, this spot on the island won’t be the most effective place for you.

MY VERDICT

Location: 10/10
Design: 10/10
Pool: 9/10
Rooms: 9/10
Food: 10/10
Breakfast: 10/10
Spa: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Value for cash: 10/10
Overall expertise: distinctive 9,4/10

TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY

Save cash: get complimentary VIP perks at One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius when reserving by way of Virtuoso (e.g. improve, every day breakfast, early check-in, late check-out, and $100 USD meals & beverage credit score).

Save cash: learn right here my ideas for getting the most effective deal at a luxurious resort like One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius (and/or obtain many free perks).

Read my ideas for getting ready your journey in time.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

During the Mauritian summer season months (November to April) the times are lengthy, scorching and humid. This can be cyclone season with January to March being the wettest months – so if you happen to do go on a vacation to Mauritius at the moment try to be ready for some heavy rain. Since it by no means actually will get chilly on the island in winter (May to October) the common temperature merely drops from sticky to balmy. So usually, the most effective time to go to Mauritius for cooler, drier climate is from May to December. That stated, if you happen to’re planning to remain on the east coast, I like to recommend avoiding the months of July and August as that is when the wind is at its strongest on this aspect of the island.

HOW TO GET THERE

The resort is situated a 60-minute drive from the airport, and you’ll ebook a non-public switch by means of the resort, or prebook a less expensive taxi. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SRU) is served by many airways (click on right here for a repeatedly up to date checklist of airways that provide direct flights to Mauritius).

PHOTOS

Below is a choice of my pictures of One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius. To view extra pictures (together with the FABULOUS breakfast and dinners), click on right here.