HOTELS

Paradise Cove

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The name says it all, and the hotel truly deserves it from the first sight. Built around a private cove, it is a completely closed universe, a true secluded luxury cocoon where you can enjoy and relax, far away from the outside world.

Located at the North of Mauritius, it is conveniently located, 3 miles from Grand Bay and 15 miles from the capital Port Louis. It overlooks the lagoon and offers a superb view of the northern islands, Le Coin de Mire, Ile Plate, and Ile Ronde.

It is a private hotel, owned by a local family who started it 10 years ago and who keep investing in the hotel. It was completely renovated in 1999. It is now run by Jean-Pierre Hall, who had previously worked in France at the Byblos in Saint-Tropez and then in Gassin nearby.

The 47 rooms (50 sq m), 18 junior suites (60 sq m) and 2 large suites (90 sq m) are all open to the private beach on the cove, each one with its own terrace or balcony with armchairs and table. Superbly decorated and furnished, refined in every detail, they will welcome the most demanding guests in their intimate and luxurious comfort. Each of them features a cozy corner with a couch, armchairs, table and TV, a large bathroom with separate bath, shower and toilet.

To relax, you may enjoy a rocking chair on the white sand beach of the cove or decide for one of the individual beach terraces further down near the sea, overlooking the corral reef.

More than 200 people work to give you the best service, warm and caring, with everyone wanting you to enjoy the nicest possible stay. They all call you by your name and everything is done to make you feel that you are an individual guest in a private home. To achieve this, the Paradise Cove rely on fresh and motivated people, hired after graduation from school and then trained at the hotel. You are given a fresh fruit juice while laying on the beach or a cocktail in your room to welcome you back before dinner!

And of course, you can exercise and practice any sport you wish (water skiing, windsurfing, hobie cat, diving, big game fishing, tennis, undersea walking, parasailing,…) or enjoy the Oasis Health Club and Spa, fully equipped with training machines (often mentioned as the best gym on the island), sauna and hammam. The massage is one of the Paradise Cove specials, with masseurs experts in every massage technique (Indian, Thai, Swedish, sport, relax, subtle, slimming, …).

All this made you hungry and you deserve a reward. You are not to be disappointed, as the chef, Soobhug Amarsing, is one of the best in Mauritius. Graduated from the hotel school in Curepipe, he was part of the opening of the Royal Palm where he stayed for 8 years, went then to the PLM MontDésir, joined the Paradise Cove at its opening and became its chef last year.

The Waiter Fresh Seafood Executive Chef Soobhug Amarsing of Paradise Cove

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There are 3 restaurants at the Paradise Cove, each one for different occasions.

The Beach Bar, at the end of the property, overlooks the lagoon and gives a superb view on the open sea and the nearby islands. It is the ideal place for a casual lunch between a dive and a windsurf ride, to enjoy barbecued seafood and meats with exotic cocktails.

At La Belle Créole, the main restaurant, over the pool and the cove, Soobhug prepares an inventive and refined cuisine. The menu changes everyday. Ther are always 4 starters, including a day’s salad and a soup, 4 main dishes with 1 grilled meat, 1 sauce dish and 2 typical dishes, Mauritian, Creole or Chinese, and 4 desserts, ice creams and sherbets, 1 Mauritian and 1 classical. This menu has a 3 week cycle and the whole set is changed every quarter, to follow the seasonality of the products.
During the week are also special days, like Mauritian on Mondays, Indian on Thursdays, Mediterranean or Chinese on Sundays…

The gastronomic restaurant Cocoteraie is even better. A dinner takes you to a different world. There is no dining room, as you eat in your own private thatched pavilion on piles, over the cove, suspended between the sea and the stars. Among other delectable Soobhug’s specialties, I enjoyed superb palm heart dishes prepared with shrimp in salad or in tartar with spices, a great panned red snapper in a creamy saffron sauce with sautéed figs, a delightful subtly spiced crab broth, or a tasty curried lobster. I can also recommend the cinnamon ice cream with ginger for dessert, if you are still hungry enough for it! Soobhug is always inventing some novelties to surprise his guests. One of his specials was made up for the movie star Catherine Deneuve: a chilled avocado soup with fresh crab meat (put the avocado with coco milk and cream, salt and pepper in a blender, chill the blend and add the warm crab meat before serving).

To complete your pleasure, the wine list offers a very good selection of wines from France and South Africa, and the waiters will wisely help you select between them according to your meal.

Before or after dinner, the Cozy Corner Bar, overlooking the pool, will welcome you for a cocktail. Every evening you will enjoy the music: local folk, piano, jazz or the Mauritian sega, full of rhythm, colors and exotica.

The Paradise Cove is also a member of the Relais & Châteaux organization.

Rates: between $250 and $450 per day per person, depending on the season and the type of accommodation.