Smith reviews: the Oberoi in Mauritius, a romantic Indian Ocean beach resort
Posted by Lucy on December 4th, 2008
As romantic destinations go, there aren’t many more beautiful than Indian Ocean islands – they regularly crop up in top-10 polls for ‘most romantic’, ‘best honeymoon‘ and ‘exotic escapes’. One of Mr & Mrs Smith’s intrepid independent reviewer couples has just returned from a trip to the Oberoi in Mauritius, the honeymoon-fabulous spa retreat in Turtle Bay on the island’s north-west coast – the lucky devils! You can now read about their Indian Ocean shenanigans on our website, but in the meantime, here’s a little extract to whet your wanderlust:
We cross our garden, unlock the gate and make our way over to the Oberoi’s main pool – a black volcanic rock-framed delight lined with deep-blue tiles and surrounded by statues. ‘It’s like being in an Indiana Jones film,’ says Mrs Smith as she breast-strokes her way across the pool while attempting to keep her hair and Ray-Ban Wayfarers from getting wet. ‘Follow me,’ she says, speaking in the conspiratorial tone she uses with our young nieces.
So we swim from the end with the long-nosed, big-lipped Easter Island-esque statues, past the half-submerged goddess heads and under a vast iron bell to the restaurant end of the pool. Here, at a table just two feet from the turquoise, beach-lapping waters of the Indian Ocean, we eat a delicious fish salad. Were the fish on our plates any fresher, they’d no doubt be attempting to leap back into the sea. But thankfully it’s just us who take to the waters for a post-prandial paddle. We walk hand-in-hand along the line where waves break gently on the shore, emerging only occasionally from the swell to feel warm white sand between our toes and inhale clear, salt-tinged air into our lungs…
Read the rest of the Oberoi hotel review here. Every time we publish a new hotel write-up from one of our panel of independent reviewers at Mr & Mrs Smith, we’ll let you know here on the Smith Travel Blog. We visit every property in our hand-picked hotel collection, and get it reviewed by a real-life couple to make sure it meets our ridiculously high hotel standards.
Our only brief to these boutique-hotel visitors is to go with their real-life Mr or Mrs, check in anonymously, have a jolly good fun (but critically minded) time and then report back to us with a no-holds barred account. If you fancy checking out who’s on the Mr & Mrs Smith reviewer panel, do the clicky thing – otherwise have a look back at the blog in the coming weeks, as we’ll be introducing you to some of our under-the-covers style spies.
Has a romantic feel to it. I like it.
By Jenny
On December 9th, 2008
A rich green emerald, swathed in the translucent silk of the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is a small island of great beauty. Mauritius is a year-round destination with plenty to see and do. Once you’ve relaxed on the perfect beaches, Begin the Exotic Mauritius Tour-Arrive into Mauritius – the paradise island of the Indian Ocean.
By Johnny
On October 28th, 2009