10 nights in Paradis: a Mauritius golf holiday for two

Having worked at Golfbreaks for so long and seen countless photos of Mauritius, I was incredibly excited to finally see the picture-perfect island for myself, and I was not disappointed!

After a 10 hour flight, and short stop in Paris, my girlfriend and I finally landed at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), which is located to the south east of the island. We rented a car to make sure that travelling around the island was easy as possible, and we proceeded to make our way on what turned out to be a magical 10-night Mauritius golf holiday.

The drive down was a great welcome to the island, with most of the road hugging the gorgeous coastline – just a small glimpse of what we were going to see during our trip. And after about an hour, we arrived at Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa.

The resort is located on the southwestern tip of Mauritius in Le Morne, a stunning peninsula centred around the rocky Le Morne Brabant - a UNESCO accredited World Heritage Site. Le Morne is famous for its long stretches of white-sand beaches, reef-protected lagoon, and the mountain, of which the area is named after, acts as a great hiking location. Without doubt, it is one of the top destinations in Mauritius]2.

It’s difficult to put into words how incredible the resort and holiday was, but I’ve done my best below…

Paradis is a beautiful five-star resort with everything you would want for a luxurious golf holiday. There’s a host of great restaurants, a deluxe spa, large spacious guestrooms, and attentive staff throughout the hotel.

It’s clear the resort places an importance on the surroundings and environment. Nothing looks out of place or feels outlandish, and you’re never more than five minutes away from the pristine, private beach. It all just feels very natural and none of the buildings go above 2 floors, meaning you have views of Le Morne Brabant throughout. It truly is one of the top golf resorts in Mauritius!

Accommodation

We were fortunate enough to stay in a Junior Suite, formerly known as a Tropical Room, which provided a lot of space and comfort during our stay. It would also be a great option for couples with a baby/toddler as well, with more than enough space for a cot if needed.

The balcony was a great spot for chilling out prior to dinner, with a large area to enjoy the views and a drink from the mini fridge, while overlooking the tropical garden.

Restaurants & bars

The culinary experience at Beachcomber was first-class, with both the Paradis Resort and neighbouring Dinarobin Resort (located a five-minute shuttle away) providing a selection of eight restaurants.

Most of our time was spent at Le Brabant, which is the hotel’s main restaurant. Here we enjoyed breakfast every morning, and buffet-style dinners in a beautiful setting overlooking the swimming pool, beach, and beyond. Every evening there was a different theme, from Mauritian cuisine, which is a blend of African, Indian, and French food, to eastern Asian delights.

The Blue Marlin and Zest are the other two central restaurants at the resort, located right on the beach, which both offered a la carte worldwide menus for lunch and dinner. La Ravanne is a short shuttle away, in between Paradis and Dinarobin, which is in another beautiful setting on the small estuary that runs through the two resorts.

We ventured out to Dinarobin on a couple of occasions to enjoy their offering. The on-site Japanese restaurant, Umami, was fantastic – probably our favourite meal throughout the trip. I’d highly recommend this and while we had to pay a small surcharge, it was certainly worth it.

Activities

The beauty of a beachfront resort is being able to try your hand at as many water sports and activities as possible. During our stay we were able to go paddle boarding, windsurfing, kayaking, and snookling, all of which was available on-site and included in our package.

There was a great mix of other activities too, with tennis, table tennis, a gym, and much more. This was a great way to mix things up when we were having a lazy day by the pool or on the beach. I’d also highly recommend hiring a bike and cycling around Le Morne, which is a very serene part of Mauritius worth exploring.

Spa & leisure

A stay at a five-star resort like Paradis Beachcomber wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the spa. The spa provided a serene environment to relax on and we even indulged in a couples massage, which was absolutely excellent.

Paradis Beachcomber is home to Paradis Golf Course, a beautiful 18-hole layout that works its way around the resort. It’s not overly long, but its great fun and full of stunning views throughout. There wasn’t a single hole where I didn’t have eyes on Le Morne, the Indian Ocean, or both – truly incredible!

Before heading out, I made sure to spend some quality time on the driving range, which is framed by palm trees with the Le Morne Brabant acting as a backdrop. Without doubt the most picturesque range I’ve ever been on, and I doubt I’ll ever top it!

The front 9 starts with some tricky short doglegs framed by palm trees, notably on holes 1, 4 and 9. Water adds excitement on a few of the holes thanks to a small estuary that run through the golf course.

The majority of signature holes are reserved for the back-9. Hole 10 is a short par four that plays directly over a ravine, with the ocean then hugging the entirety of the fairway on the right. The first portion of the fairway starts off wide but narrows the closer you can get to the green.

I took the safer (boring) option and went with an iron off the tee, but the green is definitely reachable with driver for the longer, more accurate hitters. But for the average hitters like myself, an iron is definitely the safer option.

The signature hole is the 16th – a dramatic par 5 with the Indian Ocean lurking to the right, and strategically placed bunkers on the left. The fairway starts off wide but becomes a very small target as you work your way towards the green. If you’re slightly off line, left really is the only option.

The hole ends with a slightly elevated green, making it tricky to approach, and the proximity to the ocean adds to both the beauty and challenge of the hole. Overall it was an excellent resort course and one I relished playing once more during the trip.

While I only managed to squeeze in a few rounds at the resort, Mauritius has a glowing reputation for golf. Like Paradis, most of them offer stunning coastal settings, pristine conditions, and are a lot of fun to play.

A few Golfbreaks favourites include:

• Ile Aux Cerfs Golf Club
• Heritage Golf Club
• Anahita Golf Course

Check out the best golf courses in Mauritius

While we had more than we could ever need at the hotel, we were keen to get out of the resort and see as much of Mauritius as possible. Aside from the activities at the hotel, the island’s landscape lends itself well to outdoor activities, from hiking and boat trips to historical sightseeing.

Here are a few of the things we go up to on our holiday:

Hiking

Being located at the tip of Le Morne, it seemed fitting that we should visit Le Morne Brabant at least once during our trip. We made sure to set off early (so it wasn’t too hot) and after a 5 minute drive, we reached the bottom of the mountain where we set off.

It only took an hour or so to reach the first summit and it wasn't too difficult either. For those looking to go to the very top (which we didn't do), I'd recommend getting a guide or ensuring you're wearing the right apparel as it does get first rocky the closer you are to the top! But for those looking for an easy-going hike, walking by ourselves to the first summit was perfect and well worth getting up early for.

We also had a fun half-day trip to Tamarind Falls, otherwise known as the 7 Cascades, which is one of Mauritius’ natural wonders. We booked as a group excursion through the hotel and the trip consisted of a leisurely 3 hour hike through forest and countryside, culminating in a visit to several of the cascades. We even had time for a dip in one of the waterfalls which was a great experience!

Boat trip

My favourite day off the course was a boat trip visiting a selection of the smaller islands off the east coast of Mauritius. The end goal was lunch on Île Aux Cerfs, but before that we visited Île aux Fouquets and Ile aux Aigrettes, and we were even lucky enough to see Dolphins and have plenty of drink along the way.

Île aux Fouquets is a secluded island with an old, derelict lighthouse that dates back over 150 years ago. We were only there for 30 minutes or so, but the island was beautiful and offered stunning views out over the mainland.

Ile aux Aigrettes is a nature reserve with coralline limestone and remnants of dry coastal forest. We weren’t able to step foot on the island but it was a great spot for snorkelling with plenty of small, exotic fish.

The trip culminated in a long stop at Île Aux Cerfs. We kicked things off with a beautiful langoustine lunch on the beach before being taken by boat to another, more busy part of the island. Here we had time to explore , chill out and enjoy the amazing scenery.

My one big regret is not making the effort to play Ile Aux Cerfs golf course. I took a sneak peek at the course while on the island and it looked amazing – definitely a layout I intend on playing when I get the opportunity to go back!

A few other highlights from our trip were:

• Chamarel - a village in Mauritius famous for its waterfall and 7 Coloured Earth, unique multi-coloured dunes. We also drove to the local distillery to pick up some Mauritian rum.
• Flic en Flac - located on the west coast of the island, Flic en Flac is a beautiful seaside village with a lovely little town and some great street food stalls.
• Mahebourg - this town gave a good insight into local Mauritius life, with some scenic coastal views from the waterfront and a bustling market.

For such a small island, Mauritius packs a punch. The golf courses are great, and the resorts are even better, from the hospitality through to the beachfront location, there really aren’t many better locations for a golf holiday in the sun.

While it can be tempting to reside in the hotel, for anyone looking to visit Mauritius I would strongly recommend doing an excursion or two to see the true beautify of this island!