Evaluation: One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius

February 15, 2023

47

Wednesday newsletters all the time function a lodge or flight evaluation.

At this time: Evaluation of One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius

One&Solely Le Saint Géran, the legendary seaside 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 unequalled Mauritian setting. The property’s non-public peninsula gives two beautiful coastlines: on the east, the Indian Ocean, fringed by swaying palms; on the west, sugarcane-covered mountain views and a tranquil lagoon. Company take pleasure in alternatives to attach with household whereas experiencing idyllic seashores, two glowing swimming pools, the blissful One&Solely Spa, and Membership One – a brand new hub for all issues energetic. The resort’s assortment of renovated and brand-new eating places options Michelin-starred gastronomic shows and theater-style cooking.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran options in my prime 10 lists of the finest luxurious resorts in Mauritius and the finest honeymoon accommodations on the planet.

Have you ever ever stayed at One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius? In that case, what was your expertise? Depart a remark.

On this evaluation (extra information 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&Solely Le Saint Géran set new requirements of ultra-luxury within the Indian Ocean and past when it opened in 1975. At the moment, 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 facet of the peninsula is lapped by the calm waters of a lagoon whereas the opposite facet overlooks the crystalline and coral reef-sheltered waters of the glowing Indian Ocean. Whereas it’s about an hour-long automobile journey winding previous sugar cane fields to achieve the resort from the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Worldwide Airport, a 20-minute helicopter switch is actually the extra scenic route, providing jaw-dropping chicken’s-eye views of Mauritiu’s rugged mountains, spectacular lagoon and glistening seashores.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius reopened in 2018 following a nine-month renovation and multi-million-dollar funding which has reworked the enduring property as soon as once more into among the best seaside resorts on the planet. Nestled inside lush tropical gardens, the much-loved colonial-style structure has been preserved, whereas a complete redesign course of has launched a cool, up to date 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. Flooring of sentimental silver travertine and white washed partitions echo the ripples of the seashore, reflecting mild throughout to create a vivid and welcoming ambiance. The foyer opens to the resort’s shoreline the place a novel 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 individuals to adapt to their altering setting.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius options 142 redesigned visitor rooms and suites, that are positioned in white-washed, low-lying pavilions whose structure was impressed by previous sugar cane factories and plantation homes. All the resort’s 142 rooms and villas face the lagoon or the ocean, which implies there’s completely no purpose to be choosy. Throughout my vacation, I used to be upgraded to an impressive ocean suite, which got here with a separate lounge (with sitting & eating space in addition to a visitor washroom), a spacious main bedroom with kingsize mattress, and ensuite rest room outfitted with double vainness, cascading bathe, freestanding tub and dressing space. Each the bed room and lounge opened to a beautiful out of doors, shaded terrace which provided direct entry to the resort’s beachfront lawns and white seaside past. The suite’s furnishings, materials and soothing colour scheme of beiges and greys evoke the luxurious tropical landscapes, the colourful turquoise Indian Ocean, and the bleached white of Mauritian sand.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius’ pristine peninsula offers method to 2 km (1.2 mi) of magnificent white sandy seashores shaded by a whole lot of palm bushes. The resort’s serene oceanfront options sugar-white sands, light waves and loads of non-public solar loungers (together with dozens of cabanas). Simply behind this seaside is the principle swimming pool, overseen by devoted lifeguards. Welcoming for all ages, this pool gives 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 seaside on the resort’s different facet – the lagoon facet – is blissfully sheltered, with heat waters which can be good for paddling. The far finish of this seaside can also 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 prime of the peninsula into an impressive sand financial institution, which makes for nice picture alternatives and spectacular views of the sundown.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran gives an distinctive gastronomic expertise created by top-notch visitor cooks. Every 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 usually hosts Michelin starred cooks. Throughout my keep, celebrated French Chef Anne-Sophie Pic hosted an unique pop-up at Prime, referred to as La Dame de Pic at One&Solely 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 methods to create their Japanese specialties with a Spanish twist.
- La Terrace is the resort’s beautiful 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. Every 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 lodge)
- Positioned 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 superstar chef Matthew Kenney
- Positioned in entrance of La Terrace, beneath the palm bushes 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.
- Positioned on the tip of the peninsula, subsequent to the principle pool, is La Pointe, a seaside restaurant with an off-the-cuff, feet-in-the-sand ambiance, thatched pavilions and open fireplace grills.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius contains a lovely spa heart, which is centered round a classy lap pool. Previous to, or publish therapy, visitors are invited to make use of the warmth services together with a steam room and sauna, or chill out on day beds across the lap pool. Surrounding the pool are 13 therapy rooms, with some opening onto their very own non-public backyard with out of doors showers, permitting visitors to chill out, change off and really feel revived of their very personal hideaway. Surrounded by water ponds and luxurious 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 gives tailor-made holistic experiences, starting from pure rest to distinctive and signature wellness journeys using indigenous and genuine methods. Complementing this, the spa has additionally partnered with Biologique Recherche, providing bespoke facial remedies, and famend multi-award-winning podiatrist Bastien Gonzalez to finish the wellness providing.

At brief distance from the foyer is the excessive vitality Membership 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. Company may take pleasure in complimentary yoga and Pilates lessons on the yoga pavilion, and world-class sporting services, together with floodlit tennis courts, volleyball courtroom, placing inexperienced, and Mauritius’ first ever Padel Courts. Membership One can also be dwelling to a nutritious juice and snack bar, and One&Solely Le Saint Geran’s devoted leisure facilities for kids and youngsters, KidsOnly and OneTribe. Providing 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&Solely, considered one of my favourite lodge manufacturers on the planet. The fabulous One&Solely model was created in 2002 solely for the posh resort market by Solomon Kerzner – a South African accountant and enterprise magnate – and now options a few of the highest-rated resorts in probably the most idyllic spots on the planet, such because the Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Rwanda and Cape City. Every resort within the One&Solely assortment not solely gives distinctive design and ambiance which embraces the native environment, but in addition an unparalleled dedication to the best expertise on each attainable degree. Luxurious lodging is complemented by impeccable service, unique wellness sanctuaries, full of life leisure and a bunch of actions, in addition to beautiful culinary adventures from a few of the world’s most achieved cooks.

CONS & THINGS TO KNOW

Like in every single place else in Mauritius, the terrific white sand seashores of One&Solely Le Saint Géran – which rank among the many finest on the island – are open to most people. Nevertheless, 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. Whereas it wasn’t too unhealthy, some seaside hawkers have been fairly persistent and a bit annoying of their efforts to promote their stuff. Perhaps it might be a greater thought to not permit them on the seashores and as a substitute, manage a avenue market with native crafts on chosen evenings throughout the resort’s premises, which could possibly be a win-win for each visitors and avenue distributors.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran contains a beautiful adults-only pool on the coronary heart of the spa. Nevertheless, it’s the one devoted adults-only space on the resort. The primary pool on the seaside – which is comprised of two components, one half going through the lagoon and one half going through 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 throughout the European faculty holidays (which was the case throughout my journey). IMHO, it might have been a greater design idea if one a part of the pool (e.g. the half going through the quieter lagoon facet) was reserved for adults seeking blissful seaside moments.

One&Solely Le Saint Géran mentions on its web site that it has three swimming pools. Nevertheless, I might solely rely two actual swimming swimming pools throughout my journey: the principle pool space on the seaside 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 probably not a pool as its solely there for design functions (it was a swimming pool previous to the resort’s refurbishment in 2017). You would after all have a swim right here however it might be just a little bit awkward to say the least :-).

One&Solely Le Saint Géran enjoys a secluded location, which is among the important attracts for many visitors. However whereas it could be idyllic for a honeymoon couple or in the event you simply need full rest for a couple of days, it will possibly fall wanting expectations if you’re on the lookout for nightlife. If you happen to choose 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 may not be the very best place for you.

MY VERDICT

Location: 10/10
Design: 10/10
Pool: 9/10
Rooms: 9/10
Meals: 10/10
Breakfast: 10/10
Spa: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Worth for cash: 10/10
Total expertise: distinctive 9,4/10

TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY

Get monetary savings: get complimentary VIP perks at One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius when reserving through Virtuoso (e.g. improve, each day breakfast, early check-in, late check-out, and $100 USD meals & beverage credit score).

Get monetary savings: learn right here my ideas for getting the very best deal at a luxurious lodge like One&Solely Le Saint Géran Mauritius (and/or obtain many free perks).

Learn my ideas for getting ready your journey in time.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

In the course of the Mauritian summer time months (November to April) the times are lengthy, sizzling and humid. That is additionally cyclone season with January to March being the wettest months – so in the event you do go on a vacation to Mauritius at the moment you need to be ready for some heavy rain. Because it by no means actually will get chilly on the island in winter (Could to October) the common temperature merely drops from sticky to balmy. So on the whole, the very best time to go to Mauritius for cooler, drier climate is from Could to December. That mentioned, in the event you’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 facet of the island.

HOW TO GET THERE

The resort is positioned a 60-minute drive from the airport, and you may guide a personal switch via the lodge, or prebook a less expensive taxi. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Worldwide Airport (SRU) is served by many airways (click on right here for a repeatedly up to date listing of airways that provide direct flights to Mauritius).

PHOTOS

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