Le Saint Geran Hotel Review

Overall Rating

A 6-star resort, perfect honeymoon or get away from it all holiday.

Luxury comes at a price. See Review.

The Grande Dame of Mauritius" : A paradise within paradise with 6-star service. A Spa and gourmet cuisine. Le Saint Geran Hotel is a gorgeous 6-star hotel is the ultimate indulgence. Set beside a sparkling, pristine beach on the edge of the Indian Ocean, on a 60 acre private peninsula, it is the epitome of relaxation, luxury, gastronomy, and enjoyment. Newly redesigned with supreme elegance, Le Saint G ran embraces all that you could desire and more. A Gary Player designed golf course and naturally, 162 suites are pure bliss.
Basking on the golden beaches of Belle Mare peninsula on the north-east coast of Mauritius, Le Saint G ran sits sparkling amid 60 acres of tropical gardens and thousands of swaying coconut trees. With the sapphire depths of the Indian Ocean on one side, a coral-sheltered lagoon on the other, and over 2 km of secluded white sand beach encircling the hotels grounds. The hotel even has it's only helicopter pad, which I would definitely pay the extra transfer cost and arrive in not only style, but to save an hours drive from the airport - we went via Sovereign and paid £120 for this option - well worth every penny. We stayed in a first floor Junior Suite which was exquisite with huge sliding panoramic picture windows which led onto your own private balcony, seemed to magically bring the sea close enough to touch. Swaying palm trees and hammocks beautifully placed in manicured gardens in this oasis, wonderfully located opposite the ocean. The enormous 6ft bed was covered with Egyptian cotton sheets, piled high with pillows. You even had a choice of pillows and bed linen of different weighs if not to your liking. Huge showers and bath invite you to linger amidst the mist-free mirrors, and aromatherapy oils and bath salts. Internet access is available (not broadband), satellite television, digital video and hi-fi systems with a large choice of DVD films are available, (films you have to rent). All guests are treated to personalized 24-hour butler service including luggage unpacking/packing. In-room dining is available. Your bed will be made up in the evening, each day with a different flower picture delicately placed on your bed. Also, a little cake delicacy to nibble on left on your pillow. You have 3 restaurants to choose from, La Terrasse (half-board restaurant in or outside), Paul et Virginie, which we had a free honeymoon dinner, but actually turned out to be the most expensive item we had overall. Spoon des Iles, world-renowned chef Alain Ducasse oversees this restaurant. We had a 700 Mauritian rupee allowance towards are meal if we dinned other than in La Terrasse, but the meal would still have cost approx. £200 each if we had taken up the option. No need, when the food at La Terrasse was out of this world. One night each week is an open-night barbecue on the edge of the beach, which was like no ordinary barbecue. Entertainment was fantastic, with Mauritian/Africa shows and a resident band. The band only played until midnight, but I have heard that there are plans to extend this. Also the Casino was closed and apparently they are thinking of turning that into a late night venue for guests. This would be situated away from guest rooms so not to disturb anyone - a great idea, one which I hope they'll go ahead with.
Beach attendants in abundance but respect discretion. Cooling towels offered and even sunglasses cleaned with no expectation of a gratuity. Hotel Managers always made themselves present. Ratio of approx. 6 staff to every guess (no lie).

Complimentry water sports located within the hotel grounds - do make use of them. Anything from sailing, snorkeling, water ski, you name it. Extra charges for small game fishing (at cost), Deep sea fishing (approx. £200 - £300 per day). Also own 9 and 18 hole golf course within grounds and complimentary lesson and diving lessons available. Tennis, table tennis, darts, free hire of bikes, (even a member of staff will accompany you cycling if you so require at no cost).

As I have said, luxury comes at a price, but at Le Saint Geran well worth it. Be also prepare to mix with famous and V.I.P people.

Bad points: Well, luxury comes at a price. £5 bottle of wine in Britain costs £50 plus, Champagne was approx. £100 plus. Glass of coke/beer £3.50, liqueurs from £10 a glass, water at restaurant table £3 for a bottle.

Good points: Perfect honeymoon or get away from it all. Has a children club and nanny service. Not many children were there, but those that were behaved excellently. An oasis in Mauritian.

Tips: (1) Do not book excursions, arrange a set price with a taxi driver just outside hotels grounds. We paid £20 - £30 for both of us for a driver and car all day at our disposal. Our local travel agent there were going to charge us more than double that to arrange the same thing - beware!
(2) Have afternoon tea at the hotel - we shared one between two as more than enough.
(3) Make use of complimentary water sports and sports centre. Fantastic golf.
(4) Book helicopter transfer to hotel.
(5) Have a luxurious holiday of a lifetime.
(6) Do not travel by British Airways and if possible book Business Class not Travellers Plus.
(7) Don't tell anyone about Le Saint Geran otherwise everyone will want to go.