A bit of heaven in Mauritius
By Katie Tarbox
At the slate-tiled infinity-edge pool at the One & Only Le Touessrok, butlers clean your glasses before you enter and exit the pool.
I’ve never been a fan of people who talk about beach vacations with hyperbole. My beach heaven is simple – a margarita, powdery sand I could run my freshly-pedicured toes through, my iPod, a book and a pristine view of the ocean. The accoutrement of cold-water sprays and tropical fruit popsicles at luxury resorts are nice, but a beach is a beach. At least, that’s what I thought until I visited a Mauritian beach.
Mark Twain once wrote, “You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.” Considering my 24-hour journey to the small island off the coast of Madagascar in the middle of the Indian Ocean, I am floored Twain even managed to make it to this Eden. For almost 100 years, tourism has been the linchpin for the Mauritian economy, and the two One & Only properties, Le Saint Géran and Le Touessrok, exemplify Twain’s celestial incantations. Meanwhile, the eco-conscious traveler will be pleased to know that both resorts earned their Green Globe Certification (the environmental worldwide benchmarking program for the travel industry) in 2000.
