HOTELS
Paradise
Cove
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The name says
it all, and the hotel truly deserves it from the first sight.
Built around a private cove, it is a completely closed universe,
a true secluded luxury cocoon where you can enjoy and relax,
far away from the outside world.
Located at the North of Mauritius, it is conveniently located,
3 miles from Grand Bay and 15 miles from the capital Port
Louis. It overlooks the lagoon and offers a superb view of
the northern islands, Le Coin de Mire, Ile Plate, and Ile
Ronde.
It is a private hotel, owned by a local family who started
it 10 years ago and who keep investing in the hotel. It was
completely renovated in 1999. It is now run by Jean-Pierre
Hall, who had previously worked in France at the Byblos in
Saint-Tropez and then in Gassin nearby.
The 47 rooms (50 sq m), 18 junior suites (60 sq m) and 2 large
suites (90 sq m) are all open to the private beach on the
cove, each one with its own terrace or balcony with armchairs
and table. Superbly decorated and furnished, refined in every
detail, they will welcome the most demanding guests in their
intimate and luxurious comfort. Each of them features a cozy
corner with a couch, armchairs, table and TV, a large bathroom
with separate bath, shower and toilet.
To relax, you may enjoy a rocking chair on the white sand
beach of the cove or decide for one of the individual beach
terraces further down near the sea, overlooking the corral
reef.
More than 200
people work to give you the best service, warm and caring,
with everyone wanting you to enjoy the nicest possible stay.
They all call you by your name and everything is done to make
you feel that you are an individual guest in a private home.
To achieve this, the Paradise Cove rely on
fresh and motivated people, hired after graduation from school
and then trained at the hotel. You are given a fresh fruit
juice while laying on the beach or a cocktail in your room
to welcome you back before dinner!
And of course, you can exercise and practice any sport you
wish (water skiing, windsurfing, hobie cat, diving, big
game fishing, tennis, undersea walking, parasailing,…)
or enjoy the Oasis Health Club and Spa, fully equipped with
training machines (often mentioned as the best gym on
the island), sauna and hammam. The massage is one of the Paradise
Cove specials, with masseurs experts in every massage technique
(Indian, Thai, Swedish, sport, relax, subtle, slimming, …).
All this made you hungry and you deserve a reward. You are
not to be disappointed, as the chef, Soobhug Amarsing,
is one of the best in Mauritius. Graduated from the hotel
school in Curepipe, he was part of the opening of the Royal
Palm where he stayed for 8 years, went then to the
PLM MontDésir, joined the Paradise
Cove at its opening and became its chef last year.
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The
Waiter |
Fresh
Seafood |
Executive Chef
Soobhug Amarsing
of Paradise Cove
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There are 3
restaurants at the Paradise Cove, each one
for different occasions.
The Beach Bar, at the end of the property,
overlooks the lagoon and gives a superb view on the open sea
and the nearby islands. It is the ideal place for a casual
lunch between a dive and a windsurf ride, to enjoy barbecued
seafood and meats with exotic cocktails.
At La Belle Créole, the main restaurant,
over the pool and the cove, Soobhug prepares an inventive
and refined cuisine. The menu changes everyday. Ther are always
4 starters, including a day’s salad and a soup, 4 main
dishes with 1 grilled meat, 1 sauce dish and 2 typical dishes,
Mauritian, Creole or Chinese, and 4 desserts, ice creams and
sherbets, 1 Mauritian and 1 classical. This menu has a 3 week
cycle and the whole set is changed every quarter, to follow
the seasonality of the products.
During the week are also special days, like Mauritian on Mondays,
Indian on Thursdays, Mediterranean or Chinese on Sundays…
The gastronomic restaurant Cocoteraie is
even better. A dinner takes you to a different world. There
is no dining room, as you eat in your own private thatched
pavilion on piles, over the cove, suspended between the sea
and the stars. Among other delectable Soobhug’s specialties,
I enjoyed superb palm heart dishes prepared with shrimp in
salad or in tartar with spices, a great panned red snapper
in a creamy saffron sauce with sautéed figs, a delightful
subtly spiced crab broth, or a tasty curried lobster. I can
also recommend the cinnamon ice cream with ginger for dessert,
if you are still hungry enough for it! Soobhug is always inventing
some novelties to surprise his guests. One of his specials
was made up for the movie star Catherine Deneuve: a chilled
avocado soup with fresh crab meat (put the avocado with
coco milk and cream, salt and pepper in a blender, chill the
blend and add the warm crab meat before serving).
To complete your pleasure, the wine list offers a very good
selection of wines from France and South Africa, and the waiters
will wisely help you select between them according to your
meal.
Before or after dinner, the Cozy Corner Bar, overlooking the
pool, will welcome you for a cocktail. Every evening you will
enjoy the music: local folk, piano, jazz or the Mauritian
sega, full of rhythm, colors and exotica.
The Paradise Cove is also a member of the
Relais & Châteaux organization.
Rates: between $250 and $450 per day per
person, depending on the season and the type of accommodation.