Veranda Paul & Virginie

In the Netherlands December means cold and dark. And that was exactly what we (my boyfriend 28y and I 27y) wanted to escape. We eventually chose to visit summer Mauritius, in particularly, Veranda resort Paul et Virginie located in Grand Gaube (North). We booked it for multiple reasons: - it's an adults-only hotel. We don't have children, hence we preferred a holiday without children from others. - the entourage. The hotel appeared luxurious, spacious, relax with a beautiful view. Usually we go for apartments and discover the place, however our main goal for this holiday was to relax and recharge. The appearance, facilities and quality of the accommodation were our primary focus. - the location. The North side is known for more touristic sites. That doesn't mean it was too touristic, just that facilities are adjusted to it. Also, it's easy to cross the Island by bus or taxi from the North. We booked the comfort room. The room was in one of the buildings in the back of the resort next to the fitness center. Very convenient if you like to exercise! The first couple of nights we had some nuisance from locals making music outside of the resort. Although it's not the resort to blame, when we addressed the matter and how it affected us they responded very understanding and arranged us another room (an upgrade even). Very grateful❤️! The rooms are cleaned very frequently, sometimes twice a day. They're spacious, contain airco and a private terrace. The bed is comfortable with soft pillows. The resort counts two pools and a private beach. The sun-beds are occupied quite early, but there is always a bed available. They have a cute beach restaurant which serves as an a-la carte. For lunch, all-inclusive has couple of dishes free of charge and the rest is with a supplement (+/- €8,-). They have a day special which is usually a classic Mauritian dish, well prepared. The view is amazing and you can simply enjoy your lunch and go back to lay on the beach. At the beach they offer some water activities like snorkling, pedal boat, sub board and kajak. For an extra charge you can book a catamaran tour or a romantic private sunset trip on a piroque boat. Unfortunately due to cloudy weather we had to cancel our piroque trip. But knowing the beauty of the sunset in Mauritius I would recommend to try. They offer it with sparkling wine and snacks for €180 for 2 persons. The staff at the beach is very kind and immediately helped me when I bumbed my leg on my first day... 😅. At the main restaurant they offer breakfast and dinner in buffet form. The dinner menu changes everyday. So no need to be scared for an unbalanced diet! The menu mainly contains Mauritian dishes, which means flavoured rice, stews, curry, cooked meat (dear, boar), fish (sea bream). But if you're not into that cuisine you can also find pasta and pizza. I enjoyed that very much too. To me the dessert section is where it got very interesting. Every day it was exciting to try new desserts. As you may know the country is famous for its 15 different types of cane sugar.... Which is the base for basically all their desserts. The food was in general tasty, varied and well thought off. Buffet can often be massive/uncontrolled. But at the resort they maintained a real restaurant-experience while plating it yourself. If we can mention one point of improvement it was that sometimes the fish and meat was overcooked affecting the texture and flavour. We had a tremendous cooked steak and fish at the beach restaurant. So we know the chefs know how to do it 😉. The staff was very kind, checking in on us multiple times to see if we experience any discomfort. 24/7 available to answer any questions. Undoubtedly they put their guests first. They speak fluent french (most of the guests are french as well), english and their native language. Often check at seats surrounding the bar if you like something to drink. They have an extensive cocktail list. Same principle as the beach restaurant, drinks free of charge for all-inclusive and drinks with a supplement (+/- 6 euro). However, the Ti Punch, Mojito and G&T was for us enough to get us through the holiday. For winelovers (like us) I have some unfortunate news. If you're an advance wine drinker I recommend to switch to cocktails. It's not the place, nor the wines. Still enough choice left! At last, every night from 20-23 (or on Sunday and Monday untill 22h) they organized entertainment. It varied from local musicians to dancers. Overall it was okay. Some acts better than others. To us it was sometimes too boring. Especially on a Friday or Saturday night. However, that can obviously differ from others' opinions. Also through the day they organize activities like dance classes, or Mauritian cooking classes. The latter we enjoyed very much! Making our own roti's. Overall we had a lovely stay at Paul et Virginie. Definitely would recommend it to all couples who are looking for no commotion, just peace, time to relax and good cocktails. You are 100% in good hands with the people of Paul et Virginie. Thank you for making our first holiday to Mauritius unforgettable! Read less