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We travelled from London Gatwick direct to Mauritius for our two-week honeymoon with British Airways.
On arrival at Mauritius, we had a private transfer to take us directly from the airport to our hotel. The transfer was an executive car, clean, with air con and a very polite driver.
This was our first holiday to Mauritius, though my husband had been there for work in the past and recommended the blue skies, white sands, clear water, good food and friendly locals as a great place for us to spend our honeymoon.
We spent a lot of money on our honeymoon and booked one of only two master suites with a premium food, drinks and spa package. We were expecting our honeymoon to be extremely luxurious and to feel like we were in our own little paradise and to be well looked after by friendly people.
To say our expectations were met would be an understatement and thanks to Nikki it was everything we could have hoped for and more.
We stayed at Paradise Cove. It is a beautiful boutique hotel with several à la carte restaurants, a spa, and a private beach which the hotel is built around.
Its name is extremely fitting. We chose this hotel for many reasons, one being it was over 18s and couples only, the perfect fit for our romantic honeymoon.
We were particularly looking forward to staying in the master suite, as it opened up straight onto the beach and had its own private terrace where we could sunbathe without even having to exit our room.
Most of our days were spent either sunbathing on our terrace, at the main pool or at the top salt water infinity pool. Champagne was served to us pretty much anywhere and we were never asked by any member of staff to provide proof that we were entitled to the premium package because the staff just knew our names and room number and were so professional. We also had three couples massages and used the open air spa, which was heaven.
One day we decided to be adventurous and go out in a glass bottomed boat to the reef to see the coral and marine life. Again, the wonder of having a private beach is we didn’t have to leave the hotel grounds to get the boat. The trip lasted a couple of hours and was lovely, with some beautiful things to see.
The food was amazing as they had different à la carte restaurants each night, so you could choose what you liked. The Asian cuisine was divine, as was their whole lobster and fragrant curries. This was topped of by the fact that some nights we ate in a private pod on stilts out over the cove. Dinner on the beach right by the shore was a magical moment too.
The staff were all extremely attentive, all local, very hard working, very friendly and all spoke good English. They all went the extra mile to look after and pre-empt our every need.
The weather was good, typically tropical, hot, sunny, humid at times, with rain from time to time. The evenings were never chilly and never dropped below around 20 degrees.
We would not hesitate to return and feel it was worth the amount of money we spent. We have spoken about returning many times and I am sure we will when the occasion is right. The memories of our honeymoon are only very special ones, thanks to the planning and organisation from Nikki and the service from Paradise Cove.
It could have been an extremely different story and turned into a nightmare without the care and dedication from Nikki. Sadly, 24 hours before our flight, Air France went on strike and cancelled our flight. They offered us no alternative and just left us high and dry.
Nikki managed to get us a flight two days later, which was with a better carrier and direct. She also moved our private transfer and hotel booking with no additional stress or cost for us.
We are under no illusion that if we had not booked with Nikki and had gone directly with a holiday company that the outcome would have been entirely different.
Our advice, if you are thinking about Mauritius for a holiday destination, is to go for a bespoke service stay at Paradise Cove.
For a secure, stress-free experience and personalised service, book with Nikki at NC Travel. We have booked all our main holidays with her for the past seven years and will never use anyone else.
Bob and Lisa Hockley