The newly built Anantara IKO Mauritius is the latest hotel to enter the Mauritius luxury tourism scene. But this is one hotel that’s doing things a little differently.
Although the hotel boasts the same exquisite scenery, beautiful beaches, and turquoise pools you would expect to see at any good Mauritius hotel, it also has a range of activities on offer (many of which are complimentary) that make it stand out from the crowd.
At only ten minutes from the airport, it made sense that our first few nights on our recent holiday were to be spent at this exquisite hotel. Here are some of the things we did during our stay that already have us longing to return:
- Foodie experiences: While the resort’s main buffet restaurant, Horizon, and their fine-dining a la carte specialty, Sea.Fire.Salt., are experiences in themselves, we also enjoyed partaking in a range of other foodie experiences. On the offer were cooking and detox classes but our favourites were the smoothie-making class which was the perfect end to a delicious breakfast, and the pre-dinner rum tasting where we paired locally made craft rums against the barman’s own home brew! For those that really want to up their foodie experience the hotel also organises guided street food and market tours to the local village of Mahebourg.
- Wellness activities: A stay at Anantara is the ideal excuse to just stop and revitalise body, mind, and soul. At the fitness centre here we found several activities where we were able to do just that. These included complimentary yoga classes, meditation sessions, Tai Chi, Pilates, and bums and tums classes. The perfect excuse to work off all that delicious food I mentioned.
- Going underwater: Anantara is set within the 353-hectare protected Blue May Marine Park and the resort offers complimentary snorkelling excursions for its guests. We really enjoyed getting a glimpse of the rich underwater world to be found here, while our little daughter could also enjoy the action through the glass floor of the boat. Island hopping speedboats and catamaran cruises are also a possibility for anyone wanting to spend an entire day discovering the beautiful big blue.
- Venturing inland: While it’s no surprise that Mauritius boasts a beautiful coastline and sparkling azure lagoon, what may surprise you is that the inland of the island is also well worth exploring. You can choose to explore the 7km coastline yourself, exploring the rockpools as you go, or also on offer was several guided hiking and walking trails to discover the forested interior and breathtaking waterfalls of this island at the nearby La Vallée de Ferney Nature Reserve paradise while cycling and e-bikes were also available for free.
- It’s spa time: Of course, the whole point of a beach holiday is to relax and this wouldn’t be completely possible without some time at the spa. The spa at Anantara IKO Mauritius offers a range of carefully crafted experiences including their highly recommended LaCambuse Fusion Massage which combines a salt body scrub with a massage that combines hot stones with heated sand and herbs. Cue intense relaxation!
So, what are you waiting for? Book your holiday to Anantara IKO Mauritius today and discover a Mauritian paradise quite like any other.