I met the delightful Darren and Emma around five years ago when they were looking for someone to look after their travels.
Having organised several lovely holidays since, I then had the privilege to organise a once-in-a-lifetime family trip for ten nights to the scene of their destination wedding in Mauritius.
Darren’s daughter, Eliza, kindly captured the story of their magical trip…
In summer 2022, Sam and I were on holiday in Croatia while my dad, Darren, and his wife Emma were at One & Only Le Saint Géran in Mauritius, where they had been married almost 14 years earlier.
We had a holiday-to-holiday Facetime that involved a few drinks, and they suggested that as their collective children had all been too young to attend their wedding, would we be interested in a special trip there the following September. Err, we considered it for around a millisecond - YES PLEASE!
All of us kids had grown up together and consider ourselves one big family, so Emma's two sons (my stepbrothers) Ollie and Brad, their girlfriends, Cat and Charlie, my sister Ellen and I, plus our boyfriends, Ed and Sam, joined the parents as a travelling party of ten.
We flew directly, the longest flight I’d personally done. The cabin crew and ground staff were all great, and with a comfortable transfer we arrived at the hotel, located on a pristine private peninsula on the northern tip of the renowned Belle Mare coastline.
Dad and Emma have amazing taste, so I knew the place would be beautiful, plus having seen their wedding pictures everyone had an idea of what it would be like, but it certainly exceeded my expectations.
Driving through the palm trees to the huge entrance was quite a moment. We were all jaded after the long night flight, but also excited to finally arrive and be together in such an amazing place.
The entrance is breathtaking as you walk through the lobby (the highest ceilings!) and straight out onto the beach.
The accommodation, staff and service were equally impressive. We had so much space, were extremely comfortable and the resort was the perfect balance of buzzing but not full.
Considering we were always trying to seat ten people on sun loungers or to eat, it was superb that we never had a problem or felt cramped anywhere.
The food was outstanding - everything was truly delicious. All the men are gym lovers and big-eaters, and the girls weren’t far behind. I found it fabulous that there were different freshly cooked options available each night and such a comprehensive choice.
It was also my birthday whilst we were there and that night’s celebration included dinner at Prime, the steak restaurant, which was fantastic.
I was gifted a gorgeous treatment at the stunning spa as a birthday present from Sam, and the therapist that did my facial was so friendly and knowledgeable. The spa team had also kindly prepared a lovely little birthday gift bag for me. 😊
The resort facilities kept us entertained throughout, particularly the water sports, gym and tennis courts, and we also enjoyed the nightly band’s performance.
Much as we could easily have stayed at the hotel every day, we did venture on a few trips, including the rum distillery tour; reptile sanctuary (where feeding the giant tortoises was awesome); an amazing boat tour with waterfalls, snorkelling, dolphin and turtle sightings; and an exploration of the abandoned lighthouse on a small offshore island. Some of the team did a half-day diving trip and the guys played some golf.
The weather was perfect too – not too warm to be active (we don’t like sitting still the whole time) but great to swim and be in the sea comfortably.
Everything about the holiday was special. It’s hard to get all of us in a room together in the UK, so to have quality time together was fantastic, especially in such a beautiful and meaningful location.
We’ve been lucky to have been away several times as a family of six, but it was a first with our partners in tow, which was great to get to know each other better. We even decided to follow up with a mini version for a weekend in the UK this summer.
Although I like to try new places, I would go back to Mauritius in a heartbeat and I'm sure Dad and Emma will return in the years to come - it’s a special place for them.
Thanks to them for truly spoiling us with an incredible experience, and to Gillian for her help organising it and ensuring everything went smoothly.
Eliza