Chaka Travel sales specialist, Jean, recently traveled to see the newly opened C Palmar resort in Mauritius. Here is her report from the trip.
Having been in Mauritius only months before to see the newly refurbished Belle Mare Plage, I was very excited to hear I was traveling out again, this time to stay in Constance's newest boutique hotel C Palmar, which is just 10 minutes from Belle Mare Plage itself.
Saying goodbye to the husband and the dogs, I took myself off happily to Belfast City airport to start the first leg of my journey. After a few hours of duty-free shopping at Heathrow, I met up with the rest of my traveling companions and we headed off to the lounge for a glass of fizz (or two) before boarding our Air Mauritius aircraft.
We were on the direct service from Heathrow, which was great, and woke up nearly 12 hours later feeling refreshed and excited for the days ahead. Having already been to Mauritius many times, I knew what to expect from this beautiful island and its people, so the unknown was what to expect from Constance's newest little addition, C Palmar.
The Swimming Pool at C Palmar
Day 1 at C Palmar, Mauritius
Upon arrival in Mauritius, we were picked up and transferred straight to C Palmar for the warmest of Mauritian welcomes by the team, which I have enjoyed at both the Belle Mare Plage and Prince Maurice. It was wonderful to see my traveling companions delighted with their first Constance experience.
After meeting the staff, we headed to the buffet restaurant for breakfast. The staff were notably happy and genuinely enjoyed chatting with the guests.
Following breakfast, we took a short tour of the hotel to get our bearings and then were shown to our rooms. The rooms were fabulous, thoughtfully designed with local wood furnishings, adding to the boutique hotel ambiance.
The rooms felt spacious, equipped with every amenity needed, including an all-inclusive mini bar. With only 50 rooms, arranged in a horseshoe shape, each offers beautiful garden or sea views.
Aerial shot of the resort
Naturally, we agreed to meet at one of the two infinity pools as soon as we unpacked (which was about five minutes later) to enjoy the view of the Indian Ocean. The water was perfect, and we spent some time testing 'the view' from the pool.
C Palmar is situated on a beautiful stretch of white sand. We made our way down to the beach and settled on comfortable sun loungers, but before we could get too relaxed, we decided to try some of the complimentary water sports available from the beach.
After collecting life vests from the water sports hut, we went kayaking, pedaloing, and paddleboarding. The hotel's wifi allowed us to immediately post photos of our water adventures online.
Dinner was at the C Asian restaurant, the à la carte restaurant at Palmar, which seats 26. Be sure to reserve a seat as the food was amazing. Before dinner, we met up with Giovana, the hotel manager, for cocktails on the upper deck, which quickly became my favorite spot over the next two days!
C Palmar from the outside
Day 2 at C Palmar, Mauritius
Started with another super breakfast in the buffet restaurant, I went with an omelette this morning as I had heard rumors of cocktail making classes later in the day so best to have a good breakfast.
Headed straight off after breakfast to see the golf courses at Belle Mare Plage on the complimentary shuttle provided by C Palmar for all guests and also a tour of the hotel, which again for my now new friends, not just traveling companions (the cocktails on the deck the night before proved to be a good bonding experience) was a new experience as none of them had seen the course or the hotel before.
So again I took great delight in seeing their reaction to another fabulous Constance property topped off with a fabulous lunch at the Indigo restaurant at Belle Mare Plage.
Back at C Palmar late afternoon, we were being served C Palmar’s version of afternoon tea which was delightful and well received by all and then along came the cocktail class that had been rumored that morning.
Everyone was strangely very eager to take part in this and a real bonus was whatever cocktail one of us chose to make we all got to have one, that somehow made the afternoon go by quite quickly and the next thing you know we were getting ready for yet another fabulous dinner, this time in the buffet restaurant, joined by the lovely Fabrice, Sales Manager for Constance.
Having been served up the most beautiful lamb in the buffet they had taken the time to pair up a lovely red wine and discuss the wine itself with us which is another part of the all-inclusive, actually, 100 wines from around the world are included I’m told, I’m just hoping nobody is going to ask me to sample them all today!
Day 3 at C Palmar, Mauritius
Morning at leisure so off we headed back down to the beach as you simply just couldn’t resist that sand and crystal blue water. By this stage, as the property is so small, you are now beginning to see the same people and chat happily as if you have always known them. This is a first for me at a property and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to people's plans for the day and what they had already been up to.
Lunchtime brought another great first for me, a cooking lesson at the C Asian restaurant where we made the most fabulous curry from scratch. I will not admit to how much help we had from the excellent chef, but our curry was good enough to be served up for lunch in the buffet restaurant for all to enjoy!
The afternoon again was spent leisurely between the beach and the upper deck where you are continuously looked after by a happy smiling staff member who is only too happy to whip you up a drink of your choice while you enjoy the sunshine.
Our last evening was kicked off with canapés and Champagne for all guests out by the pool. The canapés had been made by the fabulous Dominique, who himself took great delight in seeing how well received they were and chatted happily to every guest in the most beautiful French accent. We also had entertainment this evening with local singers who set the tone for a lovely evening ahead.
Off we went back to the C Asian for another great meal and this time we did the cooking ourselves at the tables with hot stones, an unusual but very likable experience which I would certainly do again. For our final farewell before heading home the following morning, we had a rum tasting experience in the main bar, giving us a flavor of all the rums on offer at C Palmar which was enjoyed by guests and led to a good time in the bar that evening for sure!
The C Asian Restaurant at C Palmar
Championship golf available
Day 4 at C Palmar, Mauritius
Up and out nice and early for the flights home, we said our goodbyes to the staff as if they were old friends. It is not hard to make friends in this boutique hotel both with staff and other guests and I can only look forward to my next visit, and maybe I will even see you there!