So, I am cashing in a ton of points this summer and spending a four nights at the new Hilton in Mauritius...(I'm on my way to Madagascar-long story-don't ask)

Has anyone been there yet or had any experiences there?? I'm Gold, so I hope some sort of upgrade may be possible.... I was actually amazed that there was space for points....I have almost always stuck out at resorts in the past!

Thanks!

I am going to Mauritius in June. Do you have any experience with the Mauritius Hilton? Or even knowledge of the location of the Hilton, and whether you consider it desirable?

I have been referred to an agent recommended by Air Mauritius who handles hotel bookings on the island. He said I am the first person who has ever called, asking for the Hilton. He says the hotel is quite isolated, about 40 minutes from any town.

Any opinions about this hotel or any other hotel on Mauritius would be greatfully received.

Well,I've not been to this hotel, just to the Sofitel "next door" (1/2 mile).
The hotel looks beautiful. It is close to a nice little village called Flic en Flac.
My advice is to always use cabs as car rentals are expensive and driving on the left may be hazardous. You can keep the same cab for the whole day and it will cost you 30-40$. Enjoy your stay!

[This message has been edited by Sylvest941 (edited 05-03-2002).]

Thought I'd bump this again ... just wondering if you ended up staying there, or at least checked out the Hilton property on your visit.

Skippythelizard, I stayed at the Mauritius Hilton and was delighted with my decision. It is a beautiful resort on the west side of the island. (Note: I was very unimpressed with the overdeveloped north side of the island. There are an overabundance in the Grand Baie area, the first area to be developed on the island.)

I am (momentarily) Hilton Diamond. I arrived at the hotel at 1am. My preference is for a nonsmoking king. They only had a smoking twin available. As Diamond, I was puzzled, but was too exhausted to care. However, they did have a large fruit bowl, as well a polo shirt on one bed and a pretty swimsuit wrapup as gifts on the other bed. Clearly the room had been prepared for me.

In the morning, I was moved to a beautiful suite. I was really happy with it. Also, I was delighted to learn that my rate included dinner. There was nothing that indicated so on the website. It is my impression that is common practice at all hotels on Mauritius. (They are all half board.)

I had arranged with the hotel to have a driver at the airport waiting for me. Each morning, I talked to the concierge about what I wanted to see that day. He negotiated a rate with an English speaking taxi driver. This worked better for me than renting a car.

The hotel grounds were beautiful, lushly landscaped and well maintained. The hotel staff had complimentary activities throughout the day, and had various water sports available at a fee. The main restaurant is open to the outdoors, with a roof but no sides.

The biggest spa in Mauritius is at the Hilton and has an extensive list of services. You can receive a lit of treatments by email.

Other than the small glitch of the twin bedded smoking room on arrival, I was delighted with my stay at the Hilton. I would happily stay there again.

Excellent ... I appreciate the feedback.

I'm thinking ahead about an anniversary trip with my wife and good places to burn off some points and miles.

It's only too bad I'll likely no longer be a diamond by the time we actually stay there.

I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do before the VIP awards with airline tickets go away at the end of the year. One place I'm really curious about is the Hilton Mauritius. There have been a couple of postings that really intrigue me.

My question, though, is how I get to Mauritius from the central United States and whether I can do it using the airline portion of a GLOP award. Has anyone looked into this?

As far as airline, I would presume that Hilton would book you on a MSN-ORD-LHR-MRU routing. Another possibility would be MSN-CVG-ATL-JNB-MRU using Delta & SAA. Of course, I don't even know for sure if Delta flies to Madison.

I tried this last week from West Coast. Was told you could only use one award as listed in airline awards between US and nations served by partner airlines. You could fly JFK - JNB, on South Africa Air with Hilton Award; getting from your home to JFK would be at your expense as would the segment JNB - MRU. This is still a valuable award when you consider the number of miles it takes to get to South Africa.

I am not sure if HH would let you use Air France for their awards, but AF flies all the way to Saint Denis Reunion(RUN) and Antananarivo(TNR)- The two closest islands to Mauritius -.

ORD-CDG-RUN-TNR or ORD-CDG-RUN. then taking Air Mauritius flight to MRU.

AndrewM

South Africa Airlines does fly to MRU but Hilton only has an award from the US to South Africa. British Airways also has service to South Africa but the only award BA offers is from the US directly to London with the GLOP award. Any travel beyond London requires add on points or purchasing a seperate ticket. The points and fees required to go from London to South Africa are rather substantial.

You can fly from JNB To MRU for as little as $250 RT. Air France does not participate in Hilton Honors but Delta an Air France partner does. Unfortunately Delta only code shares with South Africa to African destinations and you can not use Air France to Africa.

[This message has been edited by cy-gone (edited 12-24-2002).]

I'm seriously thinking about going there in the summer of 2003. Is our North American summer time frame a good season in the Indian Ocean? Did you stayed there on a award? If so, was it difficult to book? Which airlines did you used to get there? Air Canad is definetely not going there

I was there in June 2002. Weather was beautiful. No award nights were available. The price for the room only came down about a month ahead to a rate I considered acceptable. Keep checking - and rechecking.

I flew into Mauritius on Air Mauritius from Hong Kong. I flew on to Johanneberg on South African Airlines. Mauritius is a popular resort for Europeans so you will find that many of the carriers fly there from their European gateways - perhaps just two or three days a week, however.

Air France will take you to MRU from Montreal connecting in Paris. Also BA fly there so you could connect in London with BA or possibly Air Mauritius

Nigel

Its a GREAT property and they took good care of me, even as a Gold. HUGE suite, golf shirt, fruit bowl etc.. The Spa is great...book in advance to make sure you get the times you want. Water skiing is included in the rate, as are sailboats etc... lots of fun. Dont pay extra to have dinner in the "fancy" restaurant.. its not worth the money for the food, but it is more romantic than the buffet.

Make sure you throw some bread in the water surrounding the restaurant and check out the fish that go CRAZY.. they flip out of the water over each other trying to get the bread. Maybe they dont feed them.

Have fun!