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First with the Latest Business Travel News
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MAURITIUS : TOP INCENTIVE DESTINATION 
incentive target group can find a suitable location. The hotels are nicely scattered all over the island. In Flic and Flac the One & Only Group runs La Pirogue and the Sugar Beach resort. In Belle Mare there is the One & Only Le Saint Géran and the Coco Beach. Finally, the prestigious six-star hotel One & Only Le Touessrok is located at Trou d'Eau Douce.
At the beach of Flic and Flac (the west coast of the island) the four-star hotel La Pirogue is remarkable because of its extremely beautiful tropical garden with benzoe trees, flamboyant hibiscus and bougainvilleas. In this Garden of Eden reed-covered small houses with the rooms of this cosy hotel (two per house). In this hotel a cosy atmosphere dominates, such as in the Paul & Virginie restaurant with a magnificent view of the pool and of the Indian Ocean. The garden flows over into the sugar-white beach, offering a lot of water sports possibilities. By the way: Flic and Flac is not far from Rivière Noire, a centre for (leisure) fishing. La Pirogue is suitable for conference groups, because it has a conference hall for 250 people and a small room for 40 delegates.
If you walk south along the beach at Flic and Flac from La Pirogue, you will automatically end up at the Sugar Beach Resort. This neighbouring hotel also belongs to the One & Only Group, so that guests of both hotels can enjoy all facilities of these hotels. And yet, the Sugar Beach Hotel breathes a totally different atmosphere. The guests have the impression of being in a colonial atmosphere. In the bars you can feel to be a planter for a while and make your choice from various kinds of rum and cigars. Also the ponds and the mountain view from the main building are imposing. Sports addicts will find everything they need in the beautifully equipped fitness club. The hotel is very well suitable for large incentive groups, and the conference hall can seat up to 350 guests.
The Saint Géran in Belle Mare at the east coast is one of the two six-star hotels that belong to the One & Only Group on Mauritius. The inside flows flawelssly over into the outside because of the furniture, the water patches in the lobby and the luscious gardens with the rooms around the hotel. A walk along the beach illustrates how perfectly Saint Géran is embedded in the landscape. 'La grande Dame' as the hotel is also called on Mauritius, is situated on the peninsula of Belle Mare, with on one side the ocean and the lagoon on the other. At the point where ocean and lagoon meet, the hotel regularly organises barbecues. Le Saint Géran also has its own small marina and a unique beauty centre Le Spa Givenchy. The hotel is flexible towards conferences and incentives. There are four restaurants, including the famous Le Spoon des Iles, regarded to be one of the best on the island.
Also in Belle Mare, and equally owned by One & Only, is Le Coco Beach Hotel. However, here stops any resemblance to Le Saint Géran. This hotel can easily be said to be the odd one out. It is very colourful and there is a genuine club atmosphere. The animation and sports possibilities are almost endless. Also party beasts will feel at home here. So, this hotel, totalling 333 rooms, is especially suitable for large incentive groups that also want to have party facilities on top of the sun and sea. More serious business can be organised in the conference hall, holding 300 guests. 
The six-star One & Only Le Touessrok simply has to be one of the most romantic resorts on earth. Surrounded by sea, palm trees, flower, small beaches and islands, this luxury hotel in Trou d'Eau Douce is an ideal spot for incentive groups to forget the rest of the world. This hotel does not only have a magnificent location, it was also totally renovated in 2002 by famous internal decorator Philippe Starck. The combination of simplicity, harmony and luxury, of intelligent opulence and simple perfection is overwhelming. Le Touessrok also has a very considerate staff that will go out of its way to please the guests. And if you fear that all this peace and quiet will give you a cardiac arrest, you can go to another island to get a fresh nose. Le Touessrok looks out on two 
islands and runs permanent boat shuttles between them and the hotel. Ile aux Cerfs is especially known for its golf course, which probably is also one of the world's nicest. The other dream island Ilot Mangénie is even privately owned by Le Touessrok and is described by the hotel as their Robinson Crusoe island. There is a restaurant where group barbecues can be organised. It doesn't need stressing that groups will like such an event! MAURITIUS: PARADISE FULL OF CONTRASTS Last year Mauritius welcomed 700,000 tourists (including 10,000 Belgians). The majority are wealthy tourists staying in the numerous luxury hotels at the coast. Indeed, the island (as large as the Belgian province of Limburg) has 150kms of white beaches with magnificent lagoons. No wonder that this island is the ideal place for all sorts of water sports. For incentive groups, snorkelling, skin diving, catamaran sailing and deep-sea fishing are just some of the possibilities. Once the island consisted of unspoilt jungle. Remainders of these original forests are still to be seen in the wild valley of the Rivière Noir in the south-west of the island. Not far from Chamarel (also famous for its spectacular falls) the Parc Aventure was built in the tropical rain forest. Groups can choose to make a trip along two tracks. The Mille feuille track is easy and aims at enjoying the landscape. The Aventure track is more technical and its obstacles make it into a kind of challenge track in the jungle. It never becomes dangerous because the participant use safety belts. This is ideal for teambuilding and incentive groups. |
Mauritius is a paradise island in the Indian Ocean, far away from everything else. So, you need to be prepared to fly Air Mauritius for half a day when you want to reach the island. Once landed you find yourself on a paradise island. Long ago only tropical birds visited this Garden of Eden, until the Dutch set foot on the island in 1598. They did not stay on a permanent basis, but their stay did not go unnoticed. They gave the island its name (after elderman Maurits of Nassau), and they also extinguished the dodo (a prehistoric walking bird that was not able to fly) –something for which the Dutch still have to take the blame. After the Dutch came the French in the 18 th century. They created the sugar cane plantations and imported slaves from Africa to do the heavy work. The inland jungle was almost completely destroyed to make place for the sugar cane. The French presence would have a permanent influence on the language (French and Creole), which is still spoken by the majority of Mauritanians. However, the official language at the moment is English. This is a result of the English occupation from 1810. 
The English abolished slavery and attracted cheap workforce from India. As a result Mauritius has become a melting pot of cultures. Apart from Catholic churches you see Hindu temples and mosques on the island. The population comes in all shades between white and black. Apart from the small group of Franco-Mauritanians, there are Creoles (blacks and mixed blood), that make up a quarter of the population. Over half of the people have Indian ancestors, and there are also Mauritanians from Chinese descent. This makes the island, which gained independence in 1968, into a remarkable and interesting holiday destination.
An absolute must in each programme are the planters' homes that were built in the 19 th century by very rich planters. We visited the planters' lodge Le Saint Aubin (1819), a part of the huge private property La Route du Thé. You can have a Mauritian lunch there, and groups can learn about the processing of sugar cane and vanilla. E-mail: 
And then there are the gardens in Pamplemousse. This botanical garden is especially known for its 200-years old palm trees and the rare water lilies with circular leaves, which can reach a diameter of up to 70 centimetres. 
Finally, the capital Port Louis is the crossroads of all cultures that enrich the island. You should certainly visit the central market, where you can buy literally everything. Also worth seeing are the shops and streets in Chinatown. The chique, hypermodern and quiet Caudran Waterfront (a sharp contrast with the busy inner town) invites the visitor to relax.
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