The best Holiday Resort I have ever been in Mauritius is The Domaine Les Pailles. As I briefly mentioned in one of my previous reviews, this is a humongous holiday resort which stretches out for miles and miles, and comprises of activities, fun and cuisine for every ages and tastes. It is situated at Pailles, a small town just a few minutes before Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. Finding the road to Domaines Les Pailles turned out to be quite difficult because there is one specific corner road we had to turn into and we kept missing roads! But once we got into the road which would take us to the resort, it was as if we'd immediately been shut out of the real world. As one approaches the resort, hill and mountain landscapes arise in welcome. In fact, the resort is nestled among hills, valleys and mountains. The long driveway is a really spectacular drive.
There are so many activities at Le Domaines Les Pailles that we barely knew where to start! There is a large, luxurious casino, complete with parking lot and gazebo. Everything about that casino invites you in (so be careful with your budget!). It really has a warm and welcoming décor and what I particularly liked was the fact that it was not just another vulgar club full of perverts or hardcore gamblers and perverts- this casino was one posh
place! I liked the contrast inside: While the décor is done in classic and rich colors of gold and green, the music is quite contemporary. In fact, when I first stepped in, I was expecting a more antique, classic environment. Like all other Casinos, it has the usual fruit machines and poker tables, among the other games. But what differentiated this casino from all the others I've been was the atmosphere- you do not feel the need to go and throw all your money away, it just invites you to relax, have a good time or sit in the lounge with your friends for a chat. I sure wasn't expecting to relax and have so much fun in casinos (since I'm not overly fond of casinos in general). Please note that there is a non-smoking policy over there.
Le Domaine Les Pailles also has a quad biking station. From there you can rent these amazingly gorgeous and large quad bikes and go vroom-vroom over the picturesque countryside of the resort. Lots of safety regulations are given because there have been one or two accidents in the past- when they just started the quad biking station. In addition, they provide horseback riding as entertainment. We didn't ride the horses but they have a stable where they let you pet, play or even clean some of the gentler horses. For beginners you can ride in the ring, but if you are more advanced, then you can just take the horse out for a trip on the grounds. And speaking of animals, Le Domaine Les Pailles also has two huge, huge bulls called Rocky and Rambo!
These two are over there in order to demonstrate the ancient sugar crushing method. Mauritius is internationally reputed for the sugar cane fields and its legendary Mauritian sugar. As shown at the resort, long before development and the building of the factories, people used to lead bulls through circles which crushed the canes into sugar. And this is demonstrated by Rocky or Rambo who are lead by friendly guides. However, you can't help but feel sorry for the poor animals! Over there you can grab some lumps of sugar to feed the occasional horses which we passed by in the grounds.
Next to the sugar crushing demonstration, there is a mini-rum distillery. Like the sugar, Mauritius is also known for its famous Green Island rum and you get to see every step of how rum is made. The bonus factor is that we also got to have a taste by the end of the demonstration. In addition, there also is a mini-train station where you board a small train which takes you around the grounds. This is a trip which can easily last one hour because of the vastness of the Domaine Les Pailles. Along with the train, carriages pulled by horses also take visitors for a tour.
A mini golf course is also found next to a small entertainment park for kids. And best of all, it's really close to a nice Italian restaurant called the Dolce Vita. I loved the food at that restaurant, it is open and sunny with a swimming pool and outdoor band. In addition, the resort has three other restaurants- La Canelle, Fu Xiao and Indra- specializing in Creole, Chinese and Indian food respectively. As I mentioned in another review about Mauritius, my cousin treated us to Fu Xio, a five star Chinese restaurant with amazingly delicious food!
The resort furthermore has an extremely interesting garden called (in French) Le Jardin D'Epices. The Garden of Spices. This is a must-see if you ever go to this resort! Every single Mauritian spice is displayed in its natural state, on trees or plant forms. In addition, there are teeny tiny cabanas in the garden, each cabana containing extremely rare and antique pots and utensils which Mauritian used to crush their spices a long, long time ago.
One last note: While there is no entry fee to tour the resort, conference centre or casino, there is a pay-as-you go policy for the quad biking, horseback riding, restaurants or other activities. Yet another magnificent Mauritian place to visit!
I will upload pictures later on- blame my lost pendrive!
Thanks for reading!
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