June 5, 2024
Mauritius on Credit Card Points and Miles
Pam
When we decided to use credit card points and miles to book an African safari in Kenya, I knew I wanted to go to another country or island since we had traveled so far. I considered the Seychelles and Mauritius and settled on Mauritius on credit card points and miles.
Mauritius is a small island nation located in the Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of the African continent. It is known for its stunning natural beauty, with lush forests, crystal-clear waters, and white sandy beaches. I was surprised at just how green and lush it was!
Flights
Our long-haul flights were on Air France from JFK to Nairobi. From there, we flew Air Kenya to Mauritius. The cost was $1000/person, so it was not cheap. The four-hour flight was quick and comfortable, though. Our flight had been delayed 2 hours, so we got to the hotel at about five in the evening.
Our first views of the resort.
The beautiful lobby of the IHG InterContinental Mauritius in the day.
We had arranged transportation through the hotel to the Intercontinental Mauritius, which cost us $200 roundtrip. It is about an hour and fifteen minutes to the hotel. I was surprised at how large the island actually was.
InterContinental Mauritius
A hotel manager at the InterContinental Mauritius warmly greeted us and invited us to check in on nice sofas with an expansive ocean view. Delicious pineapple beverages and cool washcloths were also brought to us, and we were told more about the resort and the four on-site restaurants. We had used 239,000 IHG points for a four-night stay, with the fourth night being free. Our booking was with my husband’s points from these cards:
We were then taken to our upgraded room with a beautiful ocean view. Sparkling wine, fresh fruit, and a delicious chocolate cake were on our table. A separate door next to our room had two loungers and a jacuzzi for our use. It would have been even nicer if it had also had a view of the beach area, but it was an enclosed room.
Our hotel room – next door was the jacuzzi and loungers.
The view from our balcony.
Restaurants at the InterContinental
Noble House Restaurant
When we arrived, we were hungry, so we went to dinner at the Noble House Restaurant. We both had shrimp tempura and Thai fried rice; my husband had a shrimp curry. When the bill came, we were shocked that it was only $32 USD. The food was excellent.
Our first meal of Tempura Shrimp and fried rice was delicious at Noble House.
Sengala Restaurant
Sengala is a Mediterranean Restaurant. My husband had a fish dish, and I had Chicken Milanese. He liked his more than I liked mine. Again, the cost was very reasonable.
On our way to another fabulous dinner at the InterContinental Mauritius.
Senso Restaurant – International Buffet
I usually avoid buffets, especially for dinner. We enjoyed this one so much that we ate there two nights in a row. It is definitely an international buffet – so many choices! I really enjoyed the pasta station accompanied by fresh naan bread each night. They had incredible desserts, too!
This is also where breakfast, which was included, was served. It had so many choices and we enjoyed the omelet bar and fresh fruit options.
We only ate on-site and were not disappointed with all of our choices. We could have walked over to the Westin or gone to other close restaurants, but we were happy with what the InterContinental offered.
The international buffet was, surprisingly, our favorite place to eat!
Activities at the Resort
There is a list of daily activities and kayaking, snorkeling, and even water-skiing are complimentary. My husband did the snorkeling but it was windy that day so the visibility wasn’t the best. We mainly hung by the pool and swam in the ocean. We did take advantage of 90-minute spa treatments for $100 one day and used the fitness center, too.
This is where we parked ourselves daily.
We enjoyed a couples massage while at the resort.
The purpose of this trip was relaxation before the safari (check out how that went here). I spent most of one entire day rebooking the safari that wasn’t. 😩
At least the view was great the day I spent all-day booking the rest of our trip!
Other Hotels in Mauritius
We were right next door to the Westin Mauritius, which looked amazing too. It was available for 59K Marriott Bonvoy points. The Le Meridien can be booked for 56K Bonvoy points, and the JW Marriott can be booked for 73K points/night. Remember that Marriott has dynamic pricing so those rates will vary.
Bottom Line
Mauritius on credit card points and miles was enjoyable (minus the rebooking day). We loved the people of Mauritius and thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the InterContinental. As we were leaving, we wished we had gotten out to explore more, and my husband would have liked to fish.
When our safari was canceled, we booked Sardinia, Italy, but on the way to the airport, we wished we had just stayed in Mauritius and explored a couple of other areas of the island. It is a beautiful, lush, green island that deserves more exploration.
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I recently have been researching both Mauritius and Seychelles! I am glad to see that my findings are similar to yours. I also think Mauritius will ultimately be the choice. Thanks for the review!
I originally booked the Seychelles and in looking at the reviews of the Hilton hotel I was going to stay at there, decided that I wasn’t sure it was for me. Let us know what you end up doing!