25 HERITAGE AWALI /LE TELFAIR
BEL OMBRE, MAURITIUS
Courses 31 Accommodation 19 Amenities 17 Setting 19 Total 86
How does a resort jump 16 places in two years? Two reasons: either we are correcting a poor ranking in the previous list, or it has somehow significantly improved its offering in that time. Happily, this leap is down to the latter, with Heritage adding a second course that it is at least the equal of the first.
Stay at Heritage Awali or nearby sister hotel Le Telfair and play at Heritage Golf Club, a two-minute buggy transfer or a 10-minute stroll. The Peter Matkovich-designed Le Chateau is presented beautifully as well as being technically excellent and beautifully tranquil as it winds between lush native vegetation.
And now it has a sister course, La Reserve, set further up in the hills yet still within 10 minutes of the accommodation. Designed by Matkovich and Louis Oosthuizen, it is a modern masterpiece, mixing memorable, dramatic holes with jaw-dropping views. Hosting the European Tour in December demonstrated its beauty to the world.
The infinity greens and elevated tee shots will take the plaudits here, but arguably the greatest strength of La Reserve is that Matkovich and Oosthuizen have made the less aesthetically pleasing holes just as memorable and enjoyable. La Reserve delivers style and substance.
The hotels, which sit right next to each other on the beach, are both majestic. Awali is perched a little more on the sand and has an African theme to its design; it is a wonderful hotel with a fantastic ‘Seven Colours’ spa and superb dining. The Indian restaurant, Zafarani, is out of this world for the evening while at lunchtime it has to be Infinity Blue. It overlooks the Indian Ocean and its ‘floor’ is sand, so you wander in with bare feet and lap up the ambiance and food.
Le Telfair is possibly a little more refined but it is not in the least bit stuffy. It has a white-wood, colonial look to its buildings, arranged either side of an inlet that snakes through the hotel. Annabella’s for breakfast and dinner is elegance personified and Gin’ja’s for Asian fusion in the evening is tough to beat.
The Cavendish backs up that unstuffy claim, a beautiful bar with a wonderful atmosphere. There is also another superb spa, watersports, a fitness room, a glorious swimming pool area and spacious, luxurious bedrooms.
Good luck choosing which hotel to stay in and which course to play most rounds on!
Up 16 places this time, do not expect the rise to end there – as La Reserve settles down and gets even better, Heritage will edge even further up this ranking. How far can it go? Watch this space?