Lux* Le Morne Resort

LUX* Le Morne is a beachfront resort for divers who want the sea close at hand but do not intend to spend every waking hour discussing cylinders. You have the lagoon for snorkelling and scuba diving, five outdoor pools, a spa, several places to eat and enough land and water activities to keep a non-diving companion occupied without forcing anyone into a sightseeing bus.

The atmosphere is polished but not stiff. White shutters, woven rugs, fresh and airy rooms, palms and the broad sweep of Le Morne Beach give the place its character. English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside French, German, Russian, Mandarin and Arabic, so you can expect to be understood easily when arranging a table, a treatment or the next useful thing after a long day in the water.

This is also a practical choice for couples and families. You can settle into a beach lounger, head for the hammam, watch an outdoor film or let younger guests disappear into the PLAY, OUR MINDFUL KIDS CLUB. The resort gives you plenty to do, but it also leaves room for the ancient diving tradition of doing absolutely nothing until dinner.

You are in Le Morne, Mauritius, on the island's west coast, directly beside Le Morne Beach. The beach is white sand fringed with coconut palms, and the lagoon lies immediately outside the resort. There is no shuttle-to-the-sea choreography here: you walk out and reach the water.

Le Morne mountain rises behind the resort, while the protected Black River Gorges National Park is about 1.7 miles away in a straight line and 3.7 miles by road. Chamarel's Curious Corner is about 5 miles away, with Cascade Chamarel roughly 4.9 miles from the resort. The setting is therefore better suited to nature, water and mountain outings than to wandering between urban cafés.

You can still reach nearby places to eat outside the resort, including Embafilao Beach Restaurant and Restaurant the Beach, both around 500 feet away, plus Floating Market at about 1,750 feet. La Prairie Beach is about 3.3 miles away by the mapped distance. Le Morne itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so the view behind your breakfast is doing more work than most hotel backdrops.

The useful detail here is the outdoor living space attached to the guest rooms. After salt, sun and a day spent lifting kit that somehow weighs more on land, you have somewhere to sit without turning the bed into a drying rack for every damp item you own. Air conditioning helps with the tropical heat, while free WiFi is available throughout the property.

For two, the Ocean View Junior Suite is the straightforward choice if waking up to the water matters more than squeezing the last ounce of value from the category list. The Sunset Junior Suite brings a super-king bed and a name that tells you where the evening will be pointing. The Prestige Junior Suite gives you more room to spread out and retreat from the public parts of the resort, while still keeping the stay in the couple-sized bracket.

Travelling with a third person calls for the Junior Suite or Deluxe Room, both arranged for up to three guests, while the Family Suite is the sensible pick for four people and brings two bathrooms. Some rooms add an LED interactive television, IPTV channels and video on demand. Daily housekeeping, room service and luggage storage are available, useful when your arrival and departure do not line up neatly with check-in at 2pm and check-out by 11am.

The all-inclusive plan covers breakfast, lunch, dinner and a selection of drinks, with breakfast served in continental, vegetarian, gluten-free, American and buffet styles. The Kitchen is the main restaurant and serves all three meals, which makes it the dependable answer when you return hungry and do not want to negotiate the evening. Bermuda shorts are accepted there and at The Beach, because not every dinner needs a jacket and a small committee.

Dinner gives you more choice. The Beach serves Mediterranean food beside the sand, while East turns towards Thai flavours. KAWAII is an eight-seat Omakase sushi bar for a more intimate Japanese meal; long trousers and closed shoes are required for men at both KAWAII and East. These two restaurants sit outside the all-inclusive coverage, with a 30% food credit available for them, so check the plan carefully before treating the sushi counter as an everyday habit.

There are two bars. Maison LUX* works as the café stop for a macchiato or a Negroni, while The Bar handles the tropical version of a proper end to the day. A snack bar, coffee house, breakfast in your room and packed lunches are also available. The resort can arrange private dinners on the beach, beside the pool or in a treehouse, and its Keen on Green concept brings plant-based dishes made with local, seasonal ingredients to the restaurants.

Five outdoor pools give you alternatives to the lagoon, including two heated pools, and the beachfront has sun loungers for the traditional post-dive debate about whether moving is strictly necessary. You can also use the tennis court, tennis and badminton equipment, table tennis, the fitness centre, yoga, meditation and Zumba classes. Morning jogging on the beach and walks in the surrounding landscape are available when your legs demand a different kind of work.

For recovery rather than exercise, LUX* ME Spa offers massages, facials, Intraceuticals, manicures, pedicures and a coconut body ritual. There is a hammam, sauna, steam room, open-air bath, relaxation lounge and a couples treatment room. The spa has a menu for children and teenagers as well, so a family can organise recovery without leaving younger guests to invent their own treatment plan.

The water-sports list is properly substantial: kayak, paddleboard, sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, water skiing, wakeboarding, pedal boats, catamaran outings and fishing are all available. You can also book hiking, horse riding, cycling, walking tours, cultural excursions, dolphin watching and seasonal whale watching. For a quieter evening, Cinema Paradiso puts films outdoors, including screenings in the treehouse, while live music and evening entertainment keep the resort from going silent too early.

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport is about 22 miles from the resort on the mapped distance, with the road journey covering about 33 miles and taking around 52 minutes by car. An airport shuttle can be arranged; car hire is also available if you want to reach the national park, Chamarel or other parts of Mauritius under your own steam. Free public parking is available on site, with valet parking also offered.

Check-in starts at 2pm and check-out is by 11am. Early check-in and late check-out can be arranged on request, while private and express check-in and check-out, a 24-hour front desk, concierge service, currency exchange and a tour desk help with the less glamorous parts of travel. Free WiFi covers all areas, and the property has accessible facilities including wheelchair access and toilets with grab rails.

Children of any age are welcome. Cots for children aged between 0 and 5 can be requested, subject to the selected accommodation, and no extra beds are available. Pets are not allowed, cash is not accepted, and stays involving more than seven rooms follow different group policies. For a group of divers, that last point is worth sorting out before anyone starts booking rooms in a scattergun pattern.

The resort holds Zero Food Waste Pledge certification from 2021 and puts the policy into daily use. Food habits are studied to reduce waste, surplus is redistributed to schoolchildren, and leftovers are turned into compost or animal feed. Herbs come from the hotel garden, while buffet items carry allergen information and the chef can discuss dietary preferences and allergies.

The wider programme reaches beyond the kitchen. LUX* Le Morne works with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation on the conservation of rare plants on Île aux Aigrettes and partners with the marine conservation organisation EcoSud. Recycling is carried out with Regen and Eclosia, and Earth Hour is observed.

Water is part of the practical side of the programme too: the resort has invested in a desalination plant to reduce pressure on the island's water supply. For you, that leaves a fairly clear picture of the approach: less food sent to waste, more attention to local biodiversity, recycling partnerships and a direct investment in water production.