The Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa, Mauritius

The Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa, Mauritius is a large seaside resort built for a proper holiday rather than a bed for the night. You have two swimming pools, a sandy beach, five restaurants, a spa, fitness facilities and enough organised activity to keep a non-diving day from turning into a long argument about what to do next.

Couples can settle into the quieter rhythm of a junior suite, a spa treatment and dinner on site. Families have a kids' club, indoor and outdoor play areas, babysitting and family accommodation. The place also works for the practical side of a dive trip: air conditioning, soundproof rooms, room service, a balcony or patio and a coffee machine all matter more when you return warm, tired and hungry than they do in a glossy brochure.

You are in Balaclava, on the north-west coast of Mauritius, directly beside the sea. The resort has direct access to a sandy beach, with sun loungers and parasols already in place. Balaclava Beach is about 2 miles away by road, while Le Goulet Beach is around 1.5 miles away; those are useful reference points, but the important detail is simpler: you do not need to leave the resort to reach the beach.

Grand Baie is about 8 miles away, giving you access to the island's livelier northern resort area when you want a change of scene. The Mauritius Aquarium is around 3.5 miles away, and the Sugar Museum and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden are each roughly 5 miles away. The resort itself has private parking, car hire and an airport shuttle, so you can either stay put or use it as a base for exploring.

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport is about 38 miles away. The drive takes around 50 minutes, traffic and island roads being allowed their usual say in the matter.

The room categories are built around suites rather than compact hotel rooms. The standard junior suites give you a separate seating feel with a sofa, desk, balcony or patio and enough room to put the day back in order before dinner. For two divers travelling together, that extra living space is useful: one person can sort photographs or paperwork while the other claims the sofa and the television.

The Heavenly Family Junior Suite is the sensible choice when three people need to share without treating the bed as a storage locker. It adds a sofa bed, while the Beachfront Suite is the one to consider if stepping towards the sea matters more than keeping the accommodation modest. For a couple marking a special trip, the Wellbeing Suite offers the largest private setting among the two-person options.

Every guest room has air conditioning, a coffee machine, kettle, television and DVD player, plus a private bathroom with a bath or shower, bathrobe, slippers and hairdryer. Soundproofing is a useful detail when sleep matters more than a view of the corridor. Daily housekeeping, a minibar and room service cover the less glamorous but essential business of recovering properly between outings.

You have five restaurants on site, so dinner does not have to become a nightly transfer project. Tastes serves international cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while Mystique covers the same three meals with an Asian focus. The resort also describes its dining offer as including local and contemporary cuisine, giving you room to stay familiar or try something less predictable without leaving the grounds.

Breakfast is served as a buffet with continental, Full English and Irish, vegetarian, vegan and halal choices. That is a useful spread before a morning in the water, particularly when one diver wants something substantial and the other considers coffee a food group. Vegetarian breakfast is also part of the resort's own dining offer.

There is a bar, a snack bar, an on-site coffee house and a minibar in the room. Room service runs around the clock, which is the practical answer when you return too tired to change for dinner or simply want food without negotiating the resort in flip-flops. Breakfast can also be taken in your room, and special-diet menus are available on request.

Two swimming pools give you an easy place to spend a non-diving afternoon, including an infinity pool, while the direct sandy beach adds the more traditional Mauritius option: a lounger, an umbrella and no timetable worth respecting. On the water, the resort offers snorkelling, windsurfing, canoeing and other on-site water-sport facilities, with fishing also available. You can stay active without turning the whole day into a training plan.

On land, there is a tennis court with tennis equipment, badminton equipment, table tennis and archery. The fitness centre offers fitness classes, yoga and a personal trainer, although nobody will be offended if you choose the pool instead. Planned beach activities, evening entertainment and live music provide a little structure for a couple who want something to do together without organising an expedition.

The spa is the stronger recovery option. You can book massages, including couples, back, head, neck, foot and full-body treatments, as well as facials, body scrubs, body wraps, manicures and pedicures. There is a hammam, sauna, steam room, hot tub, spa lounge and relaxation area. Families have a kids' club, games room, indoor play area, playground, board games and babysitting, so adults can occasionally enjoy the quiet part of the resort properly.

Check-in starts at 14:00 and check-out is by 11:00. The minimum age for check-in is 18. Children of any age are welcome, with children aged 12 and over charged as adults; cots and extra beds depend on the accommodation selected and availability. Pets are not allowed.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the resort, and private parking is available on site without reservation. An airport shuttle is available, and you can also arrange car hire. A 24-hour front desk, express check-in and check-out, luggage storage, currency exchange and concierge service make the arrival and departure mechanics fairly straightforward, while laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services help when saltwater, sunscreen and holiday clothes begin to form their own ecosystem.

The resort also has a business centre, medical services, a minimarket and accessibility features including wheelchair access, raised toilets, grab rails and auditory guidance. For a late flight or an awkward departure day, luggage storage and the 24-hour reception are the details worth remembering.