Blue Sky Thinking Why Wait for Heaven?

By Alice Wyllie

Paradise. As evocative as that word is, we seem to have a very narrow view of what it entails. Put the word into Google Images and the results centre on deserted stretches of white sand flanked by palm trees and turquoise waters. It all seems a little unimaginative. In fact, it’s so impersonal that it contradicts what the word means. Shouldn’t paradise be unique to the individual? And should you really have to pay thousands of pounds and endure a long- haul flight to get there?

Having never experienced this version of paradise myself, I felt fairly indifferent towards the palm trees/ white beach/azure waters combo before I arrived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. After all, doesn’t Scotland boast some of the most beautiful, flawless beaches in the world? Admittedly, they don’t benefit from particularly good weather, but they also don’t have the hordes of other visitors, including mosquitoes. In fact, I wondered whether such a paradise really existed beyond the realms of Photoshop, and if so, would it truly be worth an 11-hour flight?

I laugh at my scepticism as we drive from the airport to the hotel, past endless perfect white beaches being gently lapped by crystal clear waters. On Mauritius, such sights truly are ten a penny and before long I find myself quite amused at just how readily I have become accustomed to the rather cliched version of paradise that Mauritius – and in particular the Shanti Ananda Maurice destination spa in the south of the island – has to offer.

The sister hotel of the Ananda spa in the Himalayas – which has been voted the best in the world by a number of publications – this is seriously luxurious territory. It’s impossible not to feel utterly spoiled and serene. No wonder Kylie Minogue and Natalie Imbruglia recently holidayed here together after Minogue’s split with French actor Olivier Martinez and the breakdown of Imbruglia’s marriage.

Bar jetlag, I have no such trauma to overcome, but I’m thrilled at the prospect of some serious pampering. And that’s exactly what I get. Set in 36 acres of lush, tropical gardens on the edge of a wide, white beach, my room is metres from the sand, where only a single palm tree interrupts the view of blue seas and the thunderous coral reef beyond. The beach is almost empty and wandering through the hotel’s deserted tropical gardens with the bullfrogs grunting in the grass is a real pleasure.

This place makes no apologies for being a luxury spa first and foremost – my bathroom is at least as large as the bedroom, with both an indoor and an outdoor shower, two sinks and an enormous bath that can be run for guests each night with scented oils and candles. Plinky plonky music is piped into the bathroom, which is decorated in an Asian/contemporary style, and hanging in the wardrobe is a pair of white billowy pyjamas to wear for the duration of the stay.

In fact, on my first night, knowing a day of serenity awaits me, I concentrate very hard on getting a luxurious night’s sleep, which of course results in much tossing and turning before stumbling, bleary-eyed, into my white pyjamas the next morning. It doesn’t help that I can’t find the source of the plinky plonky music and just have to put up with it.

There’s no time for rest, though; I have a yoga class to go to. The spa at the Shanti Ananda is a minimalist haven of trickling infinity pools, tea pavilions, tropical flowers, fountains and statues. However, there’s more to this place than chanting and exfoliation. It follows Ayurvedic principles, a 5,000-year-old practice incorporating food, breathing, exercise, sleep and relaxation.

The Ayurvedic doctor (flown in from the Ananda in the Himalayas, along with a number of other members of staff) has a consultation with each guest, then devises a treatment and diet plan based on their Ayurvedic body type, which is a combination of four elements: earth, water, fire and air.

After asking me a limited and, frankly, rather silly, series of questions (on bowel movements, dreams and my preference for music or fashion) the doctor determines I’m an earth/fire type. He gives me some fairly basic health guidance, which includes donating blood regularly, and suggests a programme of yoga, massage and healthy eating. Those Absolutely Fabulous luvvies might fall for this sort of thing, but I feel permanently on the verge of a giggling fit.

I’m glad, however, to discover that the Ayurvedic approach is not about denying yourself – and if, like me, you’re entirely uninterested in detoxing and just want to be pampered, the Shanti Ananda will cater for you. Each night I arrive at my villa to find a small piece of slate with three decadent handmade chocolates on it. Meals, designed around each guest’s Ayurvedic body type, are refreshing, light and healthy.

After my yoga class on the breezy yoga pavilion, and a meditation session with the same dishy yoga instructor, Rakesh, I decide I’m feeling serene enough for a spot of rock-perching. The hotel’s beautiful beach is flanked by smooth, black volcanic rocks where guests can take yoga classes, and after a bit of stumbling I manage to sit cross-legged on a rock, pyjamas billowing around me.

As I watch the clear waters lap against the dark rocks and the sun settle on the horizon, a warm, gentle tropical shower descends, and a huge rainbow appears. Surely this is all for show, I wonder. Someone has to be behind a velvet curtain somewhere, pulling the strings. This is just too perfect. It is, I accept, paradise.

Heaven can become a little repetitive however, and for antsy travellers like me it’s important to do something more than just chanting and sunset-gazing.

We opt for an overnight catamaran tour to the small islands north of the mainland. Moored in shallow waters, we are treated to a leisurely lunch on board before bouncing off into the high seas, sunbathing on the bow of the boat.

We arrive at our destination – an idyllic beach that stretches out into the ocean – as the sun is setting. The crew provide snorkelling equipment, and we explore the shallow waters until dusk, crumbling bread for shoals of exquisite tropical fish.

After drying off we enjoy a barbecue on board. As the boat gently rocks under a blanket of stars, we really do feel like the only people on earth.

We fish off the back of the boat until the wee small hours, even catching a small shark, before retiring to our small, but comfortable cabins. I wake the next morning to the smell of sizzling bacon and – a lot less welcome – the sound of motor boats, as numerous day-trippers arrive on our beach.

Yes, it seems everyone’s after the same slice of bliss, so by midday, when we set sail for the mainland, the beach is as busy as any on the Costa del Sol, and surrounded by boatfuls of yodelling youths bellyflopping into the water. Clearly the thing to do is arrive late, moor overnight, and leave early.

Returning to the Shanti Ananda happy, tired and sunburned, I’ve had enough beach and flop into my room, finally managing to locate the source of the plinky plonky music and put an end to it for good.

Climbing into my bathrobe, drawing the heavy curtains and throwing myself on to the enormous bed, I switch on the television to find that one channel is hosting a whole day of re-runs of Oprah from the early 1990s. Now that’s my idea of paradise. sm

Factfile mauritius

How to get there

n Ultimate Retreats offers seven nights at the Shanti Ananda Maurice from GBP 1,999pp, for departures until 8 October. This includes B&B accommodation, return scheduled flights from Heathrow with British Airways, airport taxes, fees and charges, local transfers, insurance and cancellation cover. Tel: 0800 559 3961 or visit www.ultimateretreats.co.uk

AND THERE’S MORE

n A two-night, all-inclusive, crewed catamaran cruise costs from GBP 249pp with Magic Sails, www.magicsails.mu

n Scotsman Reader Holidays has departures to Mauritius for nine nights from GBP 1079pp during May and June, tel: 0131-555 4704.

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