Hôtel 20 Degrés Sud - Relais & Châteaux

The Island's Original Boutique Hotel, Room by Room

On Pointe Malartic, on a turquoise lagoon between Grand Baie and Pointe aux Canonniers, 20 Degres Sud holds the title of the first boutique hotel on Mauritius, and the house still runs on that scale. Guests enter through an oak carriage door into a property Belgian designer Flamant filled room by room with selected antiques and furnishings, aiming for a home-from-home feel rather than a resort template. All thirty-six rooms and suites face the sea across a coconut grove, and the four Austral Suites add a private plunge pool on a terrace that sits less than two metres from the water.

Why It Works

We chose this hotel because it commits fully to being small rather than compromising toward a bigger resort's amenities. Every room was designed individually, not assigned from a template, and the Austral Suites' near-the-water plunge pools are a genuine rarity on this stretch of coast. Dinner does not have to stay on the terrace: guests can eat aboard the restored salon boat M/S Lady Lisbeth while it cruises the bay, and chef Sanjeev Purahoo builds the kitchen around fresh Mauritian produce, with a six-course lobster menu available on request. A library holding more than two thousand books rounds out a property built for travellers who read as much as they swim.

Why This Location

Pointe Malartic sits on a sheltered, turquoise lagoon facing the islands of Le Coin de Mire, Ile Ronde and Ile Plate, a quieter position than central Grand Baie while staying close enough to reach it. The lively town, with its restaurants and bars, is about five kilometres away, close enough for an evening out without making the hotel feel like a base camp. Big game fishing can be arranged nearby, and the airport is roughly sixty kilometres by car, a reasonable trade for a position this private on the north coast.

Fast Facts

• Price: €€€€ (Luxury)

• Vibe: intimate, antique-filled, colonial-inflected boutique, barefoot elegance

• Rooms: 36 rooms and suites, including four Austral Suites with private plunge pools

• Best For: couples, design-minded travellers, guests wanting an intimate address over a large resort

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: dinner aboard the restored salon boat M/S Lady Lisbeth while cruising the bay

• Dining: a Mauritian-produce restaurant led by chef Sanjeev Purahoo, with a six-course lobster menu on request

• Amenities: Secret Spa, a library of more than 2,000 books, watersports, sailing, windsurfing, fishing, tennis

• Attractions: Grand Baie's restaurants and bars about 5 km away, big game fishing nearby, the islands facing Pointe Malartic

Austral Suites Built Almost On The Water

The four Austral Suites are the property's signature, each with a private plunge pool on a terrace that sits less than two metres from the lagoon, close enough that the water is the main view from the bed. Ground-floor suites add a large jacuzzi instead, and every room and suite across the property faces the sea through a coconut grove rather than a car park or garden. Belgian designer Flamant furnished each one individually with selected antiques, so no two rooms read as identical, a detail rare at this scale of resort.

Dinner On The Water, Produce From The Island

Chef Sanjeev Purahoo runs the kitchen around Mauritian produce and fresh fish, with a six-course lobster menu available for guests who ask. The signature evening, though, moves off the property entirely: dinner aboard the restored salon boat M/S Lady Lisbeth, cruising the bay as the meal is served, turns a normal dinner reservation into the kind of evening guests remember after the trip. Watersports, sailing and fishing fill the daylight hours, and the Secret Spa, with treatments such as a mother-of-pearl body scrub, closes out an active day before dinner starts.

What To Know Before You Book

20 Degres Sud suits travellers who want an intimate, design-led stay over a large resort's amenity list: there is no sprawling pool complex or multiple restaurants, and the appeal is the house itself. The airport is roughly sixty kilometres away, so plan for a longer transfer than a south-coast resort. Big game fishing and a boat dinner on the M/S Lady Lisbeth should both be booked ahead, since both depend on weather and availability.