Port Louis, Ebene and the centre: staying where the island works

People come to Mauritius to work, too. The capital, Port Louis, holds the port and the historic centre; Ebene, on the plateau, has seen its Cybercity rise; Moka and Quatre Bornes complete this triangle at the centre of the island. For anyone with meetings there, a beach hotel an hour’s drive away is a poor idea, however beautiful it may be.

The seven hotels that follow are town hotels. None has a beach in front of it, and none pretends otherwise. They offer something else: a position, meeting rooms, often a reception desk open all night, and sometimes a rooftop or a marina to end the day.

On the Caudan waterfront in Port Louis, the Labourdonnais is rated five stars and stands five hundred metres from the city centre and a kilometre from the M1 motorway. Its one hundred and five rooms and suites range from the thirty-three-square-metre Classic room with a balcony to the one-hundred-and-forty-one-square-metre penthouse, with two bedrooms and a dining room for ten.

The executive lounge, open from 11am to 9pm, is reserved for guests on the executive floor and in the suites, and the renovated conference centre has its own events team. Room service runs day and night, and wireless internet is free and unlimited. Twice a week, a sunset catamaran cruise is offered free of charge, and a hundred and sixty shops line the waterfront.

AI-generated image

Le Suffren Hotel & Marina

★★★★Port-LouisSee the hotelBook on Booking.com →

Across the marina, Le Suffren, opened in 2004 and since entirely renovated, carries a nautical theme from end to end and combines the practical comfort of a business hotel with the pleasures of a resort. It is within walking distance of the historic centre and the business district, and houses a co-working space and a boardroom; its guests have access to the Labourdonnais conference centre.

A free water taxi links the two hotels every day from 7am to midnight. For the end of the day there is an artificial beach, a pool beside the marina, a squash court and a hydrotherapy pool at the spa, and the Sushi Quay, a sushi and oyster bar.

In the heart of Ebene Cybercity, the Hennessy Park has one hundred and eight rooms, each hung with photographs by Nilesh Boodhun and a screen print by Evan Sohun. Port Louis is fifteen minutes away, the airport thirty-seven kilometres, and the conference centre offers video-conferencing and a co-working space; wireless internet is free and unlimited.

The hotel houses a Mauritian library, a bookshop and art exhibitions. On the roof, the Gallery Pool Bar looks out over the Cybercity; on Friday evenings, the Backstage Lounge Bar hosts concerts, fashion shows and comedy. Four covered padel courts are open around the clock.

At Port Chambly, in Terre Rouge, The Address has forty-two rooms between a lagoon and a river, ten minutes from Port Louis and fifteen from the northern beaches. Its position suits anyone dividing a stay between the capital and the coast. Meeting rooms, a banqueting team and catering support seminars, and parking is free.

In the evening, Izumi serves Japanese teppanyaki, and The Underground, a late-night bar with a dance floor, can be booked privately. Three covered padel courts are open day and night.

At Moka, in the centre of the island, Voilà Bagatelle is linked directly to the Bagatelle shopping centre, with more than a hundred and fifty shops, and lies within reach of the three hubs of activity, Port Louis, Ebene Cybercity and Moka. Its rooms are soundproofed, with blackout curtains, a desk, an ergonomic chair and sockets for every international standard.

Reception and a duty manager are present around the clock, parking is free, and the meeting rooms come with catering. A twenty-eight-square-metre corner studio on the ground floor is designed for wheelchair users. The University of Mauritius, at Réduit, is a few minutes away.

In the centre of Quatre Bornes, the Gold Crest is a hotel for work rather than holidays. The Bagatelle and Phoenix shopping centres are a few minutes away, and the Quatre Bornes flea market can be reached on foot. The rooms come in three categories, Standard, Superior and Suite.

Its conference room converts into a reception room for a cocktail party or a dinner. The Oriental Spice, on the third floor, serves Chinese, Asian, European, Mauritian and Indian cooking, and the hotel has its own spa and gym.

On the same St Jean Road in Quatre Bornes, the Palms Hotel puts the airport half an hour’s drive away and Ebene Cybercity within quick reach. It brings together a conference centre and a boardroom, a beauty centre and three places to eat, among them the Royal China and the Sky on 12, on the twelfth floor.

The western beaches, Casela park and the Black River Gorges remain within driving distance, for the day the meeting ends early. That is the advantage of these central addresses: work a few minutes away, and the island within driving distance.