Starwood Hotels has a new Westin opening this year in Mauritius. The press release states the hotel opening is Spring 2014, however, considering Mauritius is in the southern hemisphere, wouldn’t that mean the hotel is opening sometime around October or November 2014?
I am globally confused.
Another sentence in the press release also caught my attention:
The resort will enjoy a pristine beachfront location in the historic Turtle Bay of Balaclava – the former breeding grounds of the Mauritian green sea turtle – on the North West coast of Mauritius, offering captivating views on the turquoise waves of the Indian Ocean.
In the 1800s, Dutch sailors reported great numbers of sea turtles nesting on Mauritius. Exploitation and beach development eliminated sea turtles away from the coastal waters of Mauritius.
In October 2007 a green sea turtle was observed laying eggs on Gris Gris beach in Mauritius. This was the first nesting sea turtle observed in 31 years on the island. There was evidence that sea turtles were still harvested in 2007 for meat and eggs in the last nesting beaches on smaller islands off Mauritius. St. Brandon and Agalega are considered the last nesting grounds for sea turtles utilizing Mauritian beaches.
Westin Turtle Bay Resort Mauritius (Mauritius Westin hotel website)
SPG Category 5 hotel at 12,000 or 16,000 points per night..
The Westin Turtle Bay hotel location is adjacent to Baie de l’Arsenal Marine National Park. The InterContinental Mauritius is in the same area of the island.
“Mauritius is known to be a melting pot of the past and present, and its natural beauty and stunning landscapes provide an oasis of peace and tranquility for today’s busy traveler. We believe that our Westin brand is the ideal fit for this destination thanks to its signature programs and amenities, which are designed to help guests recharge and revitalize so when they return home they feel better than when they arrived.”
Westin Turtle Bay Resort Mauritius has 190 rooms. The hotel is located 60km from the island’s international airport.
The website for the hotel offers several webpages of information, but the site shows no room availability yet for 2014 stays.
*****
Westin Turtle Bay Resort will be the third Starwood Hotel on Mauritius.
St. Regis Mauritius SPG category 6 at 20,000 or 25,000 points per night.
Le Meridien Ile Maurice SPG category 3 at 7,000 points per night.
Le Meridien Ile Maurice offers the opportunity to redeem points for a SPG Nights and Flights package that are only available for category 3 or 4 hotels.
With Nights & Flights, you can redeem 60,000 Starpoints for 50,000 airline miles and five free nights at a Category 3 hotel or resort.
With Nights & Flights II, you can redeem 70,000 Starpoints and receive 50,000 airline miles and five free nights at a Category 4 hotel or resort.
Le Meridien Ile Maurice is normally 28,000 points for a 5-night stay. 50,000 airline miles are normally 40,000 points. Essentially the Nights and Flights package buys 5 hotel nights for 20,000 points and is a discount of 8,000 points.
Le Meridien Ile Maurice receives a 4.2 out of 5 guest review rating.
Mauritius is one of those bucket list aspirational vacation destinations for many travelers. Perhaps you might even be lucky enough to see a sea turtle.
*****
Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.
Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests.
Follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.
1 Comment
Comments are closed.