More luna de miel in Mauritius

Our last post was about how we spent 7 blissful days doing almost nothing while on our honeymoon in Mauritius. Although we did spend the majority of our time either at the beach, pool, or eating (these are a few of our favorite things!) there were some highlights and activities during the trip.

As part of the honeymoon package, which we still qualified for, since we were (barely) under the 1 year limit, we were given a champagne brunch on the morning of our choice. Graham scheduled it for Sunday (Funday!) and had it delivered to our patio.

If champagne and a cheese plate served next to a pool is wrong, Meghann doesn't want to be right.

Another part of our honeymoon package was a couple's massage at the resort's spa. The spa facility and the massage were both lovely. Unfortunately, we only have a few pictures, taken with our little point-and-shoot, because it seems like a creepster move to show up at a spa with a giant camera and lens, right?

There were some water activities that were available to all guests, not just newly married (ha!) couples like us. One afternoon we went snorkeling, another afternoon we took out a little Laser sailboat, and Graham went wake-boarding.

Proud boat school graduate!

We're on a (really tiny) boat! And fair warning, that reference will probably never get old for us.

The final part of our honeymoon package was a private dinner in a tent on the beach. Graham picked the entire menu and even surprised Meghann by having the band play our first dance song, "What a wonderful world", then asked her to dance (collective "awww"/vomit). Give us a break - it was our honeymoon!

Meghann wore her wedding (reception) dress.

Tamarind shrimp and hearts of palm salad.

Seafood soup.

Salt-baked local fish.

These few things made our vacation even more special, but really we were happy to spend most of our time lounging at our villa or sunning on our section of beach. It's not that the rest of Maradiva isn't gorgeous. It absolutely is:

The main restaurant, where we had breakfast and several dinners.

The common pool area looked amazing, but we always opted for our private plunge pool.

For us, what made Maradiva perfect was the villa. We kept commenting to each other that it was our "favorite part" of our honeymoon and that the layout was ideal - definitely dream house inspiration! The bedroom was comfortable, the bathroom was huge, there was even a walk-in closet, and plenty of natural light. But the best part was the outdoor living room - couches, loungers, sun bed, plunge pool, outdoor shower, Bose stereo, bar, breakfast table, ceiling fan - it had everything. And despite having direct access to the beach and ocean views, it still felt secluded and comfortable (perfect for maintaing privacy while we nerded out playing scrabble).

The view - from the toilet!

Meghann took a little walk-through video tour of the villa. Sorry, there's no narration, but we think you all can figure it out - bedroom is the room with the bed, bathroom is the room with the bath tub, etc. 

 Mauritius turned out to be the perfect island for our honeymoon - tropical weather (it was still lovely even when we got a few afternoon rain showers), gorgeous sunsets, beautiful beach, clear blue water. And Maradiva was the perfect resort. The service was excellent and the staff was friendly. The food was delicious (we had originally thought we might venture into town for dinner one night, but that idea was quickly forgotten). The beach was clean and the grounds were carefully landscaped - there was an army of gardeners working every morning to keep it that way. We never felt like it was crowded and we always had our own space and privacy on the beach. The villas and other buildings of the resort were laid out in a way that left plenty of room for natural beauty - trees, flowers, birds, and even rabbits.

We never left the resort, except leaving and going back to the airport, and never felt like we had a reason to. Everything that we needed and wanted was right there. It was exactly the type of honeymoon that we had hoped for, the kind where "champagne brunch" can be considered an "activity". We would recommend Maradiva to anyone planning a honeymoon, anniversary, or just a special vacation. Leaving was the only bad part. Meghann even asked if we spent all of our savings, how long could we stay? Not long enough...

Departing for the airport.

We hope to go back one day, but there are a lot more places on the list! What is one vacation destination you would go back to, if you could?