Set within the beautiful Domaine de Bel Ombre, Heritage Le Telfair is a genuine five-star resort in Mauritius.
I’VE been fortunate enough to stay at plenty of golf resorts over the years, but every now and then you come across one that gets the whole package just about right.
After spending four nights at Heritage Le Telfair Golf & Wellness Resort on the south-west coast of Mauritius, I can comfortably say this is one of them.
Set within the beautiful Domaine de Bel Ombre, Heritage Le Telfair is a genuine five-star resort, but what I liked most was that it never felt overly formal.
The resort has an elegant colonial style, with beautiful white buildings spread through tropical gardens and waterways, all leading down towards the beach and Indian Ocean. The rooms are spacious, the service excellent and there’s a relaxed atmosphere that makes it very easy to settle in.
For a golfer, it’s an impressive place to spend a few days. And that’s before you get to the golf.
One thing that really stood out during our four-night stay was the food.
There is an enormous choice across the wider Domaine de Bel Ombre, with guests able to experience restaurants and bars ranging from relaxed beachfront dining to some seriously good fine dining.
Heritage Resorts & Golf’s Premium All-Inclusive offering provides access to 13 restaurants across the Domaine, so you could stay for a week and eat somewhere different virtually every night.
And the menus aren’t what you might normally associate with an all-inclusive resort. There is an impressive choice of seafood, meat, local Mauritian dishes, Asian flavours and international cuisine, along with some excellent wine and cocktail options.
We particularly enjoyed having so much choice. You might have breakfast overlooking the golf course, lunch beside the beach and then sit down to a completely different dining experience that evening.
The La Réserve Golf Links, a serious championship golf course.
For anyone coming to Mauritius with a partner who isn’t obsessed with golf, that’s a big part of Heritage Le Telfair’s appeal. There’s a lot more to this place than simply somewhere to sleep between rounds.
The resort also has an extensive wellness offering, pools, a beautiful beach, water sports and plenty of activities, so it’s equally easy to spend a day doing very little at all.
Of course, the major attraction for us was the golf.
Heritage Golf Club offers two championship courses – Le Château Golf Course and La Réserve Golf Links – and they couldn’t be more different.
That’s one of the real strengths of staying at Heritage Le Telfair. You’re not playing variations of the same golf course for several days.
Le Château Golf Course is the established course at Heritage Golf Club and was designed by renowned South African architect Peter Matkovich.
From the championship tees it measures 6,121 metres, while the professional tees stretch to 6,498 metres. But don’t let those numbers put you off.
With five sets of tees, Le Château Golf Course is extremely playable for the average club golfer, and that’s something I really liked about it.
The fairways are reasonably generous and you can enjoy the scenery without feeling like every slightly wayward shot is going to ruin your day. But move further back and there’s plenty of challenge for good players, which is not me.
The course flows through the grounds of the historic Bel Ombre estate, with mature trees, lakes, streams and beautifully maintained tropical vegetation.
Matkovich has made excellent use of the natural landscape. There’s enough water and bunkering to make you think your way around, but it’s not tricked up.
It’s simply a really enjoyable resort golf course in superb surroundings – the sort of course I’d happily play several times during a holiday.
Then you head up the mountain to La Réserve Golf Links, and everything changes.
This is one spectacular golf course.
La Réserve Golf Links was co-designed by Matkovich and 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, and their intention was to create a contemporary links-style experience that worked with the natural terrain rather than against it.
Playing to a par 72 and stretching beyond 6,570 metres, it’s a serious championship golf course – but multiple teeing options mean you don’t have to play it from anywhere near its full length.
My advice would be to pick the right tees and enjoy it.
The fairways are broad in places, but the slopes, native grasses, bunkering and wind mean you’re constantly thinking about where you want to leave the ball.
And then there are the views.
La Réserve Golf Links sits high above the coast, with extraordinary panoramas across the mountains, sugarcane fields and Indian Ocean. You get ocean views from every hole, and the drive up to the opening tee gives you some indication of what you’re about to experience.
It’s about a 3km buggy drive to the first tee…its quite spectacular to be honest.
It’s also already tournament proven, having hosted the Mauritius Open on the DP World Tour.
Le Château Golf Course is the course I’d happily play every day. La Réserve Golf Links is the course I’d go home and tell my mates about. Together, they’re a terrific combination.
Heritage Resorts & Golf has also made it easy to build golf into a resort stay rather than having to organise everything separately.
Le Chateau Golf Course, enjoyable to play for golfers of all levels.
Current Stay & Play packages include accommodation at Heritage Le Telfair, transfers and rounds on both courses. The five-night option includes two rounds at Le Château Golf Course and one at La Réserve Golf Links, while the seven-night package includes three rounds at Le Château Golf Course and two at La Réserve Golf Links.
There are also golf benefits attached to selected dining packages. Under the current Gourmet Bliss offering, for example, golfers staying seven nights receive a round at Le Château Golf Course and a round at La Réserve Golf Links, including shared GPS buggy, range balls and halfway refreshments, with additional inclusions at La Réserve Golf Links.
It’s worth checking the package that suits you when booking because the golf component can represent considerable value.
After four nights at Heritage Le Telfair, what impressed me most was how well everything fitted together.
It’s unquestionably five-star, but still relaxed. The food and restaurant choice are exceptional, the setting is beautiful and there’s plenty to do away from golf.
For couples, groups of mates or anyone looking for a golf holiday where the resort experience is every bit as good as the courses, Heritage Le Telfair is going to be very hard to beat.
And if you do make the trip, make sure you play both courses.
They’re completely different – and that’s exactly what makes the Heritage Golf & Resorts golf experience so good. Next month Inside Golf will feature more amazing golf courses and resorts in Mauritius. Stayed tuned.
Check out: www.heritageresorts.mu and www.mauritiusnow.com
*Sam Arthur travelled to Mauritius with the support of Mauritius Tourism.
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