LUX Le Morne is a 149 room resort located on stunning Le Morne Beach on the south coast of Mauritius. LUX Le Morne is a full-service resort family resort with restaurants, pools, spa, fitness, and water activities. There are 15 sunset junior suites, 10 junior suites, 45 prestige junior suites, 15 ocean junior suites, and 64 superior rooms at this resort. We spent 3 nights in a Junior suite and share details about our stay in this post to help you decide if you want to stay here.

1. Location: 19/20

LUX Le Morne is located on the nicest stretch of beach at Le Morne Beach. It is about 1 hour from the airport, 10 minutes from the nearest town of Gaulette, 20 minutes from the tourist activities in Chamarel, and 30 minutes from Tamarin. There are limited restaurants and shops nearby that are easily accessible by driving/walking at night.

The beach is stunning and LUX has managed to preserve the natural atmosphere with trees and grass. The water is very calm and is perfect for activities like stand-up paddle boarding and snorkeling. You do need to be careful as there are sea urchins like every other beach we’ve been to in Mauritius. The beach is also amazing at sunset where you can sit and enjoy the view from shore or in the water.

Of all the places we stayed, LUX Le Morne had the nicest beach in front of the hotel.

2. Bed & Sleep Quality: 19/20

At LUX Le Morne, we found the bed to be very comfortable and similar to the one at Salt of Palmar (same company). The king bed was very comfortable and the pillows were the best of the hotels we stayed at on this trip. There was a ceiling fan, the air conditioning was quiet, and the room had shutters. We did hear the guests next door as bit as our room time had an adjoining door.

Overall, we experienced high sleep quality here.

3. Room and room amenities: 17/20

We booked a sunset junior suite and upon check-in, we were told that we had been upgraded to a junior suite. LUX Le Morne categorizes and prices their rooms in a way that doesn’t make sense to us and you can be very disappointed as a result. We suspect the junior suite is priced higher and considered a higher category as it is larger and can sleep 3, making it more convenient for families. As a couple traveling, we were disappointed with the room we were allocated as it did not offer the privacy we were looking for and had booked the sunset junior suite for that reason.

On the LUX Le Morne website, the sunset junior suite is marketed as: “Perfectly sized for couples and adventurous solo travellers who love a beach hut feel”, and the junior suite as: “Ideal for a tribe of travellers, the sea-facing rooms can be interconnected with each other”.

Our junior suite was located in the quieter part of the hotel away from the pools and restaurants, thankfully.

The room had a nice balcony with a day bed, a table, and chairs but it lacked privacy. Our room, like many, shared stairs with the neighboring unit to access the balcony and the divider was a little short. Unfortunately, we ended up with very loud neighbors on both sides: people who watched TV on their iPad very loudly and smoked on one side, and a family with a baby who didn’t stop crying the entire time on another side. **Smoking is permitted on balconies and more common outside of North America.

The room had a mini-fridge, Nespresso style machine, and a large bottle of still and sparkling water was provided daily.

Despite our disappointment with the room type and lack of privacy and noise from the neighbors, we did enjoy our room and found it to be quite nice with the beach house design of whites and shutters. We were also just steps from the beach and could walk out and be in the water within a minute.

4. Bathroom: 9/10

The bathroom had a shower room, a toilet room, a bathtub, two sinks, and a closet/wardrobe. No issues with the water pressure in the shower and we loved the toiletries, which were the same as the ones at Salt of Palmar. The bathtub did have the remnants of a child’s drawing in it though!  

5. Hotel public areas and amenities: 8/10

The hotel has about 3 pools, 3 restaurants, a spa, fitness centre, tennis court, table tennis, a library, water sports desk, and offers other little treats.

One downside is that none of the pools are designated just for adults. With that many pools, it would make sense to allocate a pool just for adults but we preferred the ocean for swimming due to how nice the water is.

The hotel is very generous and offers free watersports: you can borrow, stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, peddle boats, etc. This is a great feature that we really appreciated and used daily.

We also appreciated the flavored water available on the property during the day to stay hydrated. We did not notice any filtered water dispensers easily accessible though.

They also had fun things, like roasting marshmallows during the afternoon, a fire show and cocktail hour, and nightly turndown that included the lighting of a candle on the balcony.

The resort also provided a beach bag for the stay and to keep, and a water bottle with water in it upon departure for the drive to the airport.

We booked a bed and breakfast rate and absolutely loved the breakfast! The breakfast was full buffet with tons of things: fresh fruit, kombuchas, juices, sparkling wine, pastries, breads, cheeses, meats, cereal, egg station, and a rotation of dishes like noodles and curries daily. The breakfast spread was really impressive and high quality. Do not skip breakfast!

We had dinner at the Thai restaurant one evening and enjoyed it. The food was high quality, well presented, and yes it was expensive but in line with what we pay here in Vancouver. The menu itself was Thai-inspired and more fine dining but still casual.

We did not try the other restaurants as we ate off the resort for lunch every day and we were not as interested in most of the menu offerings. People who plan to just stay at the resort for all their meals should consider the half and full board options as it may be more economical and easy than going a-la-carte. There are exclusions with the half and full board though: it does not apply to the Thai restaurant ( a credit if applied to the bill) and some items include additional costs as well. Menus to all the restaurants are available here.

6. Service and staff: 8/10    

Service was good in general but not as personalized as the other places we stayed in Mauritius and we did have a few specific issues and complaints about the resort in general. Our favorite staff were Jason and the bell desk attendant who were very friendly, talkative, and helpful. Housekeeping was also really good!

After our disappointment with being upgraded to a room type we avoided, the hotel did try to make it right by providing us a sunset junior suite but we declined to avoid the hassle of checking out and checking into another room on our last full day in Mauritius.

At checkout, we realized we had been billed for items we did not order or consume at the Thai restaurant for dinner. After we signed and left, the restaurant added things to our bill by mistake. The hotel should not allow people to add things to bills after they have signed already and should issue a new bill for signature to avoid this. The hotel removed the charges but it did take time and it was annoying for sure.

Like other resorts, it is very difficult to get an early dinner reservation and you need to plan 1-2 days in advance. We are sympathetic to hotels that are sold out and short-staffed while trying to offer the best possible service, but it is annoying to have to plan your dinners this way when you want to enjoy a leisurely vacation. We also were not aware of Vik’s and by the time we arrived at the resort and tried to book, it was sold out for the entirety of our stay which was also disappointing.

They also have numerous shower rooms for early arrivals and late departures as the hotel is often sold out and cannot accommodate early/late check-ins. This was very useful for us on our last day as it allowed us to enjoy the hotel until our departure for the airport. You can also bill food and drinks to your room after you’ve left the room and until you check out of the hotel.

Unlike Salt, the LUX app worked great for us and was very useful. At check-in, they give you a number linked to your room and reservation so that you can login and book activities/meals and just find out more about the resort in general.

The hotel enforces the dress code for dinner: men need to wear trousers and closed-toe shoes in 30 degree weather. We can understand the hotel wanting to maintain a level of class and to avoid people in beachwear at restaurants but just require no beachwear. People should not have to pack “trousers” for a beach vacation to eat dinner at the resort if they had no plans to do so. If a dress code is required to maintain the caliber of the hotel, it should also be extended to breakfast where people come wearing beach wear, some with no shirts or shoes. Bermuda shorts, a golf shirt, or button-down shirt (short sleeve or long sleeve) would do just fine for the dinner dress code and was accepted at Salt and Le Meridien.

The gym also opens quite late, at 07:30, as an attendant is needed. It would be great to have access to the gym earlier, even if an attendant is not there for those of us who want to exercise before breakfast. The gym is small but well-equipped and organized. The attendant is also very helpful and pleasant.

7. Overall Value: 8/10

All the places we stayed at on our trip to Mauritius had pros and cons, and LUX Le Morne is no exception. Despite our issues and annoyances, we really loved our stay at LUX Le Morne and would go back in a heartbeat, even if it comes at a higher price tag and has downsides.

We had done our research and knew what to expect about the rooms and it is unfortunate we ended up with a room type we tried to avoid, despite its redeeming qualities. Next time, we will book the sunset junior suite and insist on getting that room on check-in for sure.

We did get annoyed by the number of poorly behaved children here at times but also realize the resort is popular with families, like many are in Mauritius. Like other Mauritius resorts, they cater to European tourists who prefer later and more formal dinners and thankfully, Wapalapam was nearby for more casual and less formal dinners during our stay. The dress code is silly but we also understand why they have one and hope it would be updated to something more reasonable.

The setting at LUX Le Morne is truly magical and what makes it so enjoyable. LUX Le Morne doesn’t feel like a large resort but has the amenities of one. LUX Le Morne should also be commended for initiatives to minimize waste and impacts on the natural environment.

OVERALL 88/100

Would weleavetoday to go back? Yes!