Need to know
Rooms
36, including six suites.
Check–Out
11.30am, but flexible, late check-out is available for 75 per cent of the room rate a person. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
More details
Rates at La Maison 20 Degrés Sud include breakfast (Continental, full-English or American) and à la carte dinner, plus daily transfers to Grand Baie in a motorised pirogue (longboat).
Also
Unfortunately La Maison 20 Degrés Sud isn't suitable for guests with mobility issues.
At the hotel
Free watersports (kayak, laser, hobby cat, paddle, windsurf); bikes to borrow; free snorkelling twice a day; daily tea time (4pm to 5pm); two library lounges with board games; gym; a boutique; parking, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, TV with movies on demand, minibar, bathrobes, slippers and luxury bath products; Beachfront Rooms and Suites also have Nespresso coffee machines and sound systems.
Our favourite rooms
Rooms are in mod-colonial style, with dark wood and leather against white walls and sumptuous linens, gauze-veiled four-poster beds and designer Belgian furnishings from Flamant. Austral Suites are set closest to the ocean with either a whirlpool bath or plunge pool, depending on which floor they're set on. We love the Beachfront Rooms for a more affordable lagoon-spying perch. Suites, which can take one extra bed, are the only choice for those travelling as a trio.
Poolside
Both of the hotel’s pools are lined with schist rock tiles and fringed with coconut palms. Day-beds, and wicker tables and chairs line the decking. The larger pool is by the bar and heated to 26 degrees in the winter. The more petite pool is in palm-shaded seclusion behind the spa. Alternatively, take a cool dip in the Indian Ocean from the nearby beach.
Spa
The spa has comprise three treatment rooms – one for couples – a hammam and whirlpool bath. Enjoy massages, wraps, body scrubs and rejuvenating facials. Couples can treat each other to the Lovers Retreat ritual with over two hours of pampering featuring a flower-petal scrub, a Monticelli mud wrap, and relaxing hot oil massage followed by a flower petal bath.
Packing tips
A kaftan for après-swim drinks and some basic French for polite exchanges with the friendly staff.
Also
Whether aboard the hotel's restaurant boat or securing the kitchen-side Chef du Table, dining options at La Maison come with a welcome side of theatre.
Children
Over 12s only – this sophisticated hotel is more of a ‘let’s leave them with the grandparents’ kind of place.
Sustainability efforts
The hotel is entirely plastic free and grows its own herbs and vegetables in the on-site garden.