A weekly series featuring luxury hotel expert Mary Gostelow’s hotel pick of the week. 

LUX* Belle Mare is honestly one of the most fun hotels not only on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius (which is overall quite a staid island) but anywhere, and for all ages. The locally owned 174-room resort was completely upgraded in September 2014 by Kelly Hoppen, the celebrity designer favored by David and Victoria (Beckham, natch).

This way to the coffee corner.

The former front desk is now a coffee corner, with beans roasted in the ‘back office’ behind. And the clock is permanently set at 4 o’clock, coffee time. How about a Nitro coffee, from a tap that looks like draught beer: pull it, to get an ice-cold pressed coffee passed through nitrogen and carbon dioxide served in a beer glass, foam atop. Nearby, below 18 wood steps leading to the latest, Arte, Technogym, are two old London telephone booths: make calls for free to anywhere, worldwide.

Outdoor lounging at K.

There are fabulous restaurants, including Chinese and Indian, and a Mauritian rum bar. The main bar, K, as in Kelly, has make-you-smile fuchsia and scarlet seating. Residue from the renovation has been used to make a boabab tree: hang a wish on it, possibly to win a free stay. Other wows? A bridal salon where any guest can borrow garments for souvenir photos. A genuine 1933 Rolls Royce is attached to a lunchtime food truck, El Jefe, after the truck in Jon Favreau’s 2014 movie Chef. There are scarlet Martone city bikes and seemingly miles of pristine white sand, and blue skies. La Mer, the private pool villa 1212, is closest to the ocean. I looked out from my desk straight through a mangrove fence to the beach and ocean. GM is Ashish Modak.

Mary hanging a wish on the boabab tree.

Read last week’s Hotel of the Week here.