Sugar Beach Resort Review – Flic en Flac, Mauritius

Sugar Beach is a 5 star resort hotel in Flic en Flac which is located on Mauritius’ west coast. The resort hotel is nestled between its sister hotel, La Pirogue, and popular hotel chain, the Hilton. In fact, locals refer to this part of the island as being “the sunny side” so you can expect to find other luxurious hotel chains, private villas and apartments nearby as they take full advantage of the idyllic Flic en Flac weather.

Jay and I can very much confirm that the said “…sunny side” of the island is an accurate description for Flic en Flac. We last visited during their Summer Season, which runs between November and April. A typical January day was sunny, hot and humid with an occasional gentle breeze drifting in from the Indian Ocean. 

The hotel grounds are well maintained and picturesque.  Thankfully the Sun Resort Hotel chain provides their guests with plenty of sun loungers along the beach, with many being cooly covered in ample amounts of shade from the wooden wicker umbrellas. The umbrellas perfectly compliment the powdery sand and clear turquoise waters; creating a truly luxurious landscape.

If you don’t fancy sun bathing on the beach and cooling off in the tepid ocean, Sugar Beach have multiple pool options with the main pool being overlooked by the gorgeously grand Manor House that gives ‘plantation style property’ vibes. Remember to also visit La Pirogue’s pool.  They have an infinity style pool, where it has been cleverly designed to appear as if it is connected to the ocean.  Even if you don’t feel the need to leave Sugar Beach, we highly recommend taking the 2 minute stroll next door to La Pirogue as the photo opportunities + memories are worth it.

Despite the gorgeous weather, Mauritius is a tropical island so do expect tropical weather. We visited in January and experienced a cyclone which, in Flic en Flac, caused a few days of overcast skies, wind (that was actually welcomed due to the humidity), rain showers and unsettled ocean waves.  However, don’t let that put you off. Yes, cyclones are a pretty big deal (look up Cyclone Bansi as this is the one we lived through) but fortunately, we were perfectly safe at Sugar Beach. We had 24 hour access to up to date weather advice and the Sugar Beach team over compensated for the poor weather by putting on extra indoor entertainment events for their guests.  For one of the events, we were personally invited, by management, to an evening of cocktails. To our pleasant surprise, Mauritian gajaks (snacks) were also served on waited platters & the complimentary alcoholic beverages flowed the entire time.

It felt like an exclusive old Hollywood soiree mixed with Great Gatsby vibes.

At luxury hotels you will have access to lots of western comforts and whilst this can be, well comforting… it can also prevent the less adventurous visitors from experiencing a country’s authentic culture.  Jay and I didn’t have this problem as we hired a car and travelled all over the island, but if you are somebody who prefers to stay in the resort, Sugar Beach will do a good job of bringing Mauritian culture to you. 

Local entrepreneurs were invited to come into the hotel to set up stalls where you could purchase their goods; this was such a great way to support local Mauritian businesses.  Also, live Mauritian Sega Dancing was brought to the guests; professional dancers performed Sega routines on the fire lit beach.  If you’re lucky enough to be there for the beach Sega dancing event, be prepared for it to feel magical! Imagine being on a beach after sundown with a fire pit and lights, listening to traditional Mauritian Sega music and watching talented dancers sway, twirl and swirl their traditional dress in perfect time. The African influence within the Mauritian culture was showcased and it was breathtaking.

So whilst the entertainment is authentic, thoughtful and top class, Sugar Beach could improve by having more Mauritian food on offer for their guests.  Jay and I chose the breakfast only option as we knew that we would be travelling around the island during the day and eating out in the evenings. The breakfast spread was huge, tasty and well worth the money (you can read more about that here).

On the one night that we dined in the hotel for dinner, I personally felt that the options were a little underwhelming. While Jay was pleased with the seafood options, I am not really a seafood gal so I was after some hearty Mauritian food but on this particular night, I couldn’t find any fitting Mauritian dishes. I would have loved to have seen some of Mauritius’ simple yet delicious food options like Mine Bouillie La Viande or just a curry. I don’t know whether the evening food theme changed daily or not, but I stand by there needing to be more Mauritian options. To be fair, as a guest at Sugar Beach, you will have access to La Pirogue’s bars & restaurants too so it may or may not make all of the difference but we can’t comment further on that as we didn’t dine at La Pirogue during our stay.

WHATS THE VERDICT ON SUGAR BEACH?

If you’re staying at Sugar Beach, know that you’re in for a really nice time. The hotel is beautiful & the town it’s situated in (Flic en Flac) feels safe and is tourist friendly. Whether you are staying with Sugar Beach on an all inclusive basis or not, you should definitely venture out into the local community at least once during the early afternoon. You’ll find plenty of street food vendors and gajack (snack) stalls in Flic en Flac, so accessing a range of authentic Mauritian food is actually very easy during the daytime! There is also a delicious gelato parlour and the local Indian + Chinese fusion restaurant is a multiple time Trip Advisor Award Winning Restaurant (Zub Express). All local food prices are reasonable and their locations are easily accessible as they are all located on the same strip as the hotel.

In respect to the Sugar Beach staff, they are very friendly and helpful; they will go above and beyond to ensure that your stay is a pleasurable one.  Sugar Beach has (or had) its own on-site doctor for any emergency medical needs; the bar staff are skilled and entertaining; the housekeeping staff are professional and trustworthy; and senior management are visible and accommodating.  As a bonus, all staff speak fluent English, French and Creole so communication should be plain and simple for most.

Overall, the Sugar Beach accommodation is clean & comfortable; the rooms are air conditioned and well equipped with everything that you could ever need or want for.  We stayed in a first floor room with a private balcony that secured us a view of the tropical landscaped lawns and the Indian Ocean.  Our first holiday to Mauritius together really was quite frankly the best holiday ever and that was before we had even experienced our upgrade to the Shangri-La Le Touessrok.

So yes, we highly recommend staying at Sugar Beach Hotel – The area it is situated in is tourist friendly and has access to local Mauritian cuisine and street food all within walking distance, but do hire a car and tour the rest of the island as there is lots to see and do.

If you would like to see what we got up to on our holiday, visit our YouTube Channel to watch the Mauritian Vlogs; you will not be disappointed.