Mauritius

• Go in the summer silly! - Indian Ocean
• Lovers in Luxury - Maldives
• Feet first into the Maldives - Maldives
• No news, No shoes - Maldives
• My wedding pact with David Walliams - Maldives
• Push the boat out - Seychelles
• Relaxation Addict - Seychelles
• Mauritius the Delicious - Mauritius
• Mr Perma-Tan in Paradise - Mauritius
• Never seen you looking so lovely - Mauritius
• Island Iffy No Longer - Sri Lanka
• Having a swell time! - Seychelles
• Perfect, even for the world’s pickiest guest! - Maldives
• Do not disturb - Mauritius
• My tantrum in paradise - Mauritius
• Calendar girl makes a date - Maldives
• Lipstick and high heels not required - Maldives
• The five-star survivor! - Mauritius
• Strictly Unwinding - Maldives
• Why should paradise be only for lovers? - Maldives
• Strictly recharging - Maldives
• Busy doing nothing - Maldives
• Sweet perfection - Mauritius

MAURITIUS has long been top of my list of places to visit. At just 42 miles long and 29 miles wide, it is around the size of Surrey. And there the similarity ends. This Garden of Eden, off southeast Africa, reaches back in history to include descendants of African slaves and Indian labourers, and a legacy of Dutch, French and British colonisation. English is the official language, but I took both my schoolgirl French and my mother with me on a pilgrimage to retrace a chapter of our family history.

A 12-hour flight delivered us blinking into bright sun.

An hour’s drive along the coast and we were at the western tip - a peninsula home to the Dinarobin Hotel. Flanked by a volcanic mountain range, the Dinarobin sits alongside its sister hotel - the Paradis - at the base of the towering Le Morne peak.

My two favourite pastimes were both complimentary

This backdrop is reflected in the surfaces of the hotel’s’ many pools, interlinked by boardwalks weaving past a total of eight restaurants. Vivid cardinal birds chatter and the atmosphere is one of exotic serenity. The nine-mile stretch of white coral sand fringes a sporting playground that includes an 18-hole golf course.

But my two favourite pastimes were both complimentary - snorkelling after a trip in the hotel’s glass-bottom boat, and yoga classes in the elegant spa. The choice of dining experiences would fill any fortnight. We curled our toes with delight in the sand at the Dinarobin’s Le Morne Plage beach restaurant, and were spoilt with Mauritian specialities at Saveurs des Iles.

All honeymooners should experience at least one dinner at the open-air La Ravanne, within the grounds of Paradis. Candlelit tables are dotted along the sand. Who cares if it’s too dark to read the menu?

Early one morning I hired a bicycle, and cycled round the brooding Morne peak. Sugar, the oil of the 17th and 18th centuries, has long been the mainstay of the Mauritian economy, with slave labour until it was abolished in 1835. Le Morne was a hideaway for runaway slaves.

We discovered a world of rare species

In 1968, Mauritius won its independence from Britain, and the Governor-General invited Sir Leonard Cooke, president of the Co-operative Society and member of the Sugar Board, to visit the island and stay at his residence. A bluff Northerner, Cooke nevertheless returned to Macclesfield proclaiming that he had seen paradise.

I know this because he was my grandfather, hence my journey to the island.

The capital, Port Louis, is a mix of colonial architecture, steamy markets, historic Champ de Mars racecourse, Le Caudan Waterfront shopping plaza and Chinatown. A former sugar factory is now an interactive museum tracing the history of sugar production.

Another big attraction is the Chamarel region. Chamarel Falls drops 272ft through lush vegetation, while the coloured earth of Chamarel is a mysterious undulating moonscape. At the spiritual heart of Mauritius is Grand Bassin. A crater lake reputed to contain water brought from the Ganges, it is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus.

Off the south-east coast is Ile aux Aigrettes. We took a small boat to the nature reserve and discovered a world of rare species - pink pigeons, geckos and giant tortoises. Then it was off to our second hotel. One of four Leading Hotels of the World on the island, the Royal Palm is one for which the word ‘exclusive’ might have been invented.

A clue to the level of luxury is the unpacking service offered by white-gloved staff. And the fact that former French President, Francois Mitterrand, used to have his own suite here, and that the president of the Maldives arrived during our stay. Every suite has ocean views and white-liveried valets serve cocktails along the perfectly groomed beach.

Head chef Michel de Matteis combines local produce with French ingredients in the hotel’s three restaurants. Lunch is taken under the shade of a badamier tree at La Bar Plage.

The Royal Palm is one for which the word ‘exclusive’ might have been invented

In the evening you’re faced with an impossible choice: fragrant Asian flavours at the Natureaty restaurant (dishes include emperor red snapper carpaccio), or the cool sophistication of La Goelette? ‘Mauritius was made first and then heaven,’ wrote Mark Twain in 1897.

‘It knocks Macclesfield into a cocked hat, I don’t mind telling you,’ was my grandfather’s more prosaic verdict. And having been to Mauritius, I can confirm they were both right.