Home >> Mauritius Information >> ACCOMMODATION >> BEACH VILLAS OF MAURITIUS

What is the quality level of villa rentals in Mauritius?
What is the availability of bungalows in Mauritius?
How much in advance should one book a beach villa?
How to benefit from cheaper bungalow rates?
Where to book a villa?

Villa rentals in Mauritius are a great noble way to get deeper into Mauritius. Until recently, private beach villas were the only alternative to hotel resorts. Rentals were done on a casual basis, clients being handled either by the owners or by estate agencies specialised in rentals.

Villas, whether on the beach or not, are now subject to fairly strict regulations from the tourism authority of Mauritius; all villas offered for rent to tourists must be duly registered as such, they are surveyed and must fulfil the criteria set.

On the other hand, the expectations of the average guest have risen with the positive result of greatly upgrading that so-called "informal" segment of tourist accommodation in many ways, including the handling services by locally based specialised agents.

What is the quality level of villa rentals in Mauritius?
Most villas offered for rent are on a "private" beach (or at least have a direct access to one,) and are at least comfortable, if not luxurious.

What is the availability of bungalows in Mauritius?
Definitely the demand for private beach villas exceeds supply, at least during holiday seasons; this, owing to the fact that:
º The owners want to use them while their kids are on holiday,
º The repeating clients who have been faithful to a particular villa or agency tend to book one year in advance.

How much in advance should one book a beach villa?
For stays during the very peak period of Christmas and new year, (and to a certain extent, August) it is virtually not possible to find one unless:
º You are a repeater,
º You are ready to pay high rates and let go on several of your requirements including the region,
º You have booked a flight well in advance and are patient enough to remind several agencies every month that you are still desperate for a villa,
º You are lucky to address an agency on the very day it received a cancellation from a client who has just been advised by his travel agent that he finally won´t get a seat on the plane (this generally happens around mid Dec.)

For stays during the high periods of November, January to April - 1 to 3 months in advance is advisable.

For stays over any other period - There is no rule; short notice works fine except eventually for villas on the North (and West) coasts.

How to benefit from cheaper bungalow rates?
To start with: taking their quality into account, private beach villas are a relatively economical solution for large families or groups of friends. They tend to be more expensive around the end of the year and between January and April but there is not much difference.

There are very few beach bungalows for rent i.e small villas on the beach for 2 persons. Couples therefore remain the typical hotel clientele.

Where to book a villa?
Many regular online tour operators propose villa rentals as well as hotels and other travel services. However, villa rental is another story. Villas are a whole way of life; their selection and the relations with guests require a touch which are proper to small, specialised agencies, preferably based in Mauritius, near the source, not at the market's end.

Some owners now propose direct reservations of their villas. Tropicscope just started listing those few. All villas listed in our villas in Mauritius category can be booked directly with their owner or via an expressly appointed person or party. Generally, those villas are also proposed by agencies at same rates. Booking directly with the owner develops specialties while booking via an agency brings additional guarantees and allows combining with other services such as car rentals and organisation of excursions.