Constance Prince Maurice

The Prince Maurice occupies a private peninsula on Mauritius's north-east coast, where a protected lagoon and natural fish reserve keep the waters glassy and the atmosphere low-key. Since opening in the late 1990s it has been the flagship of the Mauritian-born Constance group and the island's byword for quiet, grown-up luxury—thatched roofs and dark timber against white sand, with none of the animation-team bustle of the big beach resorts.

Accommodation is all-suite, from junior suites amid the gardens to villas on the sand and a set of suites raised on stilts over the fish reserve itself. The aesthetic is warm and understated, letting the lagoon light do the decorating. The famous set piece is Le Barachois, the floating restaurant reached by wooden walkways across the water, where dinner arrives amid the reflections of lanterns.

Wine is taken seriously—the cellar here is among the Indian Ocean's deepest—and guests enjoy playing rights at the two championship golf courses shared with sister property Belle Mare Plage nearby. The east coast trades a little winter wind for its tranquillity, and nightlife is essentially nonexistent; both facts are features, not flaws, for the honeymooners and repeat couples who treasure the place.