INDIAN OCEAN MAURITIUS DESTINATIONS
rainbows Chasing
From its food to its beaches, Mauritius is awash with colour, writes Jenni Doggett
I
t’s not every day you find yourself searching for a Chinese biscuit shop in Mauritius. The tiny store I’m looking for is so hidden away I think most of the capital’s residents would be hard pushed to point it out. Between the extraordinary
street art, one of the oldest horse-racing tracks in the world and the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site, it’s easy to become both distracted and lost in Port Louis. However, I soon hunt down the store using Mauritian hotel brand Attitude’s tour app Otentik Discovery. The geolocation tool offers seven thoughtfully designed itineraries, the themes of two of which are the eclectic street food of Port Louis and a driving tour of Trou d’Eau Douce. Download the app for free at
reception and you’re good to go – it’s loaded with invaluable local insights and pointers that encourage guests to step outside the resort and explore. Discovery is part of a broader
Port Louis, Mauritius
commitment by Attitude to integrate local culture into its guests’ experience as part of its Otentik programme, picking up on the Creole word for authentic.
But is it just a neat marketing
tool? “Hoteliers often dilute local culture to make it more tourist- friendly,” says Celina Hardy, who works in customer care for Attitude Hotels. “But we want to keep it pure and encourage guests to spend in the local economy.” That sentiment is borne out by
the weekly Otentik ‘Bazar’, where local traders and craftspeople sell their products in the resorts. The most popular of all the Otentik experiences by some distance, though, is the opportunity for guests to dine with a local member of staff at their home.
w HOME COOKING We’d been booked into Rani’s house for the evening. Still a little stuffed on Chinese biscuits, we were whisked away on a 40-minute drive from The Ravenala Attitude hotel on the northwest coast of the island. We zipped past fiery scarlet
trees, which signal the beginning of the festive season, and branches heavy with plump lychees. Flying foxes (bats) dangled stoically from the sinews of a Banyan tree. We glimpsed golden Tamil temples and
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