Travel Weekly Blog

From deputy features ed Joanna Booth

I've returned from the Hayes & Jarvis fam to Mauritius overwhelmed by the hospitality on the island.

And not just from the beautiful top-end hotels we visited ­ though each one pulled out all the stops to impress us, from Thai cuisine at the Hilton to a pirate-themed quiz night at the Maritim ­ but also from the Mauritian people themselves.

Our group was divided up and sent off in cars on a treasure hunt round the island. We accosted people in the street, asking them countless questions, and the responses were polite and helpful without exception.

Few went as far as one man, though. We were asked to bring back what translated from the Creole as 'an old Mauritian'. Most teams discovered that our intended target was a day-old edition of the island¹s local paper.

However, Brad Smith, team manager at First Choice Peterborough, took a more literal approach, and arrived at the finish line cheerfully accompanied by a local man of advanced years...

Joanna Booth, deputy features editor