Best Mauritius Family Resorts

Though mostly couples visit LUX* Belle Mare, the east-coast luxury resort also sees plenty of families. Kid-friendly features include a kids' club whose outdoor space has a colorful playground, a trampoline, and a small kids' pool. Inside, kids have run of game and TV rooms with colorful beanbag chairs, an activity room with books and toys, an internet station, and a large kitchen with snacks and a buffet. The resort's main pool has a wide-stretching shallow end and beach entry, making it a popular hangout for families. At the boathouse, a variety of water sports are available, including kayaking, sailing, wind surfing, snorkeling, and scuba diving. (The hotel can also arrange swimming with the dolphins and fishing trips.) Even the hotel's various lower-category Junior Suites offer lots of space -- 646 square feet to be exact -- including a dedicated, though not separate, sitting space and private outdoor area. Bathrooms are spacious and outfitted with stand-alone tubs and separate showers.

Constance Prince Maurice is a remote beachfront boutique resort on a calm and stunning lagoon. The hotel's beachfront Family Suites have bunkbed rooms with second bathrooms for the kids right off the main bedroom. Family-friendly features at the hotel include babysitting services and kids' menus at the restaurant. The free kids' club offers both indoor and outdoor space, and dedicated activities and games geared toward kids ages four to 11. Activities include themed events, movies and games, a playground, and group activities. The hotel's two other pools include the large, centrally located main pool and the smaller kids' pool over at the Le Prince's kids' club.

The 149-room LUX Le Morne provides a luxury beach vacation with all the trimmings. All of the chalet-style rooms have tropical decor, flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, and patios or balconies that face the ocean. The hotel's private beach offers about 2,000 feet of white sand. The beach is shielded from the winds by the mountain, resulting in a lovely lagoon for peaceful swimming -- great for kids. Farther inland, four stylishly designed lagoon pools blend into the island flora and provide sea views from lounge chairs. One pool has a shallow kiddy section. Supervised activities for children and pop-up movies on the beach appeal to families, and adventurous travelers have access to a dive center and kitesurfing school.

This has-it-all spot is an ideal choice for families with children or teens, thanks to the amount of activities, facilities, and programs geared toward younger guests. There are kids' and teens' clubs, an ice cream truck, and shallow kids' pools near the main pool. The hotel's beautiful (if thin) beach leads into a small, crystal-clear lagoon, whose calm waters and shallow depth are great for small children. The 198 rooms are simple and underwhelming, but all have king-size beds, large flat-screen TVs, and small sitting areas. Families would be comfiest in the Villas, which have two bedrooms, separate living room and dining room spaces, large private patios and garden areas with barbecues, and small dipping whirlpools.

Constance Belle Mare Plage is a family-friendly luxury resort on a mile-long stretch of idyllic Indian Ocean beach. The hotel's air of exclusivity is palpable, but Constance is nonetheless a kid-friendly place, with pools, roomy units (starting at 484 square feet) with sofas and Apple TVs, and a kids' club providing appeal for families. Constance spares none of its attention to detail on the kids' club, which is free for kids' age 4 to 11. Constance Kids Club has its own dedicated and enclosed pool for kids, as well as a playground and several play areas. Daily activities might include activities like movies, games, computers, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, and ice-cream-making. Babysitting is available for a fee. Motorized and non-motorized water sports are free in the hotel's lagoon.

A luxurious plantation-style resort, the Residence Mauritius has an Old World aura and a beautiful east-coast location. The calm and quiet vibe doesn't mean kids aren't accommodated at The Residence; in fact, they're well catered to with three big pools, a kids' club, and gentle lagoon with calm waters and free motorized and non-motorized water sports. The Residence's kids' club is free and provides activities -- fashion shows, sega dance lessons, tie-dying, baking, crab hunting -- depending on children's age group (3 to 6 and 7 to 12). Inside there are board games, dolls, beds, cribs, and TVs, and outside is a mini soccer field and a playground with a sandpit, slide, trampoline, climbing equipment, and swings. The club is open late so that kids can have dinner there (already included in room rate). Babysitting is available for a fee. During the winter season, the hotel offers special discounts, like free bed-and-breakfast for up to two kids when two adults book a room.

The features at Victoria Beachcomber are as robust as you'd expect from a 25-acre beach resort geared toward families. And speaking of families, Victoria has two separate -- and free -- kids' clubs for age 3 to 12, plus a teens' club with movies, computers, PlayStation 4s, and foosball. One of the kids' clubs is located right on Victoria's 800-meter-long beach, and the other is indoors, near the lobby. Scheduled activities include drawing, painting, nature workshops, and cooking classes. Babysitting is available with advance notice and at a fee. Another hit with kids -- and all Victoria guests, actually -- is the boathouse, which offers free motorized and nonmotorized water sports, like water-skiing, sailing, pedal boating, kayaking, windsurfing, and stand-up paddleboarding. The boathouse also organizes free snorkeling trips. Victoria's 254 sea-facing rooms are large and airy, with queen beds, balconies or terraces, and bathtubs (there are also apartment-style options).

Scenically set right on a peaceful lagoon with clear views of Coin de Mire island, the upscale Zilwa Attitude is all about soaking in the Mauritius experience. Ground-floor Family Rooms offer 485 square feet of space, while Family Deluxe Rooms (located on either the ground or second level) are even larger, with a second bedroom and bathroom. (Note that there are no bathtubs, even in the Family Rooms.) Ayo de Dodo, Zilwa's kids' club, is free for ages 3 to 12. The kids' club's centerpiece is its game room -- which is set within a real boat (on land) that was once used in the spice trade. In addition to a game room and hangout area in an actual boat, the kids' club has a kitchen, TV room with an Xbox gaming console, playground, and sand pit, and a staff that organizes crab hunts, fishing trips, drawing classes, and treasure hunts. Ayo de Dodo is open all day until late at night. Babysitting services are also available, for a fee. One of the resort's four pools is for kids, and has a pebbly zero-entry edge. Unlike many upscale resorts, Zilwa only offers nonmotorized water sports, including kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, mini sailboats, pedalos, and windsurfing equipment (all free). Guests hoping to water ski might be disappointed, but this policy is in order to protect the lagoon. Glass-bottom boat and snorkeling trips are also free.