We loved the seclusion behind the vast wooden doors of 20 Degrees and the peace and tranquility. We arrived exhausted from wedding mania and it was a glorious place to flop, watch dragonflies and tame birds hunting for crumbs. The reception staff were absolutely charming and the welcome was warm and friendly.

We loved the outdoor shower and our room was spotless. It was pretty poky, but the bed was huge. Someone not in their right mind had made the decision to allocate to honeymooners what must have been the squeakiest bed I have ever encountered - how embarrassing. Our next embarrassment was to discover that there was no door between bathroom and bedroom. We found this a real romance-killer, but perhaps it was just our British prudishness. This offended us so much I steeled myself to complain but alas the screen offered in recompense afforded little privacy either.

I'd spied a yoga class on our welcome tour and anticipated joining them tomorrow. Sadly yoga was only once a week, so I practised 'alone' on the beach in the early morning. Alone except for an audience of four maintenance men, a security guard and sundry flaneur boat men. I retreated from paradise to the privacy of the windowless gym.

A wind arose which meant that other than a trip to Grande Baie (from which we hurriedly retreated), we were shore-bound for our five day stay. I am inclined to agree with other travellers who felt a little 'cooped up' in this hotel. Surely snorkelling in a sheltered spot could be sought on such occasions?

We absolutely loved cocktails sitting beside the swimming pool in the evening and the radiant barman. What a shame smoking is permitted inside such an enclosed space.
We befriended some other newlyweds and discovered that they had been given Champagne on arrival whereas we had not - this did not improve our stay.

The food was excellent, if a little repetitive, and mostly the service was good. Turndown didn't happen on two of the nights of our stay and sometimes the numerous small plastic bottles of water were forgotten - we found paying for water irksome and suggest the addition of a chilled urn from which guests can help themselves and of course glass water bottles in rooms instead of plastic.

Tea was an eagerly-anticipated highlight and the spa area was charming, as were its staff. We enjoyed hiring bikes and thought that the overall ambience of the hotel was delightful. For somewhere with a fabulous reputation such as 20 Degrees, which came highly recommended from numerous luxury tour operators, we felt a little let down on a holiday as special as a honeymoon.

We had real difficulty scoring this, it is on one hand a beautiful, chic, small hotel sitting right on the beach. But on the other hand it is also a little bit over the top with a room that did not look anything like the picture on the website and was not really up to the standard we had expected.

Really it’s a curates egg, good in some places, not so good in others.

The Good
It looks tremendous – one of the best looking places we have stayed, the restaurant has great tables by the sea at one end, with views to die for, and by the pool at the other. There are comfortable chairs and good service. The food is excellent, we really enjoyed every meal, breakfast and dinner and have definitely missed the views since we have returned home. They provide tea/coffee and cake every afternoon at 4pm which also went down well with everyone. Some evenings there was a singer on, good standard and not to loud for the size of the room. There is also a free snorkelling trip every day and trips to Grand Baie (not a lot there but worth a look round). Lots of sunbeds, umbrellas and sea stuff – goggles, flippers, windsurfing, hobby cat etc. All very good and for no charge. The staff in reception were helpful, one lady telling us how to get to Port Louis and going outside from the hotel to how us where the bus stopped.

The not so good
We stayed in a beachfront room which was very close to the sea which was lapping at the beach just a few yards outside the door, this was very good and the room itself was well decorated in an off white with a large comfortable bed and excellent shower. But …..the bed was in an alcove where one side you couldn’t stand up without risking banging your head on the sloping ceiling, the TV had a small cabinet below it which housed a fridge which struggled to keep things cool and had the tea and coffee making facilities on top of it. This made it like trying to make a drink in a cramped student flat. If the room was a £100 a night no problem but at these prices not very impressive.

Were also asked if everything was OK about twenty times a day, once or twice would have been more than enough. The staff are all trained to give way to you by getting off the path, even when it is wide enough for two. Some guests may like this but I felt it was a little OTT.

Sometimes it appears that the staff are not given much freedom either, for example the music was terrible one day in the restaurant – I know it’s personal opinion but there were only three couples in the restaurant and we all thought it was poor. We asked for it to be changed but were told they couldn’t do it! Although eventually Nitin did do a good job getting it sorted especially as it was his first day.

When we went to pay we were being dealt with pleasantly and professionally by a young lady. All of a sudden a middle aged man comes over and takes over. He printed our receipt to show we had paid, it was then that I reminded him he had forgotten to process my credit card. Empower the staff and trust them, don’t have middle managers taking over.