Paradise Reimagined: A Fictional Stay at LUX Grand Gaube

Some places have a way of unraveling you—gently, slowly, like silk slipping from a shoulder. LUX Grand Gaube in Mauritius is one of them. It is a retreat that doesn’t simply host your vacation but redefines the very essence of escape. I arrived one golden afternoon with sand still on my shoes from another island and a heart quietly craving something I couldn’t yet name.

It was my first time in Mauritius, and nothing could have prepared me for the raw beauty of Grand Gaube—a fishing village turned secret haven in the island’s peaceful north. The road twisted through sugarcane fields and bougainvillea bushes until we crested a hill, revealing a sprawling estate of artful architecture and aquamarine waters. I saw it then: LUX Grand Gaube, nestled between two tranquil coves, its thatched roofs and organic shapes in conversation with the very landscape itself.

This was not a resort. It was a dream someone dared to build.

An Oasis Designed for the Soul

Designed by the world-renowned Kelly Hoppen, LUX* Grand Gaube is what happens when minimalism finds its muse in tropical whimsy. The rooms—186 of them, from serene Superior Rooms to extravagant villas with private pools—are a tribute to light, air, and the sea. My room was tucked into a quiet corner of the property, its balcony overlooking the lagoon where morning kayakers drew lines across still water.

Inside, it was all natural textures: woven rattan, pale wood, and linen that carried the salt of the ocean in its folds. The mini-bar, restocked daily with fresh Mauritian fruit and artisanal treats, became a ritual I didn’t know I needed. I remember opening a bottle of vanilla-infused rum and toasting myself. To arrival. To release.

The Fictional Guest: Sophia Lane

Here’s where the story bends into fiction—though it never feels like fiction in Grand Gaube. Let me introduce you to Sophia Lane, a 38-year-old London-based botanical illustrator with a secret: she was at the edge of a decision that would change her life.

She checked in with a canvas case slung over her shoulder and the kind of tired in her eyes that doesn’t come from lack of sleep, but from too many years of living in a way that never quite felt like her own. Her plan was simple—stay for two weeks, avoid email, and finish a commission for a luxury skincare brand. But something about the rhythm of the place began to shift her.

Each morning, Sophia rose before sunrise to paint on the beach, a mug of sweet black Mauritian tea beside her. She filled her sketchbook with flamboyant trees, hibiscus blossoms, and the fiery plumage of the native Mauritian fody. And as she painted, she began to remember the version of herself who once believed art could change things. Change her.

Dining That Dances Across Borders

The culinary program at LUX* Grand Gaube is nothing short of orchestrated joy. It doesn’t just feed you; it tells you stories. At INTI, the resort’s signature restaurant, Peruvian and Argentinian flavors tango across plates in what might be the island’s boldest fusion menu. Ceviche that melts on the tongue, smoky anticuchos, and cocktails made with pisco and citrus so fresh it still tastes like sunlight.

Sophia found herself returning again and again to Palm Court, an open-air dining experience that feels like a global food market designed by a Michelin-starred dreamer. One evening, I watched her linger at the Turkish mezze station, chatting in halting French with the chef about the spices used in the aubergine salad. Another day, she sat under the banyan tree near the Rum Treehouse, scribbling fig leaf shapes in her journal after sipping something that tasted like caramel and bonfire.

But it wasn’t just the food that made meals unforgettable. It was the space LUX* Grand Gaube created—unhurried, curious, alive. There are no dress codes here, no rules other than joy. And maybe that’s why, halfway through her stay, Sophia stopped checking the time altogether.

Wellness Beyond the Spa

You could spend your entire holiday inside the LUX Me Spa*, and no one would blame you. A sanctuary of oceanfront treatment rooms, mineral-rich pools, and therapies drawn from East and West, it’s wellness redefined. But Grand Gaube’s magic goes further. Wellness is woven into its design, its culture, its air.

Sophia joined sunrise yoga the third day. “Just to stretch,” she claimed. But the instructor, a gentle Mauritian named Kavi, had other plans. His classes, held on a platform over the sea, were less about the perfect pose and more about arriving—fully, humbly—into one’s own body. Sophia began returning every morning. She stopped looking at the commission as a deadline and began painting like she used to in school—wild, bright, free.

And I, the curious narrator, watched it happen: how a place can restore the person inside the guest.

The Secret Beach and Other Discoveries

Behind the main pool lies a lesser-known path, lined with frangipani and soft with sand. Follow it long enough, and you’ll reach what the staff call “the secret beach.” It isn’t marked on the resort map. No loungers. No bar. Just driftwood, sea-glass, and solitude.

Sophia found it one overcast afternoon, her sketchbook in hand, following a kingfisher. There, she met Adrien—a Paris-based travel photographer recovering from a broken engagement and an even more broken sense of self-worth. He carried two Leicas and a past he didn’t want to talk about. She carried watercolors and a heart that was healing. They didn’t fall in love. Not in the way you’d expect. But they became something like real—two artists, finding shelter in one another’s silence.

They met daily at the secret beach, exchanging sketches and stories, the kind you tell when you think no one will remember. Adrien taught Sophia how to use light. Sophia taught Adrien how to see again.

Departure, Redefined

When Sophia finally checked out, she left a small painting with the concierge—a watercolor of the banyan tree near the Rum Treehouse, with her name signed in the corner. “For the next tired person,” she said. “To remind them they’re still in there, somewhere.”

I watched her go. Her skin was browner, her shoulders less tight, her laugh more frequent. She had decided not to take the skincare commission after all. Instead, she planned to start her own studio, back in London, with classes, wildflower walks, and a gallery that only sold local art.

LUX Grand Gaube didn’t change Sophia. It reminded her who she was.

More Than a Stay—A Philosophy

What makes LUX Grand Gaube more than a destination is its refusal to be ordinary. There are hidden messages in the sand each morning. Spontaneous ice cream carts that appear near the pool. Staff who remember your name—and your dog’s, even if he’s back home in Dublin.

The resort runs on the belief that luxury doesn’t need to be formal. It needs to be felt. Whether you’re swimming under stars in the infinity pool, biking through village paths with a local guide, or sipping espresso under lantern-lit trees, there’s a sense that someone here believes deeply in your joy.

It’s this belief that makes the place unforgettable.

Final Thoughts

There’s a phrase you hear often at LUX* Grand Gaube: “It’s not goodbye—it’s see you soon.”

And maybe that’s the point. This place, with its barefoot elegance and warm-hearted charm, doesn’t want to be the once-in-a-lifetime trip. It wants to be the return. The reminder. The turning point.