Playing Mont Choisy Le Golf from the villa

The course opened in 2016 on land that had grown sugar cane for two centuries. It was designed by the South African architect Peter Matkovich around the old stone walls, the chimney of the former mill and a line of century-old trees that the layout was built to keep. It is a par 72 of just over 6,500 metres from the back tees, with wide fairways, large bunkers and water on several holes. The wind off the lagoon is the real defence; mornings are calmer than afternoons. From the front tees it is a pleasant round for a mid-handicap player, and from the back it is a proper test.

The club has a driving range, a short game area and putting greens by the clubhouse, a pro shop with club hire, and resident professionals for individual lessons and clinics. The clubhouse restaurant is open to non-members for lunch and serves a mix of Mauritian and European dishes with a terrace over the eighteenth green. Buggies are available and advisable in the hot months; the course is walkable from May to October when it is cooler.

Tee times are booked directly with the club by email or telephone, and online through the usual booking platforms. Green fees change with the season; the club publishes them on its website. In the high season, from mid-December to mid-January and during the European Easter break, book several days ahead for an early morning start. The rest of the year a day or two is usually enough. Dress code is standard: collared shirt, tailored shorts or trousers, soft spikes.

The villa stands on lot V32 of Les Allées du Golf, the residential part of the estate. The gated estate is quiet, with its own roads, security at the entrance and no through traffic. The clubhouse is a few minutes by car or buggy, so a round before breakfast is realistic, and the beach at Mont Choisy is three minutes in the other direction. Non-playing members of the party have the pool, the cinema and the games room at the villa, and Grand Baie ten minutes away.

Mauritius has about a dozen 18-hole courses. From Mont Choisy, Tamarina on the west coast is under an hour and plays along the Rempart river with the mountain behind. The Legend and the Links at Belle Mare, on the east coast, are about an hour. The Paradis and Dinarobin courses at Le Morne, in the south-west, are an hour and a half; Île aux Cerfs, reached by boat from Trou d'Eau Douce, is also about an hour and a half door to tee. A week at Mont Choisy with two away days covers the best of the island.

From May to October the weather is dry, the temperature is around 25 degrees and the course is in its best condition; this is the season most golfers choose. From November to April it is hotter and more humid, with afternoon showers in January and February; play early and the course is still very enjoyable. Trade winds blow from the south-east most of the year and are strongest from June to September, which adds a club or two on the exposed holes.