Buying a piece of tropical island in paradise

Profile of Mauritius: Lots of Irish people have honeymooned there, but foreigners couldn't buy property in Mauritius - until now. Rose Doyle visits a luxury development where prices start at over €600,000.

Green and lush in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius has for years been the place to go for tropical peace and splendour, for a glimpse of what paradise could well be like. But buying a piece of this particular tropical island just wasn't possible. Until now.

All's changed with the recent liberalisation of the country's residential property laws. The Mauritian Government's new Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) has opened the island to foreign investment, allowing for the freehold purchase of property and conferring residency status.

None of this, of course, comes cheap. In order to attract the kind of international investment it wants, the Mauritian Government has set a minimum entry level of €400,000 (US$500,000. But then Mauritius, long-time holiday haven to a goodly proportion of the planet's more discreet rich, has never undersold itself.

This is a five-star hotel island, and proud of it. And now, with Anahita, Ciel Properties (an 100 per cent Mauritian-owned company) is offering one of the first luxurious residential resorts on Mauritius for sale to overseas investors. A plantation-style development on the exclusive and more temperate eastern shores of the island, Anahita aims to attract what Nicolas Vaudin, general manager of Ciel Properties, calls "high net worth foreign investors".

Stretching along 6kms of the turquoise, waters of the Indian ocean, the exotic 213-hectare Anahita site, all lavish vegetation and plateaus with mountains behind, will have a Four Seasons Resort hotel with 90 suites and 30 villas, a residential village with 215 luxury villas, 40 golf lodges, 70 marina apartments and a par 72 championship golf course designed by Ernie Els.

With prices still to be finalised, and the official launch due to take place in London in March, the developers anticipate that apartment prices will start at €660,000 ($800,000) with villas costing between €827,000 and €4.1 million ($1m-$5 million).

Also promised is an on site "gourmet destination" restaurant and a selection of boutiques. There will be gated, 24-hour security and residents will have the extra assurance of a concierge service, available not only when they are in Mauritius but on call to owners wherever they are in the world.

Nicolas Vaudin, son of a generations old Mauritian family, is passionate about his island home and about Anahita. "The waterfront village will be at its core, will be the resort's centre," he says, "the place for interaction between residents and Mauritians who will come to sell fresh fish, fruit,vegetables.

"Buildings will be low, with an emphasis on integration with nature and growth all around. Also, because Mauritian living is all about veranda living, verandas will be an important part of each unit."

Ciel and the government are concerned about the environment, sharing a care for the natural wonders of an island which was, after all, home to that once and only flightless bird, the Dodo. It took less than 100 years of careless human influence for the Dodo to become extinct so the lesson is there for the learning and Ciel intends ensuring the site is protected as well as developed. (Hotels in Mauritius recycle water to irrigation quality).

Design too will reflect the environment. Architect Fiona Thompson has worked a great deal in Australia and the Caribbean and says the design team "travelled the island" to get the "contemporary Mauritian" approach just right. The result, she says, will be interiors with a "higher level of detail than in typical resorts, horn handles for instance.There will be a lot of living space outside, a lot of breezes through the houses and apartments. Kitchens will be fully fitted and natural materials like stone and wood will be used throughout. All will be clean and simple, though not simplistic, and very comfortable."

Sizes will range from 142sq m (1,528sq ft) apartments to villas measuring 65sq m (6,996sq ft).

Nicolas Vaudin points to the advantages of Mauritian residency. "For those staying a long time, it eliminates the need for a visa. The government is developing tax free incentives too and Mauritius is to become a duty free island within the next four years."

Anahita is the second IRS scheme being developed on the island. Tamarina, on the west coast, consists of villas, 70 per cent of which have already been sold off the plans. Other resorts are promised.

The Anahita site is the only project with coastal frontage. Arnaud Dalais, chairman of the Ciel Group, is an eighth generation Mauritian and lives on the favoured, breezier east coast where Anahita is being built.

"The land for Anahita has belonged to Ciel since 1948," he says, "and was completely undeveloped until the zoning restrictions were relaxed. The back-up and support we're getting from the government is very important".

The hotel and villas will create 1,200 jobs, and building and developing the project is expected to create some 4,000 jobs.

Mauritius is small, only 1,865 sq kms, lies off the east coast of Africa and has a subtropical climate; summer is from December to June, with temperatures of around 30° and winter from July to September, with temperatures around 24°. There is a rainy season in January and February. All year round tourism, along with sugar and textiles, have for years been mainstay industries.

But, with sugar prices falling and textiles in difficulty, Arnaud Dalais believes the challenge now is to develop the hospitality industry. "Early market studies show interested property buyers in South Africa, Scandinavia, France and the UK. We expect interest from Ireland too. Some buyers will be investors, some will want to retire here, some will be buying for the family."

Following infrastructural improvements, Anahita will be a 30-minute drive from the island's airport; at present, the journey takes twice as long.

And the name? Anahita was the ancient Persian goddess of fertility and water.

Selling agent for Anahita is Erna Low Property, at property@ernalow.co.uk or www.ernalow-anahitamauritius.com. The development will be launched in London on March 23rd, with the first phase expected to go on sale in June. The first residents are expected to move in in December 2007. For more information call 0044 20 75901624.