Rodrigues: guesthouses and home cooking on Mauritius's sister island

On the Mont Cabris plateau above Saint François, Jessika and Lino welcome guests in a house with just three rooms, each with a private bathroom and a view of the sea or the garden. There's a shared, equipped kitchen, and a small beauty salon tucked into one corner of the house.

Breakfast with fresh fruit and the dinners, vegetarian on request, come up again and again in reviews, along with the feeling of staying with friends. The hosts also organise snorkelling trips. It has 158 reviews with our partner.

Taken over by Constance in 2023, Tekoma is the only hotel on our list, and it's right on the water. Its 32 standalone rooms, built like small Creole villas, all have a terrace facing the sea, on Anse Ally beach between Fumier and Saint François. There's a pool, a beach bar and a dive centre.

The restaurant is named 1528, the year the island was discovered, and two bars, Kreek by the pool and the Gin Bar, round things off. The hotel desalinates its own water and has an endemic tree planted at the François Leguat reserve for every booking. On another platform, hundreds of reviews praise the staff, the beach and the roomy bedrooms.

Opened in 2011 in Saint François, this family guesthouse is run by Arlette, her son Bruno and Ronald. There are eight or nine air-conditioned rooms, including family rooms for two adults and two children, plus a garden, a terrace and a shared kitchen, and Saint François beach is five minutes' walk away.

Breakfast is included, and half board is well worth it: the family cooks Rodriguan food, with a ti-punch shared at sunset. One guest says they never ate the same thing twice in seven days. Reviews also mention clean rooms and how close the beaches of Anse Philibert and Trou d'Argent are.

At Anse Bigarade on the north coast, these villas open straight onto the beach, about five kilometres from Port Mathurin and its market. There are three layouts, Couple for two, Family for four and Duplex for six, each with a fully equipped kitchen.

Breakfast is served facing the sea, and a local chef can come and cook on request. The place runs on solar power and sorts its waste. Reviews, still few, praise the cleanliness, the location and the service. Note that the 'Grand Baie' in the address is Rodrigues's own, not the Mauritian resort.

Opened in October 2024 opposite Anse aux Anglais beach, this residence has five air-conditioned rooms above La Plage Resto Bar, a restaurant open since 2020 and listed by the tourist office. Each room has a fridge, minibar and safe, and some have a sea-view balcony.

Downstairs, the menu mixes Rodriguan dishes, seafood and Chinese food, with live music on Saturday nights. Port Mathurin, its Saturday market and its shops are about ten minutes away on foot, so this is the place to go car-free for your first few days.

In the middle of the island at Montagne Bois Noir, Jeannette runs this table d'hôtes guesthouse, listed by the Rodrigues tourist office and the Petit Futé guide. Eight double rooms with bathrooms, spread across a villa, an apartment and separate rooms, look out to the lagoon or the hills.

Half board means generous local cooking, and the house offers massages, entertainment, trips around the island and out to the islets, and even vehicle hire. Reviews rate it good value next to the island's other tables d'hôtes, with a very friendly atmosphere.

On the Graviers coast road in the south-east, this recently renovated house has King rooms with sea or garden views, a shared lounge and a garden, with direct access to the beach. The same owners rent out scooters, handy on an island where the buses stop early.

Graviers is the start, or end, of the island's best-known coastal path, which runs via Trou d'Argent to Saint François. You can set off on foot in the morning and come back by taxi.