Best hotels in Salazie and Hell-Bourg: 5 top places in the green cirque

Opened in 2022 at Mare à Vieille Place, the Sarana is the first 4-star hotel in the Salazie cirque. Its 32 m² Deluxe rooms, Junior Suites and 100 m² villas look out over Piton d'Anchaing across a large garden.

The Héva spa, with its hot bath, and the heated pool are made for the cirque's cool evenings. Le Lacaussade restaurant serves modern bistro cooking built on local produce. Step-free access and free parking.

A Creole house with carved fretwork in Grand Îlet, run by François and Sonia. Five rooms, two of them family rooms, all with a shower room, plus a lounge with an open fire for chilly evenings at 1,100 metres.

The home-cooked dinner and Sonia's hiking tips are what reviewers mention most. It's the ideal base before heading up to the Col des Bœufs, the busiest way into the Mafate cirque.

An orange, adults-only Creole house in Grand Îlet, on the road heading on to Le Bélier and the Col des Bœufs. Recently renovated rooms with walk-in showers, plus a garden and terrace facing the cirque's mountains.

The owners serve breakfast and cook local dinners, a real plus in an area with few restaurants open in the evening. Guests rate it 9.5/10 across 271 Agoda reviews.

A guesthouse by the Hell-Bourg road, between Salazie village and Hell-Bourg. The 15 m² double room has its own entrance, a walk-in shower, a kitchenette and a terrace.

Françoise and her husband's warmth comes up review after review, and their cooking, from the included breakfast to dinner, is part of the experience. At our last check, a night cost €57.

Hell-Bourg's historic hotel, on the main street of a village listed among the Most Beautiful Villages of France. Eleven of its 29 rooms are in an authentic 19th-century Creole house, the rest in the main building.

Its Creole restaurant and generous breakfast win praise in recent reviews. Step outside to stroll past the colourful houses, visit Maison Folio or set off on a hike.