At the last minute, my husband and I decided to join our friends and their three children on a week’s family holiday to Mauritius.

Now, not having children of my own, I was a little dubious as to how I was going to deal with spending my holiday in the close proximity of a six, ten and twelve year-old, but I have to say that the Shandrani Hotel, which is on the peaceful and unspoilt south-eastern coast of Mauritius, was a very welcome surprise.

As the only all-inclusive five-star hotel in Mauritius, the Shandrani is certainly the place to visit if you are looking to get as much as possible out of your holiday abroad and for this reason is perfect for families. The kids certainly enjoyed the unlimited ice creams and cold drinks – and we adults were not shy when it came to the unlimited branded drinks and fabulous food!

There is tons to do for adults and children alike. The kids club was excellent - Sarah (aged six) thoroughly enjoyed the crab hunting, banana boat and having henna designs painted on her hands and feet, whilst the two older boys took to the snorkelling, water-skiing and kite surfing like ducks to water. In fact it was fun for all the family as we took many a trip out snorkelling and sailing together. And if watersports don’t grab you, there’s plenty to do on land like tennis, golf, gym, aerobics, volleyball and cycling. Let alone relaxing on one of the three private beaches.

Highs: The food at all of the restaurants and bars was superb; top marks for the pancakes in the afternoon and the melt-in-the-mouth lobster at the Porto Vecchio restaurant.

Lows: The hotel is quite close to the airport and you can hear the occasional plane go over but it wasn’t a huge problem as it was just a few planes a day.

Highly recommended for the whole family is an all-day boat trip. We had an absolute scream, especially when the boat stops at the waterfalls and you can dive straight off the boat into the warm, clear sea for a swim. We also stopped off at Le Touessrok beach and played some watersports before heading on for a BBQ on a remote beach. It was great fun and well worth doing as you get to see lots of the island!

The Shandrani hotel has given new meaning to family holidays!