Welcome to your new home away from home! Our villa can spaciously host up to 9 guests. Located across from white-sand beaches, this bright & modern space boasts a private pool, wifi, modern kitchen, garden of indigenous plants & flowers, incredible views of the mountains & beach from 2 upstairs balconies, solar water heating, washing machine, and cable TV! We also offer free cleaning & 24H security. Best of all, this is 1 of 3 similar villas next to each other for larger gatherings! HOUSE DETAILS: This villa has a very open floor plan to maximize natural light, but modern air conditioning to keep things cool! There are windows on every side of the house in the main living area downstairs, with cozy window seats, two large dining tables, and a TV space. There is a master bedroom downstairs with a door to the backyard, and three big rooms upstairs, two of which have access to large balconies looking towards the mountains, and two of which have views of the sea. The kitchen is modern American-style-- complete with a microwave, toaster oven, full fridge and freezer. ACTIVITIES: There's an incredible amount of recreational activities to enjoy, and this is the perfect place to explore the east coast of Mauritius. We are across the street from the Belle Mare public beach-- all you need to do is walk 2 minutes to dip your feet into the water. There's also a walking path in the forest that's a beautiful place to walk or jog. Nearby, you can find one of the best scuba diving centers on the island, as well as boat houses for water sports like paragliding, even golf in several nearby hotels. FOOD/SHOPPING: The property is a 5 min walk from the quaint village of Belle Mare, where you can find quality restaurants, street food, a pharmacy and a few local grocery stores. Major hotels for dining are within a 10 minute walk either along the beach or on the main road, and arrangements can be made with the Emeraude Hotel (a 3 minute walk) for breakfast, lunch or dinner. If you like street food, there are several food stalls on the other side of the road on the public beach. All major supermarkets are in Flacq, about 12 to 20 minutes drive by car. Our favorite is Super U, which is a 15 minutes drive. SERVICES: We offer free cleaning & 24 hour security. For an additional fee, we're also able to organize airport transfers, grocery shopping, cooking, and babysitting for families -- just let us know at the time of booking. See below for more fee details. DREAMS: Named after the writer Maya Angelou, our dream is for this villa to bring you inspiration, relaxation and joy. We hope you choose to stay at our villa, and look forward to hosting you when you do. The house has private parking for 1-3 vehicles behind an electric gate. There's a full time security guard for the three units, each of which has parking. The owners of the home (Ali & Maria) are in Washington D.C, but the property’s offsite manager Souki is available to answer questions and onsite manager Annie is on call in the area to help make your stay as comfortable as possible! Annie can also arrange, for a separate price, airport pickup and drop off. Belle Mare beach is one of the most beautiful and longest beaches of Mauritius with white pristine sand-- the beach starts at Belle Mare village and stretches all the way south till the village of Trou dÈau Douce. The village of Belle Mare offers a quieter access to Mauritius than some of the more developed tourist areas, but major hotels with stunning views of the sea for special dinners or cocktails are close by. Privacy and intimacy come together with the convenience of nearby tourist facilities. The town center is a short walk away. Driving and parking is easy with a rental, but if you don't have your own car, transportation by taxi app (there are a few in Mauritius) or general taxi can be arranged! Buses to Flacq (a major town 15 minutes by car) are also available. COOKING For longer or more comfortable stays, you might not want to have some meal support, and we would be happy to help you with that. We can arrange to cook breakfast, lunch and/or dinner for 500 Rs (roughly 11 USD or Euros). Due to covid protocols, you will need to acquire the groceries for the food that you would like prepared at the store, and we are happy to arrange for a chef to come prepare it for you. EXTRA PEOPLE Celebrations & parties are amazing here! We love our villas being used for holidays, birthday parties, weddings, and more. Because of insurance, we do have a fee for extra people over 9, which will be applied to your account if our outdoor security notes it. The fees are $15 per person EXTRA, but if guests come unannounced, the fee that we will charge is $20 per person. POOL MAINTENANCE The pool needs to be regularly cleaned, and it may or may not be available for several hours during your stay. If you want to check that the pool will available for the entirety of your reservation, please let us know as soon as you book or we will not be able to guarantee its use. LATE FEES for CHECK-IN / CHECK-OUT We have had some issues with guests being inconsiderate of our property manager's time, so we have instituted a fee for any late check-ins and check-outs that is not communicated beforehand. 1) CHECK IN -- Our check-in time is at 12pm, but if you need another check-in time or would like a place to store your luggage before the villa is ready, you mst let us know in advance so we can make arrangements. If you are going to be late, you'll need to let our manager know at least 1 HOUR before the agreed check-in time, as she personally needs to travel to meet you. If you do not alert her and are more than 1 hour late on the agreed check-in time, there will be an inconvenience fee of of $10 USD. If you are more than 2 hours late, the inconvenience fee will be $50. This will not apply to guests whose flights are delayed, provided you send us your flight details so we'll get alerts on your flight status. 2) CHECK OUT -- Our check-out time is 10am, unless explicitly agreed otherwise! If you need a later checkout, you'll need to request and verify with Annie at least 24 hours beforehand. Annie will do her best to accommodate your checkout time subject to availability, as we often have guests checking after you and need adequate time to organize cleaning services and prepare the space for them. There's will be a fee applied for each hour you are late relative to the agreed check-out time, so please don't forget to prepare accordingly! The late fee for the first hour is $20 (USD), with every additional hour increasing by $10 per hour. Let us know if you have any other questions. Thank you again for considering us! We hope to see you soon.