DSI

After our nice RTW trip this summer: Maldives (COMOS), Thailand (FS's, including Tented Camp) and a few others, we are now preparing for next summer's trip: Seychelles and Masai Mara. Completely drained the FF account for F/J tickets on EY!

Now to the point: where do we stay? The FS and Banyan tree seem a little vanilla, North Island seems like its on the weak end of value/price. Chateau de Feuilles and Six Senses seem nice? Any others that I should consider? We will be there for about 10 days and will be with our son, who will be 5.5.

I would prefer something more authentic at the expense of obsequious service.

sfoactuary

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Seychelles as well, and from everything I've been reading am leaning toward the Four Seasons. My impressions of the Seychelles is that the "authentic" part of the trip comes from the island-hopping and cultural visits, rather than the resort itself.

Agree that North Island seems weak on value (I think they are trying to milk the royal honeymoon as much as possible, similar to Qualia after Oprah's visit), and Fregate Island Private looks appealing at a slightly cheaper price tag, but reviews on TA seem to indicate that the food is sub-par which is a huge issue for us. Have also looked at the Raffles on Praslin Island as another option.

Eagerly awaiting recommendations from some of the people who've been to Seychelles, as there isn't nearly as much information here as compared to the Maldives.

Pausanias

I've been to the Seychelles several times - first visit was in 1980 and I've been lucky enough to visit most of the islands, even Aldabra. I've not stayed at Fregate or North as they don't appeal to me at all, financially or culturally. I don't think it matters which resort you choose on Mahe as long as you rent a car and drive the island. It's almost as scenic as Tahiti and has better beaches. On Praslin I know the Ch. de Feuilles which is a lovely little property but it lacks a beach, though they do now have a sort of beach club operation. It's a pension rustique. My favourite island is La Digue - not a great choice of hotels but it's a sublimely beautiful place to stay. We once did three whole weeks there. On Mahe we always stay at the Fisherman's Cove - for sentimental reasons really.

offerendum

Can`t really comment on Six Senses (of course as ist not open yet) or Chateau, I satyed at Banyan Tree, Raffles and Four Seasons. Reviews are in this thread. In the end I recommend at least a combination of 2 islands.

vuittonsofstyle

Fregate Island Private is now managed by Oetker with new GM and chef, so I am hoping food standards have risen.

DSI

Pausinius and VOS: What places would you recommend for a 12 night stay? I was thinking about hoping around to 2-3. We have a 5 year old, are heading to Africa afterwards, and enjoy more of a barefoot luxury approach. We've been to about dozen FS resorts and sometimes I wish they were either a little more funky or more personal. I guess that we're craving a slightly more unique experience, or something with a little more passion even if the service standards end up lower.

Although the Six Senses is not yet opened, I feel like I would like its "barefoot luxury" approach.

instyleprincess

Last time when I was in Seychelles, I did not stay at Chateau de Feuilles but did visit and had lunch there. It was unfortunate that I didn't get to stay there cuz the property was fully booked. The ocean view from the hotel is just amazing, grounds are really beautiful and the staffs who showed us around cannot have been more friendly.

I stayed at FS, Raffles, Lemuria and Desroches Island on my last trip. Chateau de Feuilles blew me away.
FS is all around very nice, but the food is not up to expectation.

Another highlight of my trip was Desroches Island, I wished I spent a whole week there instead of hopping around hotels, I don't see it mentioned here a lot, but everything was just superb on that island. Staffs really go above and beyond to provide the warmest hospitality I've experienced, amazing food, and I walked/biked around the island several times on the island without seeing anyone there.

Pausanias

Well, I'd stay at the Ch.de Feuilles, though the new Raffles on Praslin looks very nice. The best beach on Praslin is Anse Lazio on the tip and I don't think it has any hotels, yet. Sadly, La Digue doesn't offer anything useable for people on this Forum, though the island is stunning and still relatively unspoiled. On Mahe, the FS is probably the best bet these days but I still think FS hotels work best in cities and least best as resorts. Personally, I'm not a fan of hotels which occupy an entire island - OK if you're Mr and Mrs Putin (and their people have virtually colonised the Seychelles) or Mr and Mrs Cambridge, but I don't need major security or privacy. I just need nice food and a nice beach.

While I would never advise people on their holiday choices in a personalised way, I do wonder if the Masai Mara is a place for a 5 year-old.

Kagehitokiri

new owner of six senses corporate has abandoned barefoot style. france renderings were very contemporary. bhutan renderings showed giant infinity pool. construction reflag in seychelles >

thanks!

neuman101

We did seychelles and Masai Mara for our honeymoon two years ago so I will have some very good recs here. We ended up staying at Maia, which we really enjoyed. Cheateau does not have a beach, it is inland, so that was never an option for us. For us it came down to FS or Maia and we chose Maia bc it was smaller. 12 days is a lot though. L'domaigne on La Digue looked nice, and if your planning to visit there anyways, then something like 1-2 nights there, and the other 10 nights split between Desroches and Maia/FS would be my ideal trip.

If you want any advice for kenya, feel free to PM me.

viaggiospesso

I say, all these posts and images about Seychelles is making me want to rush off there immediately. Where's my travel agent? visit this site http://www.swisscubancigars.com/blog...w-cuban-cigar/

sfoactuary

Looks like I'll be able to squeeze in a brief 1-week trip to the Seychelles next month, so the hotel planning has become a bit more real now. Early thoughts are to do about 4 nights at the FS Mahe, and 2 nights at Chateau de Feuilles or possibly the Raffles Praslin.

Would love to get thoughts from everyone on that split, or any other thoughts/ideas to consider given the short duration of our trip.

I go back and forth internally about whether to even entertain the idea of a couple nights at North Island or Fregate. The $6,500/night price tag for a couple at North Island just seems flat out crazy, I can't foresee any way that the experience can live up to the price tag. Looking at it another way, it's the equivalent of 5 nights at the FS!

DSI

Looking forward to hearing what you find. We're in our lower 30's and will be with a five year old, so any insight on the "family oriented" places would be helpful.

We also thought Maia could be fun and Six Senses could be really cool once that opens.

If you don't have kids this might be a good opportunity for Fregate. Believe me, once you move into a larger house, pay for private schools, country clubs and all that stuff... this luxury travel is a drop in the bucket compared to the other budgetary items you get faced with. In other words, if it feels expensive now it will really, really feel expensive in the future.

neuman: we're also heading on Safari afterwards. We're trying to follow in the footsteps of your honeymoon and will be at the Serian camps.

offerendum

Sounds good, although perhaps one or 2 nights at Praslin would be better. Depends on what you expect from Praslin. If you like activities I prefer Praslin. One day at Valley de Mai and one day with Cousin and Curieuse are great. Perhaps an additional day at La Digue. If you only like Relaxing at the beach I would stay at Mahe.

Big_Foot

I'd skip Praslin. It's not La Digue which is stunning. La Digue only has
small "pentions" kind of places, but the scenery is so rewarding, a few nights
there are like a dream. Praslin is like a middle brother, neither, nor...