I recently enjoyed an exciting holiday in the Seychelles and stayed at North Island, the new Six Senses Zil Payson (which I previously reviewed here on FT), and Maia. IMHO, North Island is the the holy grail of luxury travel. The uber luxurious resort offers an experience that is light years away from that offered by any other beach resort, not only in the Seychelles, but the entire planet.
Since images say so much more than words (and since English is not my native language
), I made a Youtube clip with my impressions of the resort which you can watch here:
I will also upload some photos below
PROS:
- The resort occupies its own private island, the northern most of the archipelago. The rather large island offers complete privacy and splendid isolation.
- The jaw-dropping, exotic beauty of the granite island is among the most exquisite tropical scenery that I have ever seen in the world. It's a pitty that so much beauty can only be witnessed by so few people
- The phenomenal beaches are the most beautiful that I have ever set foot on. The sand is blinding white and soft like powder. There is one very large beach on the east side (where the communal facilities and villas are located) and two on the west side (one of them with a sunset bar).
- The resort features an overall beautiful design of understated luxury that celebrates its spectacular natural surroundings. It is reminiscent of an African safari lodge.
- There's a lovely infinity edge pool, carved into one of the granite outcrops, and surrounded by lush tropical foliage.
- The eleven villas rank among the largest and most stylish accommodations in the world. Each villa (except for villa 11, cf below) features two separate bedroom pavilions: an incredibly spacious master bedroom and a study lounge that can be turned into a second bedroom if you are traveling with children. All villas also have an open-sided lounge (with sofa and dining table), an adjoining kitchenette (including an amazing minibar), an outdoor plunge pool with roofed sala, and expansive outdoor deck which floats above the oversized garden, and an insanely beautiful, semi-outdoor bathroom.
- Every villa comes with its own private electric golf buggy.
- Rates are inclusive of all meals (and food is delicious), and most activities, including scuba diving.
- Service is outstanding.
CONS:
- the resort is extremely expensive. However, it does offer the ultimate luxury travel experience, with phenomenal beaches, immaculate service, delicious food, a tasteful design, and palatial accommodations. IMHO, it is worth the heavy price tag.
- Beaches on North Island are dynamic (the sand migrates around the island depending upon the ocean tides), and some rock and corals are exposed in certain parts of the beaches.
- The villa’s private plunge pools are rather small for a hotel of this caliber, and not suited for taking a lap. But that should not be too much of a problem, since you can always have a swim in the inviting warm waters of the Indian Ocean in front of each villa or burn some calories in the beautiful communal infinity pool.
Highly recommended!