coolbeans202

I felt the same way. I would absolutely be willing to pay for a beach villa upgrade if needed as the garden villa just doesn't compare.

JonKarol

Sitting out right now on the front porch of our king garden villa (no Diamond upgrades because full occupancy), looking at the ocean. Our garden villa is one of the rare ones that faces the beach entry so we have beach and ocean view, albeit limited. Will do a trip report when home, but the garden villas are essentially the same inside as the beach ones, except they're standalone, whereas beach villas are duplexes, so we arguably have more privacy. The room has a (very hard) king bed, rain shower, tub and outdoor shower. Two free nespresso pods and two liters of water are provided daily. Breakfast at Portofino for golds and diamonds is good but slow. Restaurants in general are slow, esp when it comes to delivering the bill. Portofino is closed on Wednesday. Buffet breakfast offers wider but more generic selection and faster coffee service. Both offer cappuccino, americano or regular coffee as well as fresh OJ.

I've watched every sunrise so far from either the porch or the beach right in front of our villa. The place is great and the staff friendly. Just had a complimentary bottle of wine delivered and awaiting our complimentary "romantic bath" preparations. Stayed first night at Northolme and got upgraded to deluxe pool villa, which was amazing. Northolme beach was very small but had plenty of fish to see (with goggles or the free snorkeling gear) in the cove area. Much more boutique feel than Labriz, but Labriz has a long, great beach that is quiet despite the resort being full, more restaurant selections (we are doing a la carte vs half board - just watch the prices and do the math), and several hiking trails (more difficult than advertised but terrific). Grann Kaz, the old plantation house near the jetty with a Creole theme, has been the cheapest dinner so far, followed by 4th Degree. Weather is very good. Free bicycles are a nice benefit but the seats aren't that comfy and the resort is very walkable. WiFi comes and goes. Right now, it's working.

The spa area offers its own pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, which we had to ourselves (and the bats) for much of the day. Best spa deal was the welcome offer of 60 mins plus 30 min facial. I encourage anyone to visit the beach in front of the presidential suite, past the spa, for great views and even more privacy. Overall, this place is great. Yes, food and esp drinks are expensive, because nearly everything is imported from Dubai. But if you book on points, it's not so bad!

luv2go

bubu-SNA

We completed a stay the last week of June at the property. Overall a great 7 day visit but not perfect stay.

The positive first,

• We received a Diamond upgrade to a king sanctuary pool villa on week long points stay.
• The breakfast was excellent with plenty of variety.
• The resort location is hard to beat. Spectacular beach.
• Kids meals were free when we purchased an adult meal. The kids loved the chicken nuggets which are really hand made to order mini-schnitzels and subsisted of them for lunch & dinner. The fish & chips were always excellent at the poolside restaurant as well. We enjoyed Grand Kaz as it had a very unique creole menu.
• Very family friendly with a great kids club.
• Lots of places to go relax in complete privacy on the beach with hammocks, etc readily available.
• Very friendly staff who aim to please.

The negative,

• The WiFi was mostly unusable. Completely unacceptable from my perspective. LTE cellular service was available with great coverage. Buy an AirTel sim at the airport or have Google Fi for internet hot-spotting.
• The scuba diving was very disappointing. Corral is dead with limited regrowth due to bleaching 3 years ago. The dive center was not interested in going anywhere other than the same stretch of shoreline just past the resorts main beach. Had to coerce them to go to "north island" for a dive. Catering to snorkelers more than anything (don't waste your $ on a snorkeling trip, you can see the same life 25 feet from shore yourself).
• Most of the themed restaurants were "meh" and very pricey. The Mediterranean restaurant had a dress code. I don't know anyone who packs long pants (not jeans) on a tropical beach island holiday. I certainly do not.
• The ferry is ludicrously priced. It's a straight revenue grab. The boat is not comfortable and is loud with an annoying "why hilton is amazing" infomercial playing in a loop on a jury rigged TV.
• The mosquitoes SUCK (pun intended). These are a "small" buzzard type species that tends to dart in "poke a sip" and get out before you can even swat em. The sanctuary villa private yard was basically unusable without some serious mosquito repellent.
• The rooms are "tired" and probably need a remodel soon. While there is obviously upkeep going on, lots of things were broken. Electrical outlets not working (contact points worn out), loose bathroom fixtures, etc

The "peculiar",

• No drones allowed. Apparently enough celebrities frequent the property that they've had a paparazzi problem.
• Only the Sanctuary pool villa and Deluxe beachfront villa receive complementary bicycles. Diamond's not staying in those rooms can get bikes for free all day but they ask that you return them every night.
• Masie Williams (aka Arya Stark from GOT) was a guest with boyfriend & another couple. We ran into them a couple of times at the pool restaurant/bar around lunch time.
• You need to watch where you walk, especially barefoot in grass areas. There are 7+in (and bigger) venomous centipedes around. While overall rare, we did get one inside of our villa and saw several at night when walking. Getting stung by one will absolutely ruin your vacation and likely cause a medical emergency.

My closing thoughts, we don't regret going and had a great time but at the same time we will never be back. This is a 4 star property pretending to be a 5 star luxury resort. The points could have been better spent at the Maldives Conrad.

poisonsag

Hello - Going here on October 17 - 21 and very excited for this trip! I am booked in regular garden villa and looks like an upgrade is almost certain in this Villa atleast for a few nights (I am Diamond)
I wanted to know what are the rates given for the upgrades if paid with cash, anyone has that information?

poisonsag

Anyone?

tinkerbell78

Just to provide another perspective -
our wi-fi was pretty good, in fact we streamed on our ipad entire movies / tv episodes during daily rain - a few hiccups, but entirely watchable. we also purchased christmas presents & shopped from the beach (i know i know sacrilege, but the kids had to be taken care of). we were in a beach villa, towards the beginning of the property - maybe the wifi is worse in other areas...

we didnt snorkel

the food is definitely the weak point for this resort - we ate at the beach bar almost every night it was open & enjoyed fresh grilled fish & custom sauces that the staff made us, absolutely delish!

i totally agree that the dress code for portobello (the mediterranean restaurant) is ridiculous! most resort wear is shorts for men, maybe linen pants. fyi - my husband wore linen pants w leather flip-flops, which i believe the dress codes stated 'closed' shoes for men, but noone said anything to us. also, the food at portobello is forgettable, so definitely a hassle for little reward.

ferry is a complete rip-off, loud & very gassy, fume-y? and unbearable Hilton commercial on loop!

we didnt have mosquito issues, except a few times after the rain when we played tennis. we were pretty diligent with the spray tho (avon sss).

our villa was in great condition - no complaints there! it was similar to the beach villas at the conrad maldives, with a better functioning bathroom! (maldives bathroom in the beach villas was very very hot & mostly outside)

having been to the conrad maldives as well, idk if its a slam dunk win...maldives definitely has less kids, which is a plus for us, but we found the food to be mediocre there as well (except the diamond breakfast, which was superb). we loved the beaches at labriz and the service - we did visit at a slow time and perhaps that led to the charm, but overall i would say its on-par in many areas with the conrad maldives

would we go again? its a property that you can find great deals for and for a low-cost / points it does seem like a great deal!

NightTripper

thank you for the report. scouting out a stay here next summer

englisha

Can anyone confirm the age limit for kids eating free at the resort? I found conflicting information, with both under 6 and under 12 being suggested. As we will be with 2 kids aged 6 and 9 for a week, it would make a big difference to us on the food bill.

javabytes

What is cell service like on Silhouette?

Has anyone from the US successfully used T-Mobile or Google Fi roaming at this property, or is finding a local SIM the way to go?

seychellesbound

the wifi is spotty at best. Find a good hot spot on the property and use Skpe is your best bet. I never mess with local sims.

JonKarol

Sorry for the late reply. I was able to use AT&T's WiFi calling on two occasions to answer my phone when it rang at Labriz. I'm sure that service varies depending on the WiFi strength at the moment. Don't know if that helps or how it compares to T-Mobile or Google Fi, but maybe look into WiFi calling on your phone.

mrx900

DId you find an answer to this? Im in the same boat

englisha

So, we have just got back from 8 days at this property and thought id share some experiences, especially regarding elite benefits. We were 2 adults and 2 kids (aged 6 and 9).

Arrival : We arrived by helicopter and was met at the heliport and shown around the resort (surprisingly, we got HH points for the helicopter too). The room was ready a little early (about 1pm). We booked on points and were allocated garden villa 117, so no initial upgrade. I asked if this would be our room for the whole time and was told yes. When I asked about a Diamond upgrade, was told they would try. In the end, was upgraded for the last 2 days to a King beach with plunge pool. While both rooms were nice, I wish i'd paid in advance to upgrade to the beach room as it really was great being that close to the sea.

Elite benefits : We were given a booklet on arrival listing some of the Diamond benefits. Breakfast at portobello was nice and exclusive, although it seems they have recently changed the menu (no steak and eggs anymore). Suresh, our waiter had a fantastic memory and remembered all 4 of our breakfasts everyday, right down to the small details and changes we had asked for. Although the choice was more limited, we enjoyed the experience here.
Other benefits included all day bikes, the managers reception with free drinks, kayaks (they have a clear bottom one which was fun), discount at the spa, romantic bath, a bottle of wine when you dine at the Japanese restaurant and an all day Thursday happy hour. We also received a free sunset cruise with about 10 other people, which was unexpected and appreciated. Not sure how they select people for this cruise, but 2 other couples on the cruise told me they were lifetime Diamond members (we only have been diamond for 2 years), so who knows the criteria.
They also published in their newsletter the blue member benefits which were 2 hours use of bikes, happy hour all day on Mondays, romantic bath and 1 executive breakfast at portobello.

Food : So, to answer the question about kids eating for free under 12 years old, it wasn't clear to me what the official rules were. Maybe it depends on what rate you book, or maybe something else, but even the staff gave us conflicting information.

Our experience with a 6 and 9 year old was in the restaurants the kids ate free from the kids menu, except for the buffet when they paid 50% of the adult rate. Also, by the pool I asked about the kids eating free as they were 6 and 9 and the waiter said he didn't know about that. However, the next day another said it was ok and the kids did eat free. So, that was our experience. We really liked Sakura and found this restaurant to be good value. It was comparable to the pool prices but much better quality. We did the Friday street food buffet which was great, although a bit pricey at 70 euro per adult. Also, the happy hour is not really BOGOF, as the drinks were marked up (for example, 2 cocktails for 240/280 when they were 179 in the normal menu and 2 beers at 240, which were 130 in the mini bar, so not really half price.

What to do : The kids loved the kids club and preferred to stay there most of the day than to hang around with us. Lisa in the kids club was great and both kids really took to her. They had lunch there most days (also complimentary) and there were activities planned everyday. My wife and I snorkeled a few days, but near to the resort there wasn't much life in the sea. We did a small hike to a few beaches past the port and were lucky enough to see a tortoise come out of the sea and lay her eggs. We took bikes some of the days as well, so it was nice that we could have them all day.

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay, the kids are asking when we can go back and the only thing i'd change is upgrading to a beachfront villa from the beginning.

javabytes

Booked a points stay (King Garden Villa). Upgraded to a King Sanctuary Pool Villa, which was stunning. At first I wondered if I would regret it being on the water, but I actually think I ended up liking the Sanctuary villas better. They are truly private, where the deluxe beachfront villas are not. There’s not a ton of foot traffic, but anyone walking up and down the beach sees right into your pool area. And we had our own larger pool, where some beachfront villas only had (at best) a tiny plunge pool; we also had a nice patio and gazebo out back where we had dinner delivered one night.

The boat ride was rough. After a long flight, we had a long wait at the jetty (which was under renovation, so all the rooms upstairs were closed). The sea was choppy, and some guests felt nauseous. At least they seem to have turned down the volume on the TV compared to other reports. For 2 people, yes the chopper is 3-4x more, and I’m typically value-oriented but even I would consider going that route if I ever return.

The sanctuary and deluxe villas come with their own dedicated bikes; it’s definitely the quickest way to get around the expansive resort. Our room also came with a coupon book of other diamond benefits - a romantic bath, free kayak rental, free snorkel rental, invitation to a rum tasting, and other activities. We were also given a beach bag, two straw hats, two steel water bottles, and two freshly drilled coconuts as a welcome gift.

We preferred the standard breakfast at the buffet over the elite-only breakfast at Portobello. Far more food options, and much better ambience. For lunch, the pool snack bar is the way to go. They actually had the most expansive menu of all the restaurants, which was kind of a waste because they stopped serving food (aside from a bar snack menu) at 5PM. Also, they advertise buy-one-get-one drinks during happy hour, but they raise the prices too, so the second drink is more like half price than free. Sakura and Grann Kaz were both good. Meals were on the expensive side - $40-50/person for a standard entree and water or soft drink. The sky is the limit when you move into high end entrees and alcohol. Not altogether unexpected for such a remote location.

We visited the spa one day. The deep tissue massage was the most intense I’ve ever encountered... I swear they were trying to get me to cry uncle. My wife felt the same way... they started off more gentle with her, but after she told them they could use more pressure, they didn’t hold back. Near the entrance to the pool, there is a spa display... a flyer advertised something like 20-30% off for spa appointments during certain times of the day. You have to mention it otherwise they don’t give it to you, but it made the pricey treatments a little more affordable.

The beach is picture perfect. Fine sand and clear blue water for miles. Palm trees and large boulders add to the scenery. If you go in the water, you may wish to bring water shoes because while the sea floor is sandy, it’s punctuated with sharp rocks and coral... and you can’t see some of them well enough to avoid them.

We booked a snorkeling expedition through the dive center, which was much better than using the free Diamond snorkel rental and snorkeling on the beach in front of the resort. Not a ton of marine life and the coral has been bleached, but we did see a lot of fish (including barracuda), a few sea turtles, and a moray eel. Other members of our group saw a couple sharks. The scuba diving group was in the same area, and with the water being 30-40 feet deep and very clear, they probably didn’t see much more than we did snorkeling, for all the extra effort and expense.

The staff were great. Morris in guest relations, Raghu in F&B, and our room attendant Hem were all on top of their game. We’ve never felt more welcomed by a property (in any of the chains).

Wifi was spotty. It would intermittently cut out completely. Google Fi worked great. Cell coverage on the island is limited away from the resort area, but we had good cell coverage all over the resort. AT&T doesn’t include the Seychelles in the $10/day pass, so Google Fi saves us from having to buy a Passport plan or a local SIM.