Raffles Seychelles

Raffles is a brand of notable prestige, which means guests visit with high expectations. We’re very pleased to report that Raffles Seychelles meets these expectations with aplomb.

The hillside location, surrounded by tropical gardens, and overlooking a beautiful beach, gorgeous lagoon and nearby uninhabited islands is undoubtedly spectacular. The steep pathways need the use of on-call buggies unless you’re keen to give the thighs a work-out – the trade-off is that the higher you get, the more dramatic the outlook. The inviting ocean offers one of the best, easily-accessible snorkelling locations, while a boat ride will take you to the uninhabited Curieuse Island, home to wild Giant Tortoises. There’s plenty to do on resort, as well as on the island of Praslin, so we’d easily spend 7 to 14 nights at Raffles Seychelles without getting itchy feet.

Raffles’ huge villas are the epitome of refined, tasteful, contemporary luxury. We absolutely revelled in spending time in our Panoramic Pool Villa, inside with the doors wide open, in the plunge pool, under the comfy pavilion, or at the easel on the balcony, constantly surrounded by those alluring views. The entry level villas feel very spacious, the one-bedroom villas massive, and the two-bedroom family villas positively gargantuan.

There is something of a reputation for hit-and-miss service in the Seychelles. Perhaps that’s not always fair, but in some cases there is an element of truth to it. Regardless, one can dispel such considerations if choosing to book a stay at Raffles Seychelles: we found service in every corner of the resort to be friendly, courteous, pro-active, considerate and nigh-on faultless, making our stay an absolute delight. Staff are clearly recruited and trained at a very high level. This was reflected in the dining experience, which was again consistently high standard in every outlet for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the fish curry in Curieuse Restaurant beating stiff competition as the dish of our stay. A cocktail-making lesson with the head barman was fun and memorable.

Can we find any fault at all at Raffles? Perhaps the grey, pyramid-style villa rooflines seem a bit sterile and serve to interrupt the foliage a little harshly –natural materials might be more sympathetic to the lush surroundings. That’s all the criticism we can manage.

Otherwise Raffles is certainly one of the best resorts to be found on the main islands in Seychelles and does the famous old brand full justice. Most definitely worth making the extra hop to Praslin for.