Seychelles: Press
Better food and service mean this archipelago now rivals other Indian Ocean destinations, writes Jane Knight.
A large obstacle blocks the way as we zoom around Frégate Island Private in a golf buggy. The giant tortoise is in no hurry to move — plus, he seems to have an unhealthy fascination with our chariot.
The supersized reptile is one of a colony of 170 that roam freely around the island, popping up from the undergrowth as we walk through the jungle interior, where vanilla, cinnamon and cashew nuts grow in the wild, and again as we climb the impressive granite slopes of Mount Signal.
This island paradise is a mini-Madagascar of wildlife, with birds I’ve never heard of, including the magpie robin, an endangered species that looks — and sounds — more magpie than robin. As well as geckoes, scores of hairy millipedes longer than a six-inch ruler come out at dusk, making an interesting obstacle course for the golf buggy assigned to each villa.
On Frégate, we see and hear more from the screeching magpie robins than the guests — the island can hold only 32 of the latter in 16 villas perched on the hillside, and during our stay it is far from full.
In fact, my husband François and I find, on a ten-night tour taking in Taj Denis Island Resort and Praslin as well as Frégate, that the Seychelles is having a quiet time of it. “This is the emptiest we have seen it since we started coming here five years ago,” say Richard and Victoria Strang from London on Denis.
Ask why and you’ll get almost as many answers as there are islands in the Seychelles (more than 100) — high prices compared with the rest of the Indian Ocean, the withdrawal of BA’s flights last year, and the view that the string of islands just off the coast of Madagascar is no longer fashionable. But one reason stands out — the Seychelles’ reputation for five-star islands but only three-star service.
That may have been true in the past, but we found neither food nor service lacking, while in my opinion the Seychelles offered a better overall experience than either Mauritius or the Maldives.
On Frégate — so luxurious (and expensive) that Brad Pitt hired the place to take Jen on honeymoon back in the good old days — you would expect the best. But this was probably the best I’ve ever stayed in.
“We train our staff to give guests what they want — nothing is a problem,” said the managing director, Patrick Brizio. Want something that’s not on the menu? No problem. Fancy eating somewhere different, perhaps a candlelight dinner for two with just the sound of the waves lapping alone on the beach? It’s done.
Frégate is extraordinary, but other less expensive islands are wonderful in their own way, too. On Denis most of the food is homegrown or pulled fresh from the sea, and even a simple salad will leave your taste buds zinging.
True, the service was more Caribbean style than on Mauritius — sometimes our plates were whisked away too quickly, and we always had to ask for salt and pepper on the table — but it always came with a smile and to me, was infinitely preferable to having someone constantly hovering at my elbow.
That may change. Taj, which took over the management of Denis late last year, and is due to be followed into the Seychelles by the Hilton next year, is planning a number of upgrades. A spa, pool and renovated villas are on the drawing board, although these changes are worrying those guests who appreciate the barefoot luxury of the island.
“It is charmingly unsophisticated, but we like it like that,” said the Strangs. “When we heard it was changing, we were really concerned.”
They aren’t the only ones to return year after year; a third of guests on Denis are repeat customers. It’s easy to see the attractions. The Seychelles have acres of lush, green jungle criss-crossing each island to explore, either on your own or with resident ecologists. We were fascinated to discover the number of medicinal plants that lurked among the pines, palms and ferns, including one whose sap is used to kill fish for an easy supper. And the birds — the Seychelles fody, warbler and sunbird — are omnipresent, singing even at night, so that as we walked back to our villa after dinner at Denis, we were serenaded by birdlife with the accompanying sound of lapping waves as crabs scuttled out of our path.
After the peace of Denis, Praslin, with its population of 7,000, seemed almost busy, though it was wonderfully unspoilt, its unusual granite formations adding an extra dimension to the beaches. Here, we marvelled at the oddly shaped coconuts in the forested Vallée de Mai — some bear a remarkable resemblance to the female bottom — and then agonised over which day trip to take to the outlying islands.
We settled on La Digue, a favourite of Tony Blair, transferring from ferry to hired bikes before rattling off down the cobbled roads and through an old plantation to Anse Source d’Argent, one of the most photographed beaches in the Seychelles. Its dramatic granite backdrop and boulders tumbling down to the sea make it a scenic place to spend the day.
Granite is big in this part of the world, and has been used to great advantage at the Château de Feuilles hotel on Praslin, where the nine rooms have been landscaped between the boulders along with gardens of frangipani trees and bougainvillea.
This little hotel, at the top of the hill with a view down to sea, is the ideal place to end a long day at the beach. An open-air spa bath offers stunning views over the surrounding islands at sunset.
But our favourite time to visit this eyrie was under cover of night, when the hilltop became an observatory that provided some of the best stargazing I’ve experienced. The Milky Way will never seem the same again.
Jane Knight travelled with Rainbow Tours (020-7226 1004, www.rainbowtours.co.uk), which tailor-makes trips to the Seychelles. Ten nights’ full board on Taj Denis Island, for example, costs from £2,725pp, including international flights on Air Seychelles and domestic air transfers.
A ten-night stay on three islands, with four nights’ full board at Taj Denis Island, three nights’ half board at Château de Feuilles on Praslin and three nights’ full board at Frégate Island Private, including international flights, domestic flights and helicopter transfers, starts at £4,675pp. Prices are valid until October 31, with a supplement of £150pp until December 11.
Twin-centre holidays: Emirates (0870 128 6000, www.emiratestours.co.uk) started flights this year to Dubai and then on to the Seychelles, with prices from £673, including taxes.
The Seychelles is a year-round destination, although the highest rainfall occurs in January and February.
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