We were spending eight days in the Seychelles, and when we booked this trip many months ago, we initially booked five nights at the Four Seasons Desroches Island, which was going to be the ”highlight” of our trip. I’ll talk more about that booking process when I review that hotel, but we booked a (publicly…
Continue reading: Review: Four Seasons Seychelles
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Sounds disappointing by Four Seasons standards. Looks less expensive than Four Seasons Maldives LG, but significant less impressive. Won't bother going here, but look forward to hearing about their other resort. Deciding between Amanyara, FS Maldives LG, or FS Seychelles for two weeks in July
Great review Lucky! Very helpful as we’re planning on Seychelles for next year. Heads up - Your first reception picture is actually of the hotel room. So what was the exact rate you ended up paying with TA discount? Btw this property reminds me a lot of FS Ko Samui.
Gorgeous views and rooms, but I'd have to eat a giant breakfast every morning to last me the rest of the day. The food all looks delicious, but 4 small egg rolls and a tiny dish of shredded chicken in sauce costing nearly $90? I just can't.
The villa and the bayview are just great. But it does not convince me to travel there. You can have that villa and seaview or sunset in a far more affordable FS in other parts of the world. It is a great report as I know now that I could give this FS in the Seychelles a miss.
Hi Ben -
Two quick notes - next time you're in the Seychelles, try Maia. The location and villas are stunning (in addition to similar amenities to the ones you've shown here, each has its own outdoor kitchen & dining sala, where your butler will make breakfast for you) the food is extraordinary, and the service -- starting with the aforementioned butler -- will leave you never wanting to go home. I would chose it over the 4S any day of any week. Also (sorry to be a pain) but Socrates is a tortoise, not a turtle, though I guess he won't mind what you call him as long as you gently rub his neck.
I'm going to the Seychelles this summer and am staying at the Hilton Northolme. 95,000 points a night, but a bargain compared to the FS
The photography on this review is outstanding - great job! Everything looks beautiful, the resort, the scenery, your suite, and the food. The prices are rather extreme, especially the restaurant but I would seriously consider this place for a once in a lifetime special event, like a honeymoon trip. Excellent review, thanks!
The photos are good - that's your forte. However I think the interiors are extremely ho-hum. I know this is subjective but I just don't see anything special in the rooms or the hotel design. The villa's pool looks great but that's it.
This is the most amazing place I ever stayed as the beach and scenery is simply breathtaking - yes expensive but amazing
Service was consistently an issue when we were in the Seychelles. Both at the Hilton Northolme and at most of the restaurants we dined at on the rest of the island. We were in the Seychelles for a week. We also stayed on Praslin for 2 of our 7 nights. Service during our stay there actually was generally better, but still not even close to excellent or even very good. Despite the outstanding beauty, on La Digue especially, (where we took a day trip), we would not return to the Seychelles because of the pervasive sub par service.
OMG, this place is expensive compared to the local wages. Staying there for 5 days would be the equivalent, in terms of buying power, if this were a US hotel that charged $25,000 per night.
It's nice to see there are places like the FS where people cannot access with points and miles. Keeps it more exclusive. There is nothing worse of people redeeming a ton of points to stay at top notch properties to then see them nickel and dime everything during their stay (think adults ordering children meals to save money)... I am saying that not because I am snobbish, but because certain places cater to a certain clientele and I'd say it's quite necessary to fit in to fully enjoy the experience.
The breakfast buffet is impressive so are the rooms. Being part Scottish tightwad, I don't think I will be staying there though
@Airway and Travels
Caring so much about how other's spend their money/vacation time is a bit silly. Cheap people are everywhere, even those who stay at the best resorts and pay the cash rate.
Stop worrying about what other people do and just enjoy your own vacation.
Just want to say, when I stayed there in January - the service was flawless. Every member was very happy and this came across in their work.
Yes it’s very expensive - $2000 a night at peak times for a better position villa.
The spa is an absolutely disgusting amount. We were given a free treatment - and whilst nice - was nothing special to warrant those types of prices.
I’m surprised haters haven’t come out in droves....yet! Lol... still waiting... pop corn...
Stayed there in August 2015. Service was very good and met my high expectations, with one minor hiccup on our scheduled car on the way out. Food was very expensive. We ordered wine case delivery from a local wine shop to our room for the week, paid corkage at restaurants. Superb beach, outstanding rooms/facilities.
@Lucky, what were the temperature and humidity like? and how about the mosquitos, especially at night? did u really need the netting on the bed?
Lucky I used to travel to Tanzania and other countries in South East Africa the delay and just coming in whenever seemed like at random times to fix things is normal .I loved going there but here was a weekly occurrence of this when I was working there. One time I was the only one in the hotel restaurant I saw a burger I ordered and the waiter just have smiled at me for what felt like 15 minutes (probably more like ten) . As far as the sunscreen and other things like this I learned from colleagues it's better to ask 2 people. Probably the best Indian food I have had in my life also. But to me after visiting there almost 20 times this is quite normal for he region it seemed like they were afraid to say no or they weren't sure. Was a great time regardless and very friendly people but they didn't see! To have the same rushed or informative standards that I was used to while traveling. Seems like a pretty awesome trip though regardless of the issues you had.
Socrates wishes he had a Seychellois rupee for everyone who called him a turtle.
@Lucky My wife, infant son, and I missed you and Ford by about a week. We stacked a 30% off deal with the Citi Prestige 4th night free. This is only the 5th hotel of this class that we’ve ever stayed at but we agree with you that the service was extremely inconsistent. While half of the staff was proactive and clearly proud of the resort, the other half seemed indifferent. So for every anticipated forethought like fencing off the sun deck for our son and bagging up breakfast to go for our early flight, there was the poor service of having to ask for requests multiple times and failing to communicate upfront that the resort doesn’t have a boat dock so guests have to wade into the water to catch the dive boat.
Im with Larry . You lost me as soon as you called a tortoise a turtle! Also no mention of Praslin ,curieuse and La Digue where the big Aldabra "Tortoises" are .
Staying sheltered in Desroches Island for the sake of bragging rites appears to me that you missed the best of the Seychellles .....Doh !
How do the prices for food compare to elsewhere in the area? If you went to a local restaurant, would that be 50% cheaper or even more?
I was just goofing about the tortoise. It’s a common mistake. It’s a little like calling a dolphin or whale a fish. Anyway, Socrates doesn’t care. He’s just a baby. He’ll still be there long after all of us, and the hotel, are long gone.
It’s a good review of a hotel that doesn’t appeal to me but I find to be interesting enough.
Food looks great. Review thorough. I disagree with your love of villas - they seem very generic but perhaps it is just the pictures v. reality?
Amazing , the layout of villas in the hillside , with narrow roads built for golf carts , the verandah and pool and reception and many other features look identical to the Four Seasons in Koh Samui ,Thailand ..............except villa furnishings
What did you do besides hanging out at the resort or is that all you did as Victoria is quite big apparently so did you once go into to town to check it out and how did you get there?
I don't get these places : maybe remote and exclusive but they look as boring as hell and a major PITA to get to. Maldives, Phi Phi, Seychelles, same, same. Fine for a 48 hour honeymoon but that's it. Better to sit in a tropical garden/pool in a city resort . Is it really worthwhile to fly 12 hours to end up there?
Interacting with Socrates looks the best of it.
Stayed 4 nights 3 years ago - they were gracious enough to give me a “day villa” as I had an early arrival and my sea view villa wasn’t ready. I thought the villa and bathroom outstanding, although the pagoda/Bali bed mattress had seen better days. Transport around the resort was efficient and staff went through the motions, nothing more. Food as you mentioned was average, a $35 poolside burger tasteless. While I wanted to chill, I did feel rather trapped in the property... excursions were prohibitively expensive even though I was expecting them to be high, I too had rental car issues and concerns and the resort as one would expect is very quiet/dead after 8:30/9 pm and really nothing in the immediate surrounding area for outside entertainment. Best time to visit is probably during whale shark season when I imagine some of the excursions must be thrilling, otherwise prepare to stay put and force yourself to relax. Day 1 of the giant fruit bats was interesting, by Day 3 I was over them and their poop bombs. It’s a long trip from US, so plan carefully if you want to see more of the islands and famous beaches or bring steamer trunks full of money if you want to use the FS as your conscierge and base.
@ Jim -- It would really depend where you went, but most of Mahé's restaurants are geared towards tourists, so it's harder to find the "amazing local dive with great food for $5" places. But these prices (and most hotel prices) are still inflated. At La Perle Noir (a fine-dining restaurant in Beau Vallon), for example, you'd pay ~400 R.S. (~$30) for seafood mains.
All I can say is that after my 5 nights at the Maldives Cheval Blanc (LVMH property), nothing compares. My (entry level) water villa was more than 3000 sq. ft. with butler and 2 house boys. With AMEX FHR (4th night free) my daily rate was about $1500 USD. Nothing I have seen in this or any other blog compares. I am a beach snob, and the water was absolutely magnificent. Very close to Mundays Beach in Anguilla.
I'm always glad when you post the menus for these places. I love the idea of going to a beautiful beach hotel with fantastic natural scenery. However, my biggest fear is that having used points to fly business class, and various discounts to afford a nice room, we'll blow our year's travel budget just paying such over-inflated prices for the single vegetarian option on the menu.
(Also, think about how many massages you could get at a high-end spa in Bangkok for US$230)
Was at the Hilton Northolme for two nights a few weeks back. It was a great use of our Hilton free night certificates and with a very good free breakfast for Golds. Prices for food at the Ocean View Bar were not too bad considering the excellent location for sunset etc. Cash rates were about €500/night though which is too expensive. I had just as good a time at the much more basic places we stayed at on Praslin and La Digue (especially) which were more like €75/night.
@Lucky - you should review some of the Taj properties (such as one of my favorites, the Taj Lake Palace) or Oberoi properties (Oberoi Udaivillas for instance). These ultra luxury chains are breath-taking to experience. I have never ever had a bad stay or a bad experience with service with the Taj and Oberoi resorts.
Obviously staying in the Seychelles is different than Maldives (Islands vs. small Atolls) but how would you contrast the Seychelles generally vs Mauritius (seems similiar in size) and specifically this 4S vs St Regis Mauritius?
this hotel is on my bucketlist and its my dream to visit, reviews on Trip Advisor are all incredible and the pictures make me drool!! Im glad u had a good time I cant wait to visit.
@lucky how could you not go to praslin, you missed the best part of Seychelles, the Coco der mere, and the hiking or biking in La Digue and just chill at any beaches, and hike to different spots of the island. Praslin's Raffles is the best in my opinion and I loved every bit of my stay there.
However, I'm shocked how many rude people you encountered in Seychelles as I haven't met anyone during our 2 weeks stay there.
Good news is, everyone can visit the resort and enjoy the view and beach for free. You don't have to stay there. All beaches at Seychelles are public.
Location is lovely but I would not pay to stay there. I recommend hiring a car and driving around the island.
Im planning a four night trip to Seychelles and I'm between the two four seasons. Desroches is 500 EUR cheaper though. Which one would you choose. I've already read both of your reviews but i can't make up my mind.
I had a chance to visit some of the Caribbean Islands, Maldives, Seychelles... To be honest I haven' t seen any beach, any sea in my life before. It is absolutely breathtaking. The resort is a fantastic one! nothing is too much but quality. Beautiful hotel is in the spotless point. It's worth for every single penny for that stunning view, the colour of the blue. If I had any chance to go on holiday tomorrow I would go to the FS Seychelles without looking my back.