A luxury points property that I’ve been looking forward to has just opened! I wanted to take a look at all the details, as I know I’m not the only one who is excited about this property.
In this post:
Waldorf Astoria Platte Island Seychelles basics
In early 2021, Waldorf Astoria announced plans to open a private island resort in the Seychelles, and that property has now opened as of February 1, 2024. Specifically, the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles is located on Platte Island, a private island in the Indian Ocean, around 130 kilometers south of Mahe. The island has its own airstrip, so guests are able to fly there directly from the country’s international airport.
The resort features 50 accommodations, most of which are seafront villas with private pools. The Waldorf Astoria has six restaurants and bars, a spa (with six treatment rooms plus a beauty salon and a hammam), a club for kids, an outdoor observatory, tennis courts, and a marine conservatory discovery center.
The six restaurants and bars are comprised of Carnival (an Afro-Latin fusion restaurant and bar), Glasshouse (a garden to table restaurant), La Perle, Peacock Alley (a coffee shop with light meals and snacks), Sunset Wave (an oyster and champagne sunset bar), and TORTI (a restaurant with Creole inspired tapas, seafood, and sushi).
Platte Island is covered with palm forests and surrounded by a coral reef and lagoon, so it sounds incredible. It’s cool to read more about the island — it’s about a quarter of a square mile.
Elias Pertoft is general manager of the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles, and he has worked at a countless number of private island resorts, from Virgin’s Necker Island, to Soneva Maldives. Here’s how he describes the resort:
“In the two decades I have called remote tropical islands a home, I have never witnessed an island as pristine as Platte Island, nor one so teaming with wildlife, where it is possible to glimpse endangered Hawksbill turtles laying eggs, eagle rays and reef sharks ribboning along the lagoon.”
“This combined with the elegant Waldorf Astoria service and personalised guest experiences is a winning combination that will redefine luxury in the Seychelles. I look forward to welcoming guests to this landmark destination.”
Below you can find some pictures of the island.
Waldorf Astoria Platte Island Seychelles cash pricing
What is pricing like at the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles? Rates generally start at over €2,000 per night, though I imagine they’ll change over time, and that we’ll see some more attractive rates in the future.
Currently there are five kinds of villas that are bookable, with the most premium villa costing over €13,000 per night.
On top of that, you have to pay for flights to and from the island, which take around 20-25 minutes in each direction, and operate once daily. That costs €700 per adult roundtrip.
Honestly, the current rates at the resort seem very optimistic. This isn’t the first private island resort of its kind in the Seychelles. Several years ago I stayed at the Four Seasons Desroches Island, which has a similar setup. It’s an all-villa property on a private island with its own airstrip.
Interestingly the rates at the Four Seasons never got as high as you might assume. Seasonally the hotel charges well under €700 per night, so it’s cheaper than comparable properties in the Maldives, for example.
Waldorf Astoria Platte Island Seychelles points pricing
If you’re looking to redeem Hilton Honors points at the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles, what can you expect? In situations where a standard room is available, the points rate would be 130,000 points per night. If you have Hilton Honors elite status, you can receive a fifth night free, bringing down the average cost per night to 104,000 points per night.
The catch is that points availability can be really tough to come by. For example, at the moment I actually don’t see any dates with standard room award availability. I’d expect that to change over time, though.
Now, let’s cover the other bad news. When this hotel was first announced, it was marketed as an all-villa property. Well, the resort has backtracked on that. The property has created the “King Deluxe Room” category, which is 850 square feet (79 square meters), and features an outdoor terrace. This doesn’t have a private pool, unfortunately.
It would appear that the hotel intentionally created this category in order to be able to exclusively allocate points bookings to this room. So while this is a great deal on points compared to the cash cost, it’s disappointing that this will be the only accommodation not to offer a private pool.
We really are seeing a quiet devaluation to hotel points with properties increasingly shrinking the size of their “standard” room pool. The whole “no blackout dates” thing is only so valuable if you’re competing for (what I believe is) a single room.
Hilton’s impressive portfolio in the Seychelles
Hilton Honors’ portfolio in the Seychelles sure is impressive, as Hilton will soon have six properties in the Seychelles. As a point of comparison:
- Marriott has two properties in the Seychelles, including a Tribute Portfolio hotel, and North Island, which is out of budget for a vast majority of people
- IHG has one property in the Seychelles, which is a Six Senses
- Hyatt has no properties in the Seychelles, other than a partner hotel through Small Luxury Hotels of the World
As a point of comparison, Hilton has the following five properties in addition to the upcoming Waldorf Astoria:
- Mango House Seychelles is a Hilton LXR property, and is otherwise the most luxurious Hilton property
- Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa is a well regarded hotel, and is nicer than you’d typically expect from just a “standard” Hilton
- DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort and Spa is another option, and is generally the most affordable Hilton property in the Seychelles
- Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa is a very cool property, as it’s the only resort on Silhouette Island, which is 93% a national park
- Canopy by Hilton Seychelles is expected to open soon, and will be located on Anse à la Mouche beach
Bottom line
The Waldorf Astoria Seychelles has opened as of early 2024, which is exciting, as the hotel has opened ahead of schedule. The hotel is located on Platte Island, a private island that can be reached by plane from Mahe. This should be an incredible resort to visit, as it features just 50 accommodations.
It’s interesting to me how well Hilton seems to be doing in the Seychelles with signing new hotels, as the company will have six properties. You’d think that hotel owners would be looking to diversify their brands a bit, but I guess Hilton is delivering.
What do you make of the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island?
The island itself looks small, flat, and boring. Might as well go to the Maldives.
Manager: “This pristine island environment has turtles, rays……and a concrete runway.”
With the general spottiness of WA service, and the option of both FS properties and the amazing Six Senses property, this would be a far reach.
Based on only one stay, I'd put the Six Senses property on the level of Aman, and at these costs, you'd be in a huge villa with pool.
The WA doesn't hunt.
I guess on paper this is better than the Labriz, which I have booked, but in practice I can't see it being worth the additional points (and cash for the transfer)
Booked May 1 for six nights. Initially, it seems you can’t book single nights so free night certs are off the table - reservations said to check again once hotel opened but we just used points (total 650,000 for six nights) and called it a day. Will be interesting to see what the king deluxe category turns out to be. Released WA Maldives five nights points res we had (painful) but been there twice already...
Booked May 1 for six nights. Initially, it seems you can’t book single nights so free night certs are off the table - reservations said to check again once hotel opened but we just used points (total 650,000 for six nights) and called it a day. Will be interesting to see what the king deluxe category turns out to be. Released WA Maldives five nights points res we had (painful) but been there twice already so want to see what WA in Seychelles is all about. First time to Seychelles in fact.
... 1st time on Seychelles, i HOPE (and really do hope so for your families sake) you do NOT only stay on this 1 island?
Seychelles are so unique, each of the mayor islands already, so please DO get at least to LaDigue too, to see what the islands are all about.
Was last there 1 year ago, i even split up my stay on Mahe Island into 2 different hotels, also the...
... 1st time on Seychelles, i HOPE (and really do hope so for your families sake) you do NOT only stay on this 1 island?
Seychelles are so unique, each of the mayor islands already, so please DO get at least to LaDigue too, to see what the islands are all about.
Was last there 1 year ago, i even split up my stay on Mahe Island into 2 different hotels, also the LXR Mango House for 3 days and could not be happier to have done it that way!
See all you can while there and don't just hang out at 1 island that has NO Seychelles flair!
DON'T travel the expensive but uninteresting US American way!
I hope, you have planned another island for your trip as well?
ENJOY your trip to the Seychelles, i personally loved it, was totally different to what i expected, much better!
We have an amazing trip planned and I assure you it is not in an “uninteresting US American way” whatever the f that is supposed to mean.
Good day to you, I'm a Team Member currently working at this resort and I'd like to check up and see what initial thoughts you have in regards to your stay with us? Your honest opinion really matters. Thank you.
@Ben - When can we expect you to visit and review? :)