MORE Sun, Sand & Sea Shells in the Seychelles

This year we flew on the British Airways direct service from Heathrow and spent 3 nights at the Banyan Tree followed by 8 nights at the H Resort, both on the main island of Mahe. We had never visited the Banyan Tree before, but having decided this would be a wise choice, on arrival the good decision was quickly confirmed. First impressions were an oasis of charm, colonial character, peace & quiet and beautiful scenery, and when we were shown to our “room” we thought we had died and gone to heaven! We had an ocean view pool villa (the lowest category) - very spacious with all the facilities you could ask for, and a gorgeous bathroom with its own sea view, but it was the private outside area that really wowed us - a private pool with huge outdoor terrace furnished with sunbeds, sofa, table & chairs, and there was also a high wall & lockable entrance gate giving a feeling of total privacy. I wasn’t able to view any of the higher room types, but I can only imagine that if OURS was so good, then these must be a total dream.

The layout of the Banyan Tree is very hilly and our villa was quite high up, so although we always walked down (just a few minutes) to the main building where the main restaurant, bar and pool area are located, we always got a lift in a golf buggy to go back up.

Due to the remote location of the hotel we didn’t venture out during our stay, and ate in the main restaurant on the first & last nights, and the Thai restaurant (Saffron) on the 2nd night, with lunch each day at the pool or the Rum Shack, the hotel’s rustic beach bar just a short walk up the beach. Food in the main restaurant tended to be a little hit & miss, though breakfast there was superb, and the dinner at Saffron was exceptional (despite an unfortunate incident with a piece of what must be the world’s hottest chilli which shouldn’t have been in my meal but had slipped in by mistake! The staff couldn’t have been more apologetic and almost queued up to bring me cold water, hot water, sorbet and then ice cream to tone down the heat! All back to normal after a few minutes and no damage done!)

There was no entertainment at the hotel, just the soft noise of the birds, insects and waves – bliss – as well as occasional soft music (though like last year the music was sadly not typically Seychellois).

The pool area is gorgeous – a small pool with a long infinity pool to its side. I spent many enjoyable hours in that pool, swimming up and down with frequent stops at the far end to enjoy the view over the bay.

On site there is also a very interesting Marine Conservation Centre, which, along with a small “museum” detailing the history of sea life and the work they do to protect turtles in the area, houses 6 giant tortoises and an organic garden which provides a lot of the fruit and veg used in the hotel restaurants. You can visit this and then pay a donation to its upkeep if you wish – which we did of course.

On to the H Resort (which we had checked out last year with a look at some rooms, lunch, afternoon by the pool and then dinner). H Resort is located on the fabulous Beau Vallon beach – the sea there is very calm and very swimmable - in a much livelier area and you can easily walk to various restaurants, bars and other hotels.

Again our room was very spacious and well appointed and, having chosen a beach villa, we had a small private pool here too. Privacy was not so good here though as we were right on the beachfront and there was always a lot of people walking past and sitting on the low wall which separates the path from the beach. I’m told though that the hotel is due to put in fence doors in their next refurb which means you’ll be able to open or shut off the view and choose your privacy level.

At the H there is a choice of 4 restaurants - a main buffet restaurant with a different theme every night (which we didn’t try – we had very good breakfasts here though), a Japanese (which again we didn’t try), Eden which is on the beach and is where we had dinner last year (we ate there again and it was good but not as good as last year), and Trader Vic’s which was our favourite - good old Trader Vic’s with a very appetising menu and live music every evening (Latin music, though, not Seychellois – and elsewhere it was the awful international chill out music again!), and where you could sit in the main room, on the open sided terrace or in the bar area and have a full meal, a snack and a drink, or just a drink. We ate there on 3 of our 8 nights. On the other nights we ordered room service, went back to our favourite Baobab Pizzeria at the far end of Beau Vallon, back to Paris at Fisherman’s Cove hotel (same great menu and same staff as last year), and because our visit also coincided with the annual Seychelles Regatta we also had street food one night. The Regatta is nothing to do with boats, just a HUGE excuse to party with live bands, DJs, food & drink stalls, and the Miss Regatta beauty contest! It was tremendous fun to “hang out” with the locals on the Saturday evening and Sunday and actually hear some local music for a change!

So, a lot of similarities to our trip last year but better accommodation, and livelier. What was notably different though was the amount of rain we had. We got absolutely drenched on more than one occasion. However, it didn’t spoil things and at least it is warm rain there and quickly passes!

Seychelles can be on the pricey side, but it is worth paying a bit extra for a slice of paradise. Some guide prices are: * Local beer in local bar £2 - £3 / at hotel £6; * Cocktail at hotel £12; * 2 course dinner for 2 including bottle of wine at hotel £145; * Glass of Coca Cola at hotel £3.50; * Bottle of wine at hotel from £55; * Rum punch at local beach bar £7; * Pizza for 2 + half litre carafe of wine at local pizzeria £32; * Taxi from airport to Beau Vallon £60.

Once again, I feel really blessed that I have been lucky enough to visit the Seychelles 5 times now. One of my favourite places on earth, and yes we are planning to return – probably in 2022 for my husband’s “big” birthday!

Not enough space here to tell you everything about the destination or my trip, so do contact me if you’d like to know more about the very special place that is the Seychelles.