Sun, Sand & Sea Shells in the Seychelles
So off we set again to paradise - from Heathrow on 26th September, flying Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi. The hotel where we got married, and where we have always spent at least part of our stays (Sunset Beach Hotel) had been due to be closed for major renovations, so this time we chose a similarly small hotel on a lovely beach, the Carana Beach Hotel. A nice enough 4 star, with superb friendly staff and great food, we did feel a little disappointed at the lack of local character however.
The rooms and restaurant/bar areas are very modern and not very Seychellois. The pool, albeit on the small side, is great to swim in (useful as the sea was usually too rough to swim in), and wherever you are in the hotel you are no more than a few steps from the beach. The remote location on the north coast of Mahe means there is nothing you can walk to, and if you want to go out for lunch or dinner you need to take a taxi. This was not too much of a problem, and we ventured out 4 times in our 8 nights there. The evenings we spent at Carana, however, were very quiet – most people seemed to head off to bed around 9pm, often leaving myself and my husband the only people in the bar! Entertainment was also very low-key. Although they had a musician or band 6 nights a week, there was not much local music which was disappointing as Seychelles music has such a wonderful rhythm and is much better, in my opinion, when you’re on a beautiful island, than international chill-out music!
The main purpose of our visit was to simply relax and do very little. It has been a while since I’ve had a beach holiday, our last trips having been cruises or city breaks (or non-beach seaside holidays). With the fantastic weather and lovely beach and pool I quickly made myself at home, spending a lot of time on a sunbed reading lots of books and relaxing. We decided not to do the usual touristy things like visiting the capital Victoria (though we did drive through it to and from the hotel – oh how it has changed, it is getting very built up!) The botanical gardens, the fish market, the tea plantation, getting on boats or visiting other islands etc. We have done all these things before and we therefore didn’t feel the urge to rush around seeing and doing things this time.
One day we went for lunch at Baobab Pizzeria which we had first visited 31 years ago, and the pizzas were just as good as we remembered (as good as in Italy!) I know pizzas are not typically Seychellois, but the rustic old building on the beach, with sand on the floor is – it hadn’t changed a bit and it brought back wonderful memories. On our way back to Carana we decided to stop at Sunset Beach Hotel for a drink – it was still open, having delayed their refurbishment three times so far and still no definite date set. We received a very friendly welcome and chatted to the staff about our wedding zillions of years ago, and although the hotel is desperately in need of a freshen up it has a lovely fairly new bar area built on the rocks overlooking the sea – much better than where the old bar had been located. If and when they refurbish, Sunset Beach could easily become one of the top hotels in the Seychelles – its location is unbeatable, the sea is calm with great snorkelling, and as its name suggests it is a magnificent sunset spot. We decided we would return later in the week for dinner, and although the restaurant had been moved to where the old conference room was (the room we got married in as it had been raining on the day of our wedding) we had a lovely evening again full of reminiscing. We were treated to one of the best sunsets we have ever seen anywhere. It was very sad to find the hotel was only about a quarter full though, and again at around 9pm we were the only people left in the bar. I do hope they manage to bring it back to its best once again.
With my travel agent hat on we went to visit the H Resort at Beau Vallon on the Monday for a site tour and lunch. Now this hotel really has a wow factor. It has bags of character, a huge swimming pool, a choice of 5 restaurants, and is right on Beau Vallon beach which is simply gorgeous – soft white sand and calm water. We were treated to lunch by the Sales Director Isabelle, but we didn’t want to leave and spent the afternoon on the beach and by the pool before changing into suitable evening attire (which we had brought with us just in case!) to spend the evening there for dinner at their lovely beachside restaurant Eden. I predict another visit to the Seychelles coming up, perhaps in the next year or two, to stay at the H Resort.
On our final evening we picked a real gem for dinner – Paris restaurant at Fisherman’s Cove Hotel at the southern end of Beau Vallon beach, another hotel with masses of local character. You don’t generally go to the Seychelles for gourmet food, but oh my goodness we were blown away with the food and ambience here. It was as good as some of the Michelin star restaurants we have been to – taste, presentation and service were absolutely top notch and my camera was very busy that evening. Have you ever eaten a purple egg? It was surprisingly delicious and there was a duo playing local Seychellois music during dinner, I was very happy. Towards the end of dinner, we got chatting to a gentleman on the next table and it turned out he was from my home town Ipswich – what a small world! We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours with him chatting about our roots and downing a nightcap or two. What a lovely way to finish off our holiday.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect – 30+ degrees, and only a couple of very short rain showers in 9 days, no midges or mossies, and clouds which magically appeared for a short while for some welcome relief just when it was getting a bit too hot. Such a magical, special place – and as I mentioned above I consider myself very lucky!
