During the first part of our Seychelles trip we decided to visit Praslin, the second island of that Indian Ocean archipelago staying in its very exclusive and multi-awarded luxury resort : the Raffles Praslin.
It’s on the North-West part of the island in the stunning Takamaka bay that you can find the Raffles Praslin and its 86 pool villas, nestled right into the hill. This large resort is perfectly located to visit Anse Lazio, one of the best beach worldwide and Ile Curieuse, a nature reserve island where giant turtoises as well as an amazing local flora are preserved. Staying in a Panoramic villa we have been impressed by the villa itself, but most of all by the sceneries and the resort features ; definitely, the Raffles Praslin is one of the best places to stay in Seychelles.
Living
The resort has nearly 4 years of activity but all common spaces still look brand new ; walkways and alleys are very well maintained with a luxuriant tropical vegetation while the stylish design of the restaurants, lobby and pool areas – with Creole and Seychelles influences – fits exactly the environment as expected for a luxury and eco-friendly hotel group. Raffles Praslin is also renowned for its largest outdoor resort pool in the Indian Ocean, 45-meter in 2 different levels, located at the Pool Bar ; there, you can enjoy cocktails, relax on sunbeds and even take – for free – bicycles and diving equipment for the duration of the stay.
The Spa is also a key place in the resort with a relaxation lounge, beauty salon, sauna, hammam, indoor cold jacuzzi as well as a very modern fitness center. It is composed of 13 private pavilions overlooking the bay and semi-open ; it allows guests to hear exterior noises such as wind, foliage and birds during their treatment and because we experimented it personally, I can say that’s great!
I can’t finish this chapter without speaking about the superb white sand beach and the Takamaka Bay’s crystal blue water, which is certainly one of the best landscape in the world!
Room
Our Panoramic Villa offered from the resort hilltop an unobstructed view at 180° over Takamaka bay and Ile Curieuse. Honestly, when you wake-up in the morning and see such a scenery the wow factor catches you immediately! Regarding the villa interior, it is quite well furnished with nice furnitures – amazing bed, by the way – with large dressing and bathroom, as well as an outdoor shower. Materials are also pretty good and make the overall a true five-star resort villa ; for sure, Raffles touch is there. On the other hand, outdoor terrace is surprisingly huge with enough space to host a 3-meter sofa, dining table, two sunbeds and a lovely plunge pool. Just perfect to enjoy some late afternoon swimming :)
Many comments on advising websites talk about the lack of villa privacy ; actually, if you want to have a maximum of privacy you should consider a Panoramic Villa or at least request for a villa on hilltop where intimacy, in both cases, is close to 100%. Otherwise, everyone walking or driving buggy on alleys will be able to see you on your terrace, for sure.
Dining
Several restaurant are available at Raffles Praslin, from the casual Pool Bar to the fine dining Losean Restaurant, so everyone can meet its demands and enjoy different kind of food : Creole, Asian, European… We experimented Curieuse Restaurant – cuisine by Chef Etha Pertamawati – which proposes a mix cuisine ranging from India to South East Asia ; it’s was an astonishing discovered that we highly appreciate! Then international buffet breakfast is served at Losean with a Chef cooking eggs according to your wishes – for free – and plenty of sweet and savory dishes. I have also to give a special mention to the room service which we used for all dinners and served always warm and generous meals (it’s quite rare, even for a luxury resort).
Level of exigency
Service quality is a very good point of Raffles Praslin, here again we can feel the hotel group influence ; all guests are treated like VIP and all your requests will be taken into consideration without any trouble. I especially like the Pool Bar staff that we met several times per day – for bicycling, going to the pool, asking activity questions and simply take a drink – which was always very friendly, helpful and competent. That might be ungrateful for them because this is a busy place and they have to deal with plenty of requests all time but they are very important to make their guests stay a very pleasant moment. Good job guys !
Stay from 07th to 11th August 2014
The Raffles Praslin opened in February 2011 and is composed of 86 pool villas, from 1 to 5 bedroom. We stayed in a 135sqm Panoramic Villa with its private terrace and pool, which public rate is 895 EUR/night.
