Looking for Romance? and other Seychelles Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

Booked the place via a travel agent in Norway after an initial internet search.
Stayed our first 4 nights in the Seychelles here, and used the place as a base for exploring Mahe island, the capital Victoria and for lazying around the Beu Vallon area.
It was very roomy and better standard and better equipped than the internet information gave the impression of. Very close to everything on Beu Vallon, and without the disadvantage of too close proximity to the larger hotels with their disco beat and floodlights.

Unique Qualities: Short stroll down to the Beau Vallon Beach for a morning dip in the ocean breakers.
Roomy, very good quality bungalow with a verandah and garden spot. Kitchenette with the necessary facilities for self-catering.
B&B possible for a little extra, we did not take the breakfast.
Connected to a good Creole restaurant (same owners?) for a good lunch and dinner, the same place as for breakfast.
The Baobab Pizzeria is right down on the beach.
Service oriented and very nice staff.
Connected to sightseeing and fishing operators, could organize just about everything certainly we would be interested in if we had stayed on Mahe (we moved on to La Digue).

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Theme: Pension/Guesthouse
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: +248-247732, fax +248-247797
Address: Romance Bungalows, Beau Vallon Beach, Mahe Island
Directions: By taxi or bus from the airport or Victoria, keep right after the Beau Vallon Village, down to the beach, continue right, pass the Boat house and turn right opposite of the Baobab Pizzeria at the bridge over the creek.
Website: www.seychelles.net/romance

At the La Passe jetty as you arrive, there are ox carts ready to take you to Patatran. Or taxi. With small children and lots of luggage it's too long to walk. The cart can't go all the way, due to the road (can't turn) so you have to take your luggage yourself the last hundred meters .
Patatran itself isn't that much of a place for children, because the beach here is not sheltered by a reef, and there are limited play areas nearby. Staying unsupervised/alone on the beach here is not an option. But there are beaches nearby (walking distance) back toward La Passe and further past Patatran where the water is sheltered and shallow. Very nice, in fact. To get to the other beaches you will need to taxi, ox-cart your way or bike.
Patatran is worth less than what you pay for (in international comparison), but among the options here, this is what you get. Friendly service, very relaxed, too. I was happy about it, let me hasten to add. The rooms were well cared for and the bathroom fine. A valuables storage in the reception safe, good, as the rooms aren't too secure. Romantic beds... Bike rental adjacent to the reception area. Many services offered via the reception and general tourist office in La Passe. Cheaper to organise the things yourself, but definitely more cumbersome. BB option here is all right, you may not wish to be stuck here for lunch and dinners, too. The food gets a bit too generic. But they do ok for other meals than breakfasts also, some goodies on their a la carte and once a week island foods buffet. They can make you a picnic basket. I opted for the supermarket a little past the "centre" of La Passe. Juices, water, bisuits, fruits for the beach and evenings. We went as far as purchasing a hot water cooker for our own teas and coffees as Patatran's kitchen/bar didn't keep open very long, and it was very enjoyable sitting up late playing cards on the little bungalow verandah and letting the day come to an end. We gave this boiler to Patatran for other guests' perusal when we left.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Address: La Digue, just past the northern point.

Occasionally on the Seychelles you will meet people who carefully indicate to you that they offer you to come back and stay in their homes for 2,3, 6 months, whatever. What they will do is to move to a relative, a side room or out of the country to take up work elsewhere while you have the house. Financially the deal is the best option for long-term stay in the Seychelles.
If you are able to a) take that long holidays, b) take your work with you, or c) have a business or job to do on the Seychelles, you can opt for a long-term deal like this offered by locals.
It may not be entirely legal, so check carefully how this deal is going to be made, and if there is an element of tax evasion in the picture. Maybe it is possible to wring a deal for shorter time, too, or have several persons share the time (segmented, staggered holidays).


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Theme: Other
Comparison: least expensive

Address: Local people may approach.

Coming in from Praslin on the last Cat Cocos of the day, we transferred to our prebooked Hotel Casuarina south of the airport. The next day we were set to leave the Seychelles...
We wanted a hotel with easy access to the airport (10-15 minutes), with good standard and direct access to the beach for a last evening dip in the Indian Ocean.
The room was well furnished to handle luggage repacking - spacious, floor space for the suitcase, shelves, a large wardrobe a good shower, air condition and a coffee corner. Outside was a fanned terrace.The service was impeccable. However, as tourism also here had seen a downturn and there weren't that many guests about apart form a large travel group (German/Italians). While the group had a set menu, the a la carte options were severely restricted due to limited food stocks in the kitchen. We settled for grilled fish that can never fail in the Seychelles.
The next morning we had a fruit-focussed buffet breakfast and took off for the airport.

Unique Qualities: Large casual sitting/bar area under a roof near the open reception, very sociable set-up generally. A rustic bar seemed to have most types of local and international fuels.
The beach is very, very nice, reef protected, and it was lit up at night just below the hotel, so night swimming was good on high tide, anyway. Sun chairs etc. were lined up for the hotel's guests and casual beach walkers.
If going to the Seychelles again I would choose this hotel once more for a transit hotel if returning from or departing for the other islands. It's a perfect set-up, but without the mood of temporaryness.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Address: Casuarina Beach, south of the airport.
Directions: Taxi or bus south from the airport, on your left(east) side after 10minutes - 6 kilometres. The drivers will know exactly where. In daylight, look for the sign.