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Editor’s note: The Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island provided TPG with a complimentary two-night stay so that we could get an inside look at the hotel and its amenities. The opinions expressed below are entirely those of the author and weren’t subject to review by the hotel or any external entity.
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Everything about the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island feels both improbable and yet meant to be. This sandy slice of paradise is all that remains of a submerged volcanic caldera fringed by vibrant coral reef and is a mere 1.5-square-mile speck in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean.
Yet its densely forested tropical interior and 9 miles of sandy beaches are home to endangered bird and turtle species, while its waters are excellent for everything from surfing to sportfishing. Guests can spend their days helping feed the resident giant Aldabra tortoises between lazy afternoons floating in their villa’s private pool, scuba dives with giant manta rays and Seychellois rum-tasting sessions at the bar.
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
And although the staff will cater to your every whim, the time-stands-still vibe means you won’t feel the need to over-program your stay beyond booking a sunset cruise and a beach picnic or two.
Here’s what it’s like staying at the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island and how to make the most of your trip there.
Getting to the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles Desroches Island ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
The Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island is about a 35-minute flight from the Seychelles’ capital of Mahe. After booking your stay, the hotel will contact you directly to book interisland flights for your party aboard the hotel’s charter service at a cost of 494.50 euros ($530) per person round-trip.
Give yourself a buffer of one or two nights between arriving in the Seychelles and transiting to Desroches in order to ensure that your connections work out. Flights from Mahe to Desroches currently depart at 10:30 a.m. Monday to Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday; return flights depart at 11:30 a.m. Monday to Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday, though times are subject to change based on weather and other conditions.
At the airport in Mahe, guests are escorted through check-in and security by a hotel agent and deposited in the public waiting area ahead of flights.
Booking details ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
The Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island has just 71 villas and suites along with 13 palatial residences (these are located across the airstrip from the main resort section of the island).
Rates start at $910 per night for ocean-view pool villas, which are the hotel’s lowest-category accommodations, but encompass over 2,000 square feet of private space, including their expansive interiors as well as gardens with plunge pools and lounge areas leading to the beach. Facing due west, the sunset-view pool villa I stayed in typically costs about $500-$600 more than an ocean-view pool villa per night. The resort’s accommodations top out at the seven-bedroom presidential villa, which has its own full-size pool, both indoor and outdoor lounges and dining areas and even a private gym.
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
The Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island is part of Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts, so if you have The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, you can make a booking through American Express Travel and receive perks like availability-based upgrades, up to a $100 credit to use on-property during your stay for things like drinks or meals, complimentary daily breakfast for two and guaranteed late checkout.
The hotel is also part of Chase’s The Edit, which is a recent rebranding of its Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (LHRC). If you have an eligible card and make your booking through Chase Travel, you can enjoy perks including daily breakfast for two, availability-based room upgrades, early check-in and late checkout based on availability, a $100 property credit to be used during your stay and a welcome gift. Those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for stays booked at The Edit properties.
Other cards you can use for The Edit bookings include:
Finally, the resort is currently offering (through Oct. 31, 2024) a “Castaway” all-inclusive package that includes:
All meals at the resort restaurants and bars, including a la carte menu items and the weekly themed buffet at Claudine restaurant
Selection of alcoholic beverages at the restaurants and bars, including house wines, local beers and a variety of premium house spirits and cocktails
Nonalcoholic beverages at the restaurants and bars, including fresh juices, soft drinks, signature mocktails, coffee, tea and house water
Once-daily replenishment of your refrigerated private bar (house beer and wine, soft drinks and snacks)
The offer excludes in-room dining and any other items not listed and requires a three-night minimum stay. Due to the amount of travel required to get to the resort and the cost of meals once on the island, you might want to consider this option to have more of a worry-free experience while there rather than tallying up each charge during your visit.
Be sure to book through a channel that affords you the most benefits possible. If you do not have a card that’s eligible to use through one of the above programs, you can consider booking through a travel agent who is a Four Seasons Preferred Partner and can obtain similar perks for clients.
Standout features ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Spectacular accommodations with plenty of indoor and outdoor space in which to indulge.
Pristine beaches where you might spot stingrays and sea turtles.
Restaurants serving everything from Seychellois classics to Mediterranean cuisine, sushi and sizzling steaks.
Where else will you get the chance to hand-feed giant Aldabra tortoises?
Drawbacks ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
The cost — including expensive interisland flights and on-property activities and dining — can be prohibitive, even for a resort of this caliber.
Beach conditions and the availability of activities can be extremely variable depending on the weather.
Although buggies are always available, getting to some of the beaches and activities can require a trek given the island’s size.
The vibe ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Private island paradises abound these days, but every so often, you come across one that still feels so special you simultaneously think everyone should know how wonderful it is, but also that it should be guarded like a precious secret.
The Four Seasons Seychelles Resort at Desroches Island is just such a place. And while plenty of folks have expounded on the wonders of this island Eden, due to its remoteness few are actually able to make the trek to experience its natural beauty and languid luxury.
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Those who do, however, are in for sun-splashed, breezy days bicycling to the various beaches that line its shores, unwinding with spa treatments accompanied by the gentle crash of the nearby waves and perhaps stopping in the Island Conservation Society village to visit the folks who protect Desroches and its waters to pet the local goats or check on the gardens that supply the hotel’s restaurants.
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Time is what you make of it here, whether it’s brisk mornings of surfing the local breaks and Technicolor-saturated sunset cruises, or days spent commuting between your villa’s private pool and shaded hammock for siestas before a romantic dinner of grilled fish and steak next to the island’s lighthouse. And while you’ll probably make fast friends with fellow guests fawning over the lavish breakfast buffet or sipping Seychellois rums during an afternoon tasting, you can also have as secluded a sojourn as you like thanks to the self-contained footprints of the villas and residences.
The room
The resort’s villas are arranged along the island’s shore to the south and west of the airstrip that slices across its thickest section. Guests can bike or buggy to them in a matter of minutes, and though the standalone structures are grouped in clusters along diverging paths, chances are you won’t see or hear your neighbors during your stay.
The sunset-view pool villa I stayed in comprised nearly 2,100 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. The main room, with its high-peaked ceiling, included both a sheer-curtained king-size canopy bed, which housekeeping would unfurl during turndown service, and an antique-style trunk at its foot hiding a pop-out television. There was also an ample living room with a patterned rug, woven and beaten-metal art on the walls, a large dining table and both a daybed and a shocking-pink peacock chair for good measure.
Universal power plugs as well as USB-A ports are in drawers next to the sides of the bed. Guests should also appreciate free, if not so fast, Wi-Fi available in the villas and the main public areas of the resort, though there is no signal at some of the beaches and in the interior portion of the island.
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
A selection of vanilla-cinnamon iced tea, fruits and coconut sweets added an extra touch of sweetness to the welcome. The minibar held a variety of snacks and drinks including some Takamaka rum from Mahe, various bottles of beer and fruit juice, water and both a Nespresso machine for making coffee and an electric kettle so you could make yourself a cup of tea.
A closet area with plenty of space for suitcases and hanging clothes plus the enormous bathroom suite occupied the other half of the villa, directly behind the bed.
The two sinks and vanities were set to either side of the room on stone-topped wooden benchlike fixtures, while directly to the back of the space was a large, ceramic soaking tub. The hotel provides a range of Natura Bisse products including soap and body lotion.
To either side of that were the water closet with the toilet, and then the indoor-outdoor shower combination. The indoor shower had both overhead and handheld showerheads along with a bench and an array of Natura Bisse hair and body products.
The outdoor shower was shielded from view by canvas walls, and its stream was more of a single gushing torrent rather than your typical spray.
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Large glass sliding doors led from the living room to an outdoor deck with a table and two chairs, while a spiral wooden staircase provided access to an upstairs deck with a daybed.