Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island

I don’t have enough superlatives to describe the week we have just spent at the Four Seasons Desroches! I have a short break before starting a new job and decided I’d like a holiday that offered my husband and me total relaxation, while still providing enough to do for our two teenage boys aged 14 and 13. The Four Seasons totally delivered on all fronts. The boys loved snorkelling - we saw an abundance of turtles and tropical fish on the coral reef, riding around the island on fast e-bikes, surfing lessons with Lainey and Sean (highly recommended - what a lovely couple!) and playing football with the staff and other guests. We grown-ups loved lazy cycle rides to secluded beaches, stumbling across giant tortoises, reading by our private poolside and the rather delicious cocktails on offer. What really made this hotel special, though, is its wonderful staff. They knew us by name from the very first day and went out of their way to make us feel special. A special shout out to Lai Lai and Ela who looked after us all wonderfully in the restaurant and the lovely lady in the bar who kept my hungry 14 year old fed between meals! Also Nasreen the hotel’s biologist who introduces us to the spectacular array of wildlife around the island. The hotel exists in a very special balance between luxury and wild nature. All the staff were truly amazing and I’d name them all individually if I could. We are already planning our return visit! Thank you to the whole team, from us all, for the most memorable and special of holidays. You have a place in our hearts forever!

In a word: breathtaking. We are seasoned lovers of luxury travel (and now regular visitors to FS resorts after switching from the Ritz-Carlton), and what the FS Desroches delivers is so unique, so personalised, and so awe-inspiring experience that we have completely reconceived our notion of the beach getaway idyll. The FS service here and general soft product is consistently impeccable (the supreme professionalism, friendliness, intimacy, and classic FS levels of personalisation the staff deliver are absolutely world-class and unmatched in our experience), with a hard product to match (we opted for a magnificently ornate sunset beach suite for our week’s stay – No.10 – and my goodness, it delivered all the majesty the images on the FS website conjured). The coral-based atoll that is Desroches island is frankly a (perfectly flat, Maldives-like) natural paradise. It is replete with unbelievable wildlife, a landscape ranging from inner coconut groves and magical forest trails, all fringed by 14km of absolutely stunning, largely-deserted Robinson Crusoe-esque powder-white beaches that, for the most parts, guests can call their own. Most of our week’s stay was genuinely filled with a sense of disbelief that an island both as castaway and yet full of hyper-luxury touches as the FS property and Desroches (more generally) actually exists. It all begins with a seamlessly-organised 35-minute intra-island transfer (run by IDC) from Mahé to Desroches. On landing, you are greeted by the GM and your own guest experience director (Anny – you read our sense of humour and our sensibilities expertly) for check-in in your suite/villa. The suite and very personalised welcome did not disappoint. The furnishings are beautifully ornate in with an understated chic, blending Seychellois touches with a timeless design. The ceilings are high, the bed and bath of a palatial size (a classically FS touch), and the outdoor pool (with steps leading down into the azure and bath-warm waters of Sunset Beach) – complete with wooden sala and daybeds – a deliciously decadent touch. The outdoor pool is generously sized, and certainly more than a mere plunge pool. Given the humidity and 30 degree temperatures, it really does not need to be heated. Amenities by Natura Bissé were delightful, as was (at Anny’s personal recommendation given how pale we are) the bottle of aloe vera by way of after-sun. The personal touches to our welcome (and throughout our stay) were magical – stories of island castaways delivered by Steve and his turndown team each night before bed, a (delicious) birthday cake for me in celebration of my 30th, gifts and cards from individual staff members (including a giant stuffed Aldabra tortoise), daily treats – the list is endless. These touches were absolutely beautiful and warmly appreciated. Budi’s team of staff here is truly exceptional, and they are the soul of what makes this island getaway so unique – Jeff, Niranjan, Passant, Ashraf, the inimitably and effortlessly brilliant Lai Lai, Ela, Anny, Joseph, Ali, Cheki, Eric, Sarah, Terence (amongst others). The staff are just wonderful – we learnt all their backgrounds, stories, anecdotes, and deep island wisdom about Desroches over our week’s stay. Nasreen in particular is an absolute credit to the island and to the FS brand – she is the brilliant, omniscient island naturalist and resident biologist, with whom we shared three brilliant (free) activities: introduction to and feeding of the giant tortoises (Big Pete and Drilling – we love you!), a private birdwatching tour, and the fabulous odyssey across the entirety of the island’s coast, which was the ‘Desroches Challenge’ (complete with a medal ceremony and all after a 14km walk beginning at 06:30 at the Lighthouse). Free daily activities are plentiful, and you are delivered a full, fresh schedule of such activities for the following week on arrival (including, inter alia, tortoise feeding, nature tours, the ‘Desroches Challenge’, cooking and cocktail-making classes, kayaking, ‘blue safaris’ at snorkelling spots). The hotel has clearly heeded comments on TripAdvisor in this regard to provide more by way of free and highly enjoyable activities that really bring out the excellence, natural and cultural, of Desroches and its highly unique topography and wildlife. The island proper is absolutely spectacular – Madame Zabre and Aquarium beaches (at this time of year) sparkle with their palm-fringed powdery-white sands and utterly still, perfectly-clear waters. Tidal and wind conditions inevitably mean that sea-grass might affect the conditions of a beach on a given day; this is no problem in practice, given the vastness of beaches from which one can choose. They feel immensely exclusive and private, and are picture-perfect in every angle (we honestly felt that we were living in a tropical screensaver). Snorkelling gear can be freely taken from the Castaway Centre, and is well worth-it: we encountered stunning Hawksbill sea turtles swimming around us at Aquarium feeding on sea-grass, baby stingrays, and sharks at Madame Zabre. For budding ornithologists, expect terns galore and the most serene, beautiful herons. The complete flatness of the terrain on Desroches lends itself brilliantly to the initialled bikes one is provided on arrival. We found ourselves easily cycling upwards of 10km per day, and getting a little lost in this paradise is all part of the fun (as is braving cycling across the resort runway). It is amazing how variable the island can be, from its coconut groves, its inland forests, to the pristinely-maintained resort grounds. It is a world of its own beckoning you for total immersion. We were generally very impressed with the food offering (albeit a more limited offering than the likes of the FS Seychelles on Mahé). Breakfast at Claudine is managed very smoothly, with Claudine also being the venue of regular (impressive) buffet offerings on various days of the week (Lebanese, seafood, and a Seychellois Creole night). Aperitifs at the Lighthouse Lounge under the expansive stars of the southern hemisphere around a fire-pit was always a highlight; and dinner at the Lighthouse was always joyous (the baba au rum is frankly to die for). AHI is the resort’s Japanese-inspired fare, and actually turned out to be our favourite restaurant. N.B. – we opted for half board in advance, and it is well worth it as one can choose three courses (plus sides) from the restaurant menus without any supplements. Emir makes a perfect cocktail, too (I would highly recommend his cucumber martini complete with his excellent anecdotes). Clearly the FS Desroches also attracts a certain kind of clientele who appreciate the serenity and tranquillity of the hotel’s surroundings and eschew gaudiness, and this is also a benefit in itself (in our personal opinion). As with any experience, we would offer the following (minor in the context of a stellar experience) comments to management to heighten the experience even further/serve as useful advice to fellow travellers: 1. Breakfast cereals – Please kindly ensure that the cereal is properly replaced daily; 2. General F&B expenses – As one must reasonably appreciate, import costs and running an operation as exceptional as the FS Desroches in such an isolated, far-flung location are high. Guests should therefore expect quite expensive F&B prices and should plan accordingly for this – either by upgrading to half or full board/all-inclusive, or using what weight you can in your suitcases to stock-up on wines and/or soft-drinks without resorting to your mini-bars. Please also note that the Lighthouse dining is typically outdoors on sand, so avoid wearing your best footwear here; 3. Weight limits on the intra-island flight (run by IDC, not the FS) – guests are restricted to bringing 30kg of luggage (cabin baggage and hand luggage in aggregate) each on the IDC flight from Mahé to Desroches. This can make life difficult in terms of pre-planning what to pack, especially if you’ve flown business/a premium cabin to the Seychelles otherwise offering significantly more weight allowance to guests; 4. Digital detoxing – we were forewarned that the WiFi at the hotel was generally slow, but in practice it really is not great at all (despite being styled as ‘complimentary premium WiFi’). WhatsApp is very slow to load/send photographs (and you will want to send these in bulk given the beauty of the island and the resort) and e-mails are very slow to load, so caveat emptor here if you need access to proper WiFi; and 5. Expectation of a single, main serviced beach (in FS Seychelles style with Petite Anse) – the FS Desroches experience is a completely different world and different ethos than a traditional beach holiday. This is not your average beach getaway. If you go in expecting a fully-serviced, single main beach, you may well be disappointed. The whole rasion d’etre of this resort is to enable you to explore the entirety of the island’s beaches (provisioned with towels, beach toys, loungers/deck chairs/cabanas on Madame Zabre) and to find somewhere secluded and untouched. In my view, criticism of the main beach/pool area by Claudine are misplaced – yes, it is not the most picturesque location (as there are metal barriers preventing sea erosion), but the island more than delivers elsewhere. In this regard, we found that our week at the FS Desroches paired perfectly with a week’s stay at the FS Seychelles which filled this apparent ‘gap’. However, watch this space – there are interesting developments coming in this area (including new facilities in the location of the Castaway Centre) in the very near future – I am very excited to see how this adds to the resort experience and in assuaging other travellers’ concerns here. Huge commendations and our deepest, warm appreciation for what Budi and team have managed to pull off here. Overall? Stunning. We will certainly be back. With our deepest thanks, Charles H. and Rhys.

It's always tricky to rate a hotel which is pretty much 100% about its location. If you're looking for a pristine and secluded beach destination, Desroches absolutely delivers - perfect sand, warm and clear water, palm trees, and stunning sunsets. The location is without doubt one of the most beautiful beach spots I've been to - it reminds me quite a bit of Amanpulo in the Philippines, although Desroches is a far bigger island. The hotel though, I found quite disappointing on many counts. My room (207) was really quite bland, even though I had been upgraded to a room on the "better" west side of the island where the water is calmer and there are more palm trees. The main lobby and pool area, where the restaurants Claudine and Ahi are located, equally just really didn't have any vibe - and everything is crammed together in one place so there are no quiet spots on the island where you can relax while still having hotel service. Amazingly, on the first day, the already charmless ambiance in the main area was nuked even further by the fact that they were playing nauseating children's music for hours on end (including bangers such as "Mummy Has Another Baby In Her Belly"), which I found totally ridiculous - if you want to cater to kids fine, but don't do it at the expense of your other guests. They have an entire island of space to play with and they decide that their kids event has to be directly in the face of customers who are there for a quiet, relaxing time! Inexcusable, especially considering how much you're paying for the privilege of being there. On top of that, the food was so disappointing, and it's the classic case where you since you have no other option, so they get away with murder charging you insane prices for mediocre food. Under ordinary circumstances, I would've quickly stopped eating at the hotel and looked for some other restaurant. My meal at the Lighthouse was probably the best I had, but none of it was impressive. The pizza was especially tragic. There are 3 marked beaches on the map they orient you with when you arrive - Madam Zabre, Aquarium, and Coral. Bizarrely, not a single member of staff knew what I was talking about when I asked them where Coral beach, despite it being clearly labelled on their own map. The beaches are abandoned most of the time, so if you want service - to get a drink, a bite, some insect repellent, you're out of luck. Certain areas of the island (especially when the tortoises are around) are absolutely overrun by mosquitos - you will get annihilated and they don't seem to be doing much to control their mosquito situation, which you would think is pretty easy given they're on an island. To get around you're given a bike, which is a nice touch, and they personalise it by putting letters with your initials on them so you can keep track. Clever, you think at first, until you realise that the letters aren't held in place in the display in any way, and will fly out on multiple occasions as you traverse the uneven roads, forcing you to stop, turn back and pick them up numerous times. Super annoying. I wasn't the only one this happened to, I saw a letter from someone else's bike on the floor at some point. The metal basket will also make a constant clanking sound as your phone, key etc bounce around in it which becomes very grating after a while. They could make the experience so much better by improving the bikes a bit given how much you use them - a basket which has a bit of upholstery to cushion the noise of contents moving around, no holes for things to fall through, and while they're at it they should stick a map of the island into the interior of the basket so you can conveniently glance at it while you get around. The biking is also made worse by the fact that some members of staff drive around way too fast on the golf carts, especially at nights when the bikes are not easily visible. I saw one golf cart run over a lizard - that's how fast it was going. Appalling. The staff are nice and eager to help, but I still came away with the impression that this hotel is entirely coasting on its unbelievable location, without much else to recommend it. As a result, it will probably be my only visit.

I have been lucky to travel to a lot of the islands off Africa - Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles etc but the amazing thing about the FS Desroches Island is the exclusivity and service that stands out the best. We arrived on a small private plane from Mahe which was a 30mins flight. As soon as we disembarked we had one member of staff assigned to each family and a buggy was waiting on hand with fresh cold towels and a welcome drink. Adarsh who was assigned to our family was amazing and knew our names and all our requests. We were given a quick tour of the island showing us where everything was. We were given an upgrade on our room upon arrival which was a welcome touch. Service from all the staff was the highlight - special mention to Chef Viveck as he catered for us as being vegetarian we requested food a few of the days for dinner and was great quality. Apart from Chef Viveck a big shoutout to Florence, Aadarsh, Ramy, Manish, Lai Lai, Kareeem and Christian (plus all other staff) The services at Blue Safari was excellent as well - they are a 3rd party company that deal with the water activities onsite.