Hotel La Réserve

Directly by the sea, on the north-eastern coast of Praslin, along Anse Petite Cour and opposite Curieuse Marine National Park. For transfers from Praslin airport, located 11 mi away, allow around 20 minutes by car.

The family-style management of La Réserve adds some much appreciated conviviality, as opposed to hotels that belong to international groups. Twice a week, cruises are organised to nearby islands - Curieuse, La Digue, Grande Soeur Coco island, as well as cruises in the setting sun to Anse Lazio. Walks to the woody hill above the estate are offered free of charge. They are led by a guide specialized in botanics and last for an hour (there and back). For your information, La Réserve is the closest hotel to Anse lazio, considered to be one of the world's most beautiful beaches, just a little over a mile north from the hotel. The hotel benefited from a renovation in October 2006, following the damage caused by the tsunami in December 2004.

Accommodation tip

The 8 superior villas are intended for families, with an extra bed for the kids. However, 4 of them are located on the hillside, for the same price. If you would like to enjoy a better view, ask for one of the 4 villas on the seaside, or simply one of the 32 deluxe rooms which are all located by the sea and furnished with a bath tub. However you will be charged £132 extra for the night. 

Entirely turned towards the sea, La Réserve consists of several colonial-style buildings, adorned with orange pillars that bring to mind the colour of local coconuts. A beautiful straw hut and roofed jetty shelter the Jetty Restaurant. In the heart of the hotel's exotic garden, which runs the length of the beach, the guests will also find a park where hundred-year-old giant tortoises live. All around the William Pool Bar and the Pool Grill Restaurant is one of the Seychelles' largest swimming pools, fitted with an artificial island made of pink granite, from which flows a beautiful waterfall: a real cinema decor! Toilets are even concealed inside the artificial granite! All around it, you can use the parasols, the deckchairs fitted with mattresses and the shower. If you love cocktails, go to one of the 3 bars  on the beach, at the swimming pool (actually in the water) or at the restaurant on the jetty, whatever takes your fancy.

Two types of accommodation are available: the 32 deluxe chalets and the 8 superior villas - 40 ooms in total. Offering the same standards, the chalets and villas are both equipped with individual air-conditioning (with a fan), a direct line for international calls, a mini-bar with tea and coffee facilities, a satellite TV and a safe. Clean and tastefully decorated, furnished with wood, they also have a four-poster bed and a mosquito net, as well as a large terrace from which the panorama of the ocean is breathtaking. You can admire this magnificent spectacle from one of the two wooden deckchairs (which come with a mattress) set around a small wooden table. Some paintings made by local painters add a welcome Creole touch to the decor. The bathrooms are huge and have a large shower and a bath tub, with a clothes horse, a hair-dryer, hospitality products and even a small bench on which to sit. They all open out on to the bedroom, separated by a window. The 8 superior villas, however, are not equipped with a bath tub. Two Creole-style buildings, one of which is located on the side of the sea and the other on the side of the hill, each house 4 superior villas. The room service is ensured from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.

The Jetty Restaurant on stilts  is particularly pleasant with its long jetty over the sea and its roof of latanier palm leaves. For breakfast and dinner, an interesting choice of international dishes is served at the Jetty Restaurant - Chinese and Creole- including numerous fish and seafood dishes. You savour these delicious dishes to the sound of the waves below, and you only need to bend down to be able to see all the fish gathering night and day under the restaurant. Buffets are offered three times a week and a local band comes to entertain the guests with Creole music and séga dancing or traditional moutia. Also worth noting: "tea time" every day on the bar terrace with a breathtaking view of the bay. On the menu - tea, coffee and little cakes for sweet-toothed guests. The Pool Grill Restaurant is located in the middle of a vast lagoon swimming pool, on the other side of a little wooden bridge. Grilled meats, fresh fish, salads and other snacks are served à la carte for lunch only.

Only accessible via the hotel, and so almost private, Anse Petite Cour beach is full of charm with its pink granite rock, typical of the Seychelles, its crystal-clear water, its white sand, and the stunning view of Curieuse island. However, the slope is so gentle that you will need to walk a little far out in order to swim. Deckchairs and parasols are at the guests' disposal, as well as a shower. A small and rusty staircase will take you to it. If you love unspoilt and wild beaches, you can go to a small creek a little further down. From May to October, south-east trade winds tend to bring seaweed to the shore.