The 10 best hotels in Seychelles (and most gay-friendly)

First up on Mahé Island are the Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas, a series of homey luxury lodges overlooking the Indian Ocean. Offering an all-inclusive experience with private butlers shuffling between the infinity pool, sun deck and private BBQ area to keep you as comfortable as possible, Maia is one step beyond perfection. As well as having the jungle and the boulder-clad beach of Anse Louis on your doorstep, visitors are also well placed for boat trip excursions. Otherwise, enjoy the resort’s many amenities including the thatched-roof spa, fitness centre and open-air pavilions where daily yoga and qi gong sessions take place. For couples’ dining experiences, the resort can provide Asian, Oriental and Creole fusion dishes with hilltop views across the peninsula, preceded or followed by cocktails at the Sunset Pool Bar.

Six Senses Zil Pasyon is a hidden gem based on the private island of Félicité, grounding all who visit with its earth-loving ethos. Working with the rocky surroundings to create an eco-boutique overlooking the ocean, Six Senses has everything you could need to relax, including an infinity pool, beach spa, gym and even homebrewed rum bar, primed for sunset tasting sessions listening to bossa-nova beats. Ocean Kitchen, the resort’s alfresco grill restaurant, serves up fresh fish and organic veggies all sourced from the island, with the Island Café providing light buffet breakfasts suitable before morning yoga classes and saltwater soaks on the sundeck.

On another of the Seychelles honeymoon islands is a branch of the legendary Raffles hotel you won’t want to miss. Raffles Seychelles on Praslin Island comes accessible via a 15-minute flight from Mahé, allowing for utmost luxury on grounds featuring two infinity pools, a beauty salon, rooftop terrace, six restaurants and a shisha lounge. Stay busy by day with kayaking, snorkelling or cycling, also considering guided hiking trails and yoga classes. Pausing for breath, we wander from the resort to Anzo Lazio beach and the Vallée de Mai, allowing Raffles staff to organise day tours around the island or boat excursions to Curieuse Island nearby. Well versed in hospitality, Raffles brings R&R to a whole new level across its spotless suites, full-function spa, and Pan Asian and Creole-influenced restaurants.

Eliciting exotic flavours and wild forest soundscapes, Coco de Mer Hotel and Black Parrot Suites is our next Seychelles accommodation choice on the quiet island of Praslin. In addition to utmost tranquillity, Coco de Mer provides 4-star luxury on 200 acres beside the sea, in easy reach of Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve and Cote D’Or Beach. On site you’ll have access to the infinity pool, tennis courts and a beauty centre, with the new ocean jetty serving as the centrepiece to guide you from your sea-view suite to the terrace bar or Hibiscus restaurant. Though remote, getting to the hotel is easy thanks to the 24-hour airport shuttle and additional ferry service.

Aptly located on Eden Island, Eden Bleu Hotel is very much an earthly paradise. Rather than apples, however, temptation here comes in the form of leisurely indulgence, allowing for lazy views over the super yacht marina and Mahé Island beyond. Eden Bleu is also well positioned to enjoy the marina’s shopping complex and lively nightlife in easy reach of the Seychelles International Airport (6 kilometres away on Mahé). Eat at the Marlin Bleu Restaurant just beyond the poolside terrace, enjoying cocktails at Bourgeois Bar any time of day. The island may be man-made but the beaches and mountain views here are still swoon-worthy – just get the hotel shuttle to Beau Vallon and Anse Royal to see for yourself.

One more of the top Seychelles hotels on Praslin Island is Constance Lemuria, a chic resort laid out like a mini traditional village, replete with thatched-roof spa facilities, a stilted restaurant with a view, and East African-designed beach bar on the shore. There’s plenty to see and do while staying at Constance, but you could easily stay happy enjoying the views from the three-tiered infinity pool or taking treatments in the garden’s massage huts. To stay busier, take a day trip towards the natural wonders of Vallée de Mai, treading lightly on the sandy shores so as not to disturb the nesting hawksbill turtles. Back at the hotel, enjoy a creole spread at any of the hotel’s four restaurants, even going barefoot for a sushi-style lunch at Takamata on Petite Anse beach.

Centred on Mahé Island’s Barbarons Beach, Avani Barbarons Seychelles Resort could hardly make paradise any more convenient. Just 13 kilometres from Victoria, Avani boasts a tropical shorefront location completely immersed in peace and quiet. Savour the view over the water and gardens from your room’s private balcony or come down for various activities around the fitness centre, yoga studio or cookery kitchen. Otherwise, get some sun and salt spray with water sports on the bay, moving back to the resort come sunset for AvaniSpa treatments followed by a choice of six restaurants serving up everything from poolside appetizers and cocktails to traditional Seychelles cuisine.

The last of our best hotels lies on Fregate Island, a tiny speck of land east of Mahé, privately owned and kept in tip-top condition. As well as pristine beaches and rich green forest to shelter the island’s diverse flora and fauna, it is the Fregate Island Private resort that has us particularly excited. The traditional style villas here come made from native mahogany and thatched to fit with the palm-fringed aesthetic. Nip around the resort in your personal golf buggy, going from infinity pool to clifftop villa with minimal effort, or even make use of the private butler service to fetch you samples of wine cellar stock while you peruse the on-site boutique and art gallery. After bubbling away the afternoon in the garden jacuzzi, fill up on Creole and African cuisine at Fregate House or hope for a BBQ feast at Plantation House before slurping cocktails at Pirates Bar or Anse Bambous Beach Bar.