Hotel: Banyan Tree Seychelles Resort

Address: Anse Intendance, Mahe Island, Seychelles

Website: www.banyantree.com/seychelles/

TraveLife ranking:

Rooms: 47 luxury villas

Room rates: $1,000+

Awards: This ranks among TraveLife top resorts. It’s also been named top resort by a number of international publications.

Highlights: This resort qualifies as a 21st-century Garden of Eden. And it’s not far from the original – if you believe in such things. Early explorers described the waterfall-filled Vallee de Mai - now a UNESCO World Heritage Site – on the neighboring island of Praslin as being THE Garden of Eden. Few will argue having seen this natural beauty. A typical day at Banyan Tree Seychelles - for those who want to leave the privacy and comfort of their villa, of course - begins with breathtaking views of the ocean from the patio of the main dining room Au Jardin d'Epices. Afterwards, a walk along the sugary shore rewards guests with gifts from the sea - the most amazing being the pieces of coral that probably broke off from Aldabra, a unique coral atoll that is a World Heritage Site and is located just south of the resort.  If guests are very lucky during their stroll, they may come face-to-face with one of the island's famous giant sea turtles - like the endangered green variety. The slow-moving behemoths regularly crawl up on shore and lay their eggs in the sand. Then there’s Intendance Bay where you can try and catch one of the fast-moving sand crabs. Or you could give in to the greatest temptation of all and do nothing - except float in the infinity pool of your private hillside villa and look out
on the endless Indian Ocean to where sea meets sky.

History: The resort is too new to have a history but stay tuned – this will be one of the great gathering spots in the world soon. The island’s history is a different story, though. The first ones to discover the Seychelles were the Indonesians and Arabs who cast their nest into the island’s fish rich waters. In 1742 the French claimed Mahe, where slaves were brought from nearby Africa before being shipped to the Colinies, until they were voted off by the British in 1794. The Brits governed until 1976 when Seychelles got its independence. The young nation encountered a coup a year later but it is now a three-party democracy and very safe to visit. The famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gamma is believed to have passed this way in 1503 but it wasn’t until 1506 that another Portuguese navigator Fernando Sores recorded the islands as the “seven sisters.”  Mahe is 27 km long and seven km wide and is linked by a ribbon of narrow ribbon of asphalt called the Coast Road.

Interior highlights: You are greeted at the well guarded resort by a handsome colonial building flanked by palm trees and native flowers. The open-air reception area looks out on the resort’s amazing infinity pool on one side and the azure Indian Ocean on the other. The main building is a pleasant place to stop but most people are in a hurry to get to their palatial suites.

In the next room: The land the resort now stands was once owned by the late Beatle George Harrison and actor Peter Sellers. The Banyan Tree Seychelles still lures a number of Hollywood types looking for the seclusion this Eden offers. The tranquil beaches and award-winning spa are two other features that have stars beating a path here.

The rooms:   Of the 47 villas, 15 are located along the beach while the rest are hidden in the granite hills surrounding the resort. The 15 beachfront villas are tucked under thick underbrush and all offer the privacy that honeymooners and romantics crave. Great care was taken not to disturb the area's delicate environment during construction of this five-star splendor. All the hillside villas were built on stilts to avoid blasting the mighty granite outcrops that look more like weathered sculptures. Because nature was given top priority here, don't be surprised to see a palm tree growing through your villa deck.  The largest of the villas is the presidential suite, which comes with two swimming pools, a Jacuzzi and a king-sized bedroom. It's favored by wedding parties and is rarely unoccupied, despite its price tag of over $3,000 a night. Recognizing many of their occupants are business types who want to stay connected to the outside world on holiday, the villas are wired for Internet service and there's a small business centre located in the resort's beautiful colonial-style main building. But because of the resort’s remote location, reception is not always reliable. The villas are out of this world. All are hidden in the resort’s tropical beauty and no one can see what you’re up to. The small infinity pools in each of the villas are a place where bathing suits are optional and a beautiful sun-soaked view is guaranteed. Your king-size bed will be strewn with flower petals each morning and a separate terrace is where you can enjoy romantic in-room meals. Marble bathrooms, complete with step-down tub/shower featuring outside sliding doors that when opened gives guests the impression they are bathing - au natural - in a jungle waterfall. You bath with the best products, many featuring the area’s natural cleansing ingredients. The rooms all have TVs and telephones.

Amenities: The main feature of this resort is its sensational spa. Few anywhere in the world can equal the treatments and technique employed here. The spa’s staff all graduated from the prestigious Thai massage school in Phuket where they underwent four months and 200 hours of training before being assigned here. Their expertise and technique translates into a magnificent experience for guests- at prices that are comparable to other spas of this quality. A full range of treatments is offered in open-air rooms, the most popular of which is the couples villa which affords newly weds and lovers romantic views of the surrounding splendor. Water sports include kayaking, snorkeling and diving but there are no power boats – the resort does not want to pollute the waters. However, time stands still at Banyan Tree Seychelles - there are no clocks in the villas.

Restaurants: Au Jardin d'Epices is the place for romantics. Its open concept allows patrons to be fanned by warm Indian Ocean breezes while enjoying some of the island’s famed Creole and international cuisine, all made with freshly picked local ingredients. The resort’s other restaurant is the amazing Saffron, where flavorful Thai dishes accented with local fruits like the plum local (local apple). Or, if you’d like to have dinner served on the private balcony of you’re your villa, no problem. A butler will deliver piping hot dishes right to your door – a feature many couples like to use. Fine dining does not come cheap at the Banyan Tree Seychelles. Meals, including appetizers, dessert and a mid-range bottle of wine, cost about $150 per couple.   Because the Seychelles is so isolated, many of the products served at the country's resorts must be imported at great expense. Those charges are passed onto guests, which explains why a can of Pringles potato chips costs $12, Cokes are $6 each and a coffee costs $5.

Shopping: Victoria, the island’s capital, offers little shopping. There’s a few souvenir shops selling island treasures, most of which can be picked up on the beaches in the early morning hours.

Close by: Beaches, beaches and more beaches. Victoria is a nice place to wander, especially the market area, and make sure you visit one of the cinnamon tree groves.

Tips: The 300 member staff caters to your every wish. If you don’t want walk to the main building, staff will fetch you on one of their golf carts. The gentle walk – highly recommended in the moonlight - introduces guests to a lush tropical rain forest where tropical flowers flourish, banana trees hang heavy with fruit, and ferns as big as an elephant's earlobe grow. Beware the bats along your walk! Huge native bats fly over head at night but they won’t bother you. There are no animals on Mahe, just a few snakes. This is TraveLife’s favorite resort in the world!