Where to begin…my wife and I finally took our Honeymoon 6 years and 363 days after we tied the knot. We had to make a decision and the options came down to the Maldives and the Seychelles.
My wife and I both like to be active and tend to get bored easily. Hanging out in an overwater bungalow all day, taking a swim and then going to dinner at night just isn’t enough for us. We even checked out different excursions that were offered at multiple resorts in the Maldives but none of them were really interesting enough for us to pick the Maldives over the Seychelles.
We chose to visit paradise, also known as the Seychelles because there’s just a lot more to do and see! The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa. You can take day trips to many different islands while you’re there and they all have something different to offer like national parks, rum factories, traditional creole restaurants, private islands- one of them is home to the oldest tortoise in the world, clear water kayaking and the list goes on.
The Seychelles are known to have some of the most beautiful beaches in world and we can definitely attest to that.
The next step was choosing where to stay. While I checked all the Marriott and Hilton properties, my wife checked all the highest rated properties and we both landed on the Hilton Seychelles Northolme! We planned to stay our first 9 days at the Hilton Seychelles Northolme and our last 2 nights exploring different islands. After 4 nights at the resort, we were so happy about the property, staff and service, we cancelled our plans to leave and booked another night. Seriously, from the moment we arrived until the night we left for the airport, it was an amazing experience.
Hilton Seychelles Northolme
Let’s start with the staff. They were extremely welcoming and friendly throughout our full stay. No matter where on the property, they always would say hello and named sure to ask if we needed anything.
The front desk staff were great. Always there to help and even upgraded us to a pool villa for the back half of our stay!
The rooms were always cleaned to a T! Even a few times we were left with a cool towel elephant or giraffe with a cute message!
The waiters/waitresses and bartenders made us feel like we’ve known them for years. Such an awesome group of people. Honestly, they made us want to come down for lunch and dinner every day…which we did with the exception of 2 times!
Now the resort itself…We fell in love with the property within the first few hours we were there. No matter where you are on the property, you’ll have amazing view of the Indian ocean plus a couple islands visible on clear days!
The breakfast area views alone had the most incredible views of the property. My wife would literally take a picture every morning because it wowed her every time we walked in! It’s like looking at a 3D postcard while eating. The breakfast was great with a lot of options which were all tasty!
The bar/restaurant/lounge area is where we ate lunch and dinner most of the time. We loved the food options, the drinks and especially the staff. The vibe was perfect for us so we hung out there even when we didn’t eat. They had hookah/shisha, a pool table and live music most of the time.
The pool was beautiful and honestly worth taking pictures in because of the amazing backdrop. The surrounding pool area was spacious with cabanas. It made for a good area to relax and sun bath. There were three levels to choose from, the pool top being the smallest and then two lower levels with cabana and great views.
Our favorite thing about the property was definitely the private beach which was located near the bar. It’s small and they’re not many chairs but the beauty and privacy sold us. They have snorkeling and kayaking for free on a first come, first serve basis. We both used the kayak for the first time and we’re hooked now. We also snorkeled a ton because they’re so many beautiful fish that come near shore. We spent 7 out of 10 days at the beach so that speaks for itself of how much we enjoyed it.
The Fitness Gym was perfect. Their gym had everything needed, all the usuals plus an amazing view!
We stayed in 2 types of rooms:
Sunset Villa 216:
This room usually comes with a partial ocean view but our room had a perfect 100% view. It was very spacious and super close to all the things to do on the property. Breakfast, pool, bar, beach, front desk, etc.
Pool Villa 403:
So, before getting in this room for 4 nights, we thought “no way I’d pay that money for it!” After walking into the room…”You have to stay in this room at least one night while at this resort!” We literally forgot we were on the same property after walking into the villa. It’s an exceptional room to say the least.
PROS:
Beautiful property with even better views
Private feeling resort
Friendly staff
Great private beaches
Snorkeling and Kayaking available
Good food
Great bar/dinner atmosphere
No kids (sorry parents)
CONS:
Bad wifi
Staff not always organized
5 star property but understand you’re not going to Four Seasons!
The Seychelles
Sadly, there’s not much to add about the Seychelles itself because we didn’t do much away from the resort. The few things we saw personally and learned about I’ll highlight below:
The Botanical Garden
This is a must do when visiting the Seychelles! The gardens are beautiful in itself, but when adding the tortoise sanctuary, it’s above and beyond! You can feed and pet them. You’ll also see the fruit bats everywhere but it’s up to them if they’ll be around at the time you visit.
Victoria City Center
You’ll drive through the city more than likely on your trip to your resort. Honestly, that’s all you need to do. There’s not much to offer here, and that’s ok because the island offers so much already.
Local beaches
There are so many beautiful beaches there, it’s hard to count. We had a few favorites but really, everywhere you go, you’ll find a beautiful beach. Our favorites were:
Glacis Beach
Beau Vallon Beach
Anse Intendance Beach
Cinnamon Trees
On the tour of the island, my favorite moment was pulling over to the side of the road at the top of the mountain to see the cinnamon trees. We pulled pulled over in the middle of nowhere, the taxi driver gets out, walks up to a tree and snatches off some leaves! Then, he crumbles them up and says, “smell this.” It smelled like pure cinnamon! Then we peeled some of the bark off, and it was even more of an intense cinnamon smell. It was pretty cool. Highly recommended that you go on an island tour! ***Ask the price to your resort and compare what the taxis charge***
Well that’s our trip in a nutshell! The trip was everything we hoped for plus some. Next time we visit, we’ll make sure to visit a few other islands but for sure we’ll be making our way back to the Hilton Northolme!
Until next time, before you pack your bags, don’t forget to PACK YOUR POINTS!
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