Five hotels in Seychelles are featured among the recipients of the 2018 Condé Nast Traveler China Gold List awards. The award ceremony was held on August 18, in Beijing, China.

The Gold List, established by Condé Nast over 20 years ago, serves to highlight the best hotels in the world, based on the votes of its editors, travel writers and industry experts.

SNA presents the five hotels that received the award.

Six Senses Zil Pasyon

The Six Senses Zil Pasyon is one of the latest hotels to open in Seychelles. Located on Félicité, the fifth-largest island of the archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, the hotel has 30 villas and a spa which has been erected in and atop majestic rock formations.

The general manager, Hilton Hastings, told SNA that getting the China Gold list award “reflects our increased attention to the priorities of the Chinese traveller, including having Chinese speaking hosts, cultural understanding and food and beverage options to meet their needs. We look forward to welcoming more Chinese guests to the resort and sharing our little island paradise with this growing market.”

North Island

This island offers couples total privacy and a place where they will feel like being on their own little island. The managing director, Bruce Simpson, said the experience starts before you have even arrived and once on the island, you have the immediate feel of exclusivity and privacy which is one of the reasons why the hotel keeps being recognised at the international level.

Located 27 kilometres north-west of Seychelles' main island, the island is an exclusive eco-tourism resort accessible only by helicopter and regularly patronised by the rich and famous. The 11 hand-crafted villas blend glamour with the jungle like natural environment.

Fregate Island Private

This hotel attracts honeymooners who are not only known worldwide but fit in the elite category of royalty. Fregate Island Private boasts 16 beautifully crafted luxurious villas spread throughout the 219 hectares of lush vegetation. Couples have seven of the most jaw-dropping beaches to enjoy throughout their stay.

Speaking on the China Gold List award, the managing director Wayne Kafesak said, “I believe Fregate Island Private well represents the best of what the Seychelles as an island nation has to offer: Incredible natural beauty, a great local culture, fantastic service, sustainability and conservation. All the elements of today's luxury travellers are seriously looking for. I am confident we will win many.”

MAIA Luxury Resort & Spa 

An exclusive resort conceived as a relaxing, private sanctuary with 30 rustic-style villas and an outstanding Balinese-style spa. It is set on a granite headland at Anse Louis beach on the southwest coast of the main island, Mahé. The hotel was ranked no. 1 Best Luxury destination at the World Luxury Spa award in 2012.

General manager, Lionel Ferrari, told SNA that the hotel is “thrilled to have been bestowed with this prestigious travel honour. It is an exceptional endorsement that MAIA continues to maintain an extremely high level of delivery to our guests and fulfils our objective of exceeding expectations.”

Four Seasons Resort Seychelles

The resort with 67 luxurious villas built like tree houses is located at Petite Anse beach in Baie Lazare, a southern district on Mahe. The architecture is a mixture of Creole with French colonial and European influences.

The resort was ranked the 41st Best Resort in the World and fourth in the Top Resorts in the Indian Ocean for 2016 by readers of Condé Nast Traveler and made the list of the most romantic hotels in Seychelles.

General manager, Marcel Oostenbrink, said, “I am very proud to see Four Seasons Resort Seychelles listed in these awards. This follows our recognition in the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards in 2017 and demonstrates the consistently high feedback of our guests for the Resort and, most of all, our team. With such prestigious award recognition, Seychelles, as a destination, continues to show how it can compete at the highest level on a global scale."