Kempinski Seychelles: A 5 Star Review
Seychelles is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s a 5 star island and in my view you have to stay in the best possible hotel! One part of the main Island, Mahe, has the Baie (Bay) Lazare, where there is one hotel only…the Kempinski.
Hoteliers since 1897, Kempinski have travelled the world in search of the most fascinating destinations without ever forgetting the finest traditions of its European heritage (Berlin). They describe their Seychelles hotel as “an indulgent retreat offering a huge variety of facilities and activities.”
Welcome
Long road before arriving 
View from the car
The private 5 star feels starts even before arriving as you will drive on a long private road over their land before getting to the main building. Upon arrival we were welcomed with refreshments and the reception an open feel. As you would expect everyone was very friendly and the check in process was simple. Our luggage was taken away and waiting for us in our rooms.
Grounds
The grounds are well maintained as you would expect and some of the wildlife plants and flowers are beautiful.
There is a park area with a lake to add to the beauty of the grounds.
Rooms
We had acquired a Sea View Garden room as part of our Emirates package (more on that to come!) And from the rooms you can see the general grounds. The rooms were large, comfortable and had everything you need. Each room seemed to have balcony and a general sitting area.
There are a lot of wildlife merged into the hotel and so you may even have a friendly neighbor visit you!
Beach
The beach is the main attraction for visitors to the Kempinski hotel. The Baie Lazare is remote and pretty much occupied by the guests only. Although it’s the only hotel on the Bay, the beach still can be used by anybody (this is a law in fact!). Despite that, it is generally very quiet.
The water is quite shallow initially and you have to go through corals and algae to get to deeper waters.
Dining Area
The dining at this hotel is fantastic! At Cafe Lazare you can enjoy breakfast from 0730-1030 which later turns to a buffet dinner around lunch time with different themed cuisines each day.
Then there is L’Indochine which is the hotel’s fine dining restaurant specializing mainly in seafood where you can enjoy fine wine and champagne for a perfect couple evening.
At the Windsong Beach Restaurant you can eat right by the beach and enjoy a drink or simply lounge around in the seating area.
Lastly there is the Planters Bar and Lounge which as the name suggests is for a more informal relaxing evening with food and drinks.
Activities
The resort has one of the Island’s best dive centers, where they cater all levels at which you can participate. You can also do surfing and stand up paddling with the costs labelled on their website.
If you are a nature and animal lover, you have 4 tortoises named Pepe, Paris, Jeanette and Johnny. You can learn all about them from the Hotel’s experienced team.
There are also the Yoga retreats and the hike to Mount Kempinski for the guests to enjoy. The hike usually takes around 20 minutes and the Yoga classes start early around 730am and cost 300 SCR.
Location
30 minutes from the airport by car, it is tucked away in the Southern part of the island. The beach runs around 1km in length and is relatively quiet and generally only guests are seen due to the secluded nature of the beach and resort.
Overall
This is one of the most perfect destinations for a family or a couple to travel to. It has plenty of activities to do for people with different interests and motives for traveling. The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is secluded and quiet which is what we preferred. The rooms are spacious and the staff professional and friendly. This was the perfect holiday for the family and we would go back again.
Penny Pinching Deal
This was purchased through the Emirates holiday package. And in the next post I will describe how we made use of the different currencies and countries’ websites to maximize savings. For first class flights and 7 nights (bed and breakfast) this came to 7000 USD per person. The flights alone can be that much if booked individually.
Till next time Penny Pinchers!