Carana Beach was the final destination on a wonderful island hopping adventure around the Seychelles organised for us by Seyexclusive.
The Low Down
The hotel is approximately 15 minutes from Victoria town in a car – a relatively new hotel having only been open about a year – styled in a peaceful and welcoming way and the staff are both friendly and knowledgeable.
The aesthetic of the hotel is both considered and curated – having adopted a fresh coastal vibe with earthy tones of white, grey and blue, lots of exposed wood and open to the elements architecture combined with sea inspired art and branding.
Check in was efficient and we were escorted to our villa via buggy (this is the first hotel we have stayed in during our adventure that doesn’t require a buggy to get around as the resort is wonderfully compact making wandering to all the amenities the perfect choice) we stayed in Villa 6 which has a sea-fresh lofty feel with it’s high ceiling, shutters, fans, state of the art air conditioning (very welcome in the current heat) and New England all-white aesthetic.
The bed was very large and comfortable, there are USB ports and UK plug sockets (which are a really great useful addition!) powerful hairdryer (so needed with frizzy locks) and a great (complimentary) Nespresso machine. The bathroom is a spacious, wet room style and all of the products are bespoke to the hotel using cold pressed coconuts – the smell – just beautiful.
Our villa was so close to the ocean – listening to the crashing waves against the rocks whilst lounging on the day bed or on one of the loungers were one of my holiday highlights – add a private infinity plunge pool to the mix and the experience is incredibly special and really private.
View the gallery and read on
Breakfast is taken in L’orizon restaurant against the shuttered background of the sea and the breakfast itself is buffet style with a continental selection of pastries and cold meats and cheeses (which are all beautiful) as well as an to order service which includes cooked options of eggs, sausages and bacon. To drink the offerings are endless tea, coffee, fresh juice or for those celebrating – a Mimosa.
Lunch is taken in the Beach Bar area where you can enjoy both the sea view, beach or pool (and I have to say the best lunch selection of our trip so far) and all at incredibly good value. There is a great selection of tapas – small plates including mussels, octopus and crab salad, risotto, feta and onion tartlet to name just a selection of what we had as well as wooden boards of delicacies and bowls of salad, grill options, burgers (all catchily entitled – we really loved the unstuffy beach style dining approach) and assorted sweet treats and cheeses.
Dinner is A’la Carte served in L’orizon – the menu changes daily and again is a varied choice with a lot of the foods being farm to table – from the hotels big sister – Denis Island.
There are beautiful salads, local fish (make sure go try the tempura fish – amazing), pasta, steaks and burgers and the most fabulous sweets – all with a Seychelles vibe – my favourite was the Eton Messed Up! So, so tasty.
The Bar – which serves really tasty cocktails, our favourites were Mai Tai and Pina Colada – also leads straight out onto the private beach via an attractive decked and day bed area that had Ocean club feel that leads out from the deck onto pretty white sands out to the sea.
There is a 20 metre pool directly next to the bar – and overlooking the sea – flanked by palm trees and surrounded by comfortable sun loungers and featuring a shallow area that is great for children – on that note there weren’t many children at the hotel – the guests were mostly couples.
The Spa is in the main reception area – where there is also a lovely gift shop -offers a variety of treatments – I opted for the hair treatment which I highly recommend for sun bleached locks.
The hotel also organised a car to take us to Beau Vallon beach for the day (for approx 35 euro total) which I totally recommend for snorkelling, water sports and pizza at the legendary Baobab pizzeria.
Parts of the hotel are work in progress as you would expect for a hotel that has only been open 5 months – but you can see the development almost daily – whether it be the vast landscaping team tending to the plants and trees to build a super lush environment around the villas or the new towel bar by the pool – the hotel seems to be really responsive to the needs of their customer and the Hotel Manager – Cyrille, can be seen engaging with both staff and guests everyday.
Thank you Carana Beach, Mason’s and Seyexclusive – the stay with you was the perfect way to end an absolutely wonderful holiday in the Seychelles – we will definitely return.
