The Seychelles are renowned for their beauty and tranquillity, and none more so than Praslin, the second largest island that sits overlooking the beautiful Cote d’Or Bay. Green, both in environmental terms and as an environment, Praslin was once believed to be the site of the Garden of Eden – that’s the sort of awe-inspiring beauty that surrounds you.
And walking through the grounds of L’Archipel, you can see exactly why early explorers to the island made such a claim. The hillside gardens of the Hotel L’Archipel are lush and tropical, heavy with the scents of hibiscus and frangipani. Winding paths lead you through this garden to the bungalow accommodation, only 32 rooms in total, assuring a level of intimacy and privacy rarely found at hotels.
If it’s a retreat you want, it can’t get much better than the Hotel L’Archipel’s exclusive beach. The Seychelles are known as the country of eternal sunshine, so there’s not exactly a lack of tanning opportunities available to you. But, understandably, the soft sands and azure ocean lure holidaymakers to Seychelles’ shores by the droves, meaning in some areas, competition for the best spaces can get a little heated. The private beach guarantees you space to enjoy the sun and the sea in peace.
No Garden of Eden is complete without that wickedly tempting morsel of food. At the Hotel L’Archipel, they go one step beyond and provide you with a whole feast of mouth-watering fare. The two restaurants are amongst the finest you’ll find anywhere on Praslin, serving a mixture of familiar international dishes and exciting Creole cuisine, with the added quality of newly caught seafood and fresh indigenous produce.
And when dining on sinfully delicious delicacies, surrounded by the blooming, fragrant gardens, with the spectacular vista formed by the Cote d’Or Bay and the Indian Ocean stretching out in the distance – who can say this place isn’t paradise?