Extraordinary Africa>Seychelles>Private Islands>Four Seasons Des Roches
Take one beautiful lodge, immaculate service, tons of activities and a private island crying out to be explored and it’s a pretty winning combination: let us introduce Des Roches.
What’s Des Roches really like?
Flying into Des Roches, this flat sandy island barely appears before you’re there. Once you land though, you’ll soon discover that although there’s just one hotel, you have the run of nearly endless beaches (14kms to be precise). Des Roches has been around for many years- it’s currently run by the hugely successful Four Seasons group in a style that many fans will recognise- with excellent service and beautiful villa-style rooms. In total Des Roches has 71 villas and suites plus a handful of larger, house-like residences.
The list of different villa types is pretty exhaustive- they all have private pools, indoor and outdoor showers so any cost difference really relates to size and location. The “simplest” villas are the Ocean View Villas- needless to say, these are incredibly stylish as we’d expect from the Four Seasons. The beach by the Ocean View villas is a coral one, so you’d take a short bike ride to one you’d actually swim from. If you want to be right on the beach, the Beach Pool Villas are the other side of the airstrip from the main lodge- set back amongst the trees with a short walk down to the water at the end of the garden. Because you’re in the trees a bit here you do get a view of the beach, but it’s really a partial one, so for an extra treat there are Sunset Villas which have both ocean views and direct access to the beach. There are also larger 2 and 3 bedroom presidential villas.
Closer to the main lodge are the suites- these work really nicely if you’re travelling with a child- like the villas they have private pools. If you’re travelling in a really big group and don’t mind being a bit further flung, there are also 2-5 bedroom residences on the same beach as the Beach Pool Villas. That’s as brief a summary as we can keep it, without getting exhaustingly dull, but if you have a question about the particular room type we’ve recommended for you, we have the full info ready to share with you!
Most meals are eaten in the main restaurant which serves Mediterranean style food. However, if you get the chance (and we’d recommend booking in advance as it does get busy) the Lighthouse, at the tip of the island, specialises in seafood and dry aged meat. Sashimi lovers, cross your fingers that the deep-sea fishermen have been successful! There is also a deli for simpler snacks.
What can I do at Des Roches?
What’s brilliant about Des Roches is that if you want relaxed island life- it’s yours. You can snooze with a book, have a massage in the spa, visit the giant tortoises or join the daily yoga session on the runway. There’s also a kids club if you want your children to have far more fun than they might stuck with boring adults (or maybe that’s just our kids…)
Likewise, if you want to try surfing, stand up paddle boarding, volleyball or jog the length of the island- you can. Des Roches has a small gym, a tennis court, and a larger beach front swimming pool. This can be useful as Seychelles is a natural paradise, so sea grass does occasionally appear on one of the beaches. Fortunately, with the run of the island there are always plenty more beaches to choose from. The hotel only puts out loungers and umbrellas on the beaches right by the lodge, but the other beaches have huts with showers, loos, cold water, and even the odd kayak or paddle board. There’s also snorkelling (you can pay a little extra to join one of the Wise Oceans marine educators) diving, and deep sea fishing trips. The latter, like everywhere in the world, is far from cheap, but for enthusiasts, the Seychelles has some spectacular fishing.
Giving back at Des Roches:
It’d be impossible to be in the Seychelles and not have a firm appreciation for your natural environment. Des Roches does not use plastic bottles or straws, LED bulbs and inverters are used to reduce energy use, and there is solar power and heat recovery for hot water. Should you wish to get in involved with protecting the island you can help with the tree planting project with the Island Conservation Society or join them to try to spot nesting turtles.
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