The Best Hotels in Seychelles (2026): Where to Stay
The verdict: Seychelles splits into three main islands and a scatter of private ones, and the decision is which of those you want. On Mahé, Cheval Blanc Seychelles is the new benchmark with Four Seasons Seychelles the established alternative above Petite Anse. On Praslin, Raffles and Constance Lémuria, the latter from around $1,000 a night. On La Digue, which is largely car-free, Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie. And if the island itself is the point, Six Senses Zil Pasyon on Félicité, or North Island and Fregate, both past $10,000 a night. Most private-island resorts run $3,000 to $8,000 including full board. Time it for April to May or October to November, which are the transition months between monsoons and the best conditions of the year.
Which island, and why it matters
Mahé is the main island and where the international airport is. It has the widest choice across every category, the most restaurants, and the best access to tours. It's also bigger than it looks on a map, so position matters: Beau Vallon is the easy all-round base on the north coast, the south and west coasts are quieter and hold most of the top properties, and Eden Island works for flight and ferry connections.
Praslin is the second largest, home to the Vallée de Mai UNESCO site with its coco de mer palms, and to Anse Lazio, which is regularly listed among the best beaches anywhere. Quieter than Mahé, excellent hotels, and a fifteen-minute flight or one-hour ferry away.
La Digue is the small one and the most itself. Largely car-free, ox carts still in use, and Anse Source d'Argent with its pink granite boulders and shallow lagoon. Reached by ferry from Praslin, which means Mahé to Praslin to La Digue if you want all three.
The private islands are a different proposition entirely: the resort is the destination, you arrive by light aircraft or helicopter, and you don't leave. Wonderful for four or five nights, limiting for ten.
Most itineraries do two islands. Three is possible but you'll spend a day of it in transit.
Mahé
Cheval Blanc Seychelles
The newest and, on most assessments, the best property on Mahé. It opened in December 2024 on Anse Intendance on the southwest coast, in the space previously occupied by the Banyan Tree, as part of LVMH's Cheval Blanc collection.
Fifty-two villas designed by Jean-Michel Gathy, starting at 220 square metres, each with a private pool of at least thirteen metres, set either into the hillside or along the beachfront. Five dining venues covering French, Asian and Mediterranean, a Cheval Blanc Spa using Guerlain, a fitness centre, and two tennis and padel courts.
It also has a dedicated children's area, which is worth knowing because a lot of Seychelles properties at this level are built for couples and treat families as an afterthought.
Anse Intendance itself is one of the wilder and more beautiful beaches on Mahé, with real surf at certain times of year rather than a flat lagoon. Lovely to look at, worth checking swimming conditions for your dates.
Book it for: the best rooms on the main island, with children in tow.
Four Seasons Seychelles
The established benchmark and still the safe recommendation. Sixty-seven villas on a hillside above Petite Anse on the southwest coast, spread through jungle, with a private beach accessible only to guests and a spa built around the granite of the hillside.
The setting is the thing. Villas are stacked up a steep hill, which means extraordinary views and a buggy for every movement, so it suits people who like being driven and frustrates people who want to walk to dinner.
Kempinski Seychelles Resort
On a private bay at Baie Lazare with 148 villas and suites. European standards, larger scale, and a sensible base for exploring Mahé rather than hiding from it. The value option among the upper-tier Mahé properties.
Canopy by Hilton Seychelles
Opened in March 2024 at Anse La Mouche on the southwest coast, about thirty minutes from the airport, with direct beach access. The mid-market answer on an island where the mid-market is thin.
STORY Seychelles
On Beau Vallon, which is the busiest and most convenient beach on Mahé. The pick if you want that stretch of coast without five-star pricing, and a good first or last night around a flight.
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Praslin
Raffles Seychelles
Eighty-six villas on the northeastern coast with direct access to Anse Takamaka and Curieuse Marine National Park nearby. Every villa has its own plunge pool and ocean view, and the spa is among the best in the archipelago. It's the more resort-shaped of the two Praslin options and the better one with children.
Constance Lémuria
The other Praslin heavyweight, and the one with Anse Georgette, a beach reached through the property that is arguably the finest in the country. There's an eighteen-hole golf course, which is a rarity here, and a turtle conservation programme. Rates from around $1,000 a night, which in Seychelles terms is the entry point for this tier rather than a splurge.
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La Digue
Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie
The finest accommodation on the island and the right one if La Digue's character is why you're coming. It sits in a hillside orange grove above the beach, a short bike ride from Anse Source d'Argent, with Creole-style chalets and villas among tropical gardens, a pool and a restaurant. The transfer from the jetty is by ox cart, which tells you what kind of place this is. It doesn't try to compete with the resort operations on Mahé and Praslin, and it's better for not trying.
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The private islands
Six Senses Zil Pasyon
On Félicité, near La Digue, and the most dramatic setting of any resort in Seychelles. Pool villas scattered among enormous granite boulders, which is the landscape people picture when they think of these islands, delivered at Six Senses standards. This is the ultra-luxury private-island pick that still feels like a hotel rather than a compound.
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North Island
Eleven villas on a coral-fringed island north of Silhouette, part of Marriott's Luxury Collection. Obama and Mandela have stayed; the Jolie-Pitts honeymooned here. The conservation programme, which has rehabilitated the island's ecology over two decades, is genuinely exceptional rather than marketing.
Past $10,000 a night.
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Fregate Island Private
Seventeen villas, fifteen minutes by helicopter from Mahé, with the island functioning as a conservation project around giant tortoises and reintroduced endemic birds.
Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island
Opened in 2024 on Platte Island, 130km from Mahé, with fifty villas, each with a plunge pool, patio and direct beach access. Three restaurants, three outdoor pools, a spa, tennis, and a free children's club, which at this price point is less common than it should be. Rates have been showing around $2,700 to $2,850 a night, which makes it the accessible end of the private-island tier.
Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island
The Four Seasons private island, in the Outer Islands, and the one to book if you want serious diving and the space of a much larger island than the Inner Islands offer. We would choose this for a honeymoon or a relaxing family vacation.
Niva Labriz Seychelles
On Silhouette, the third-largest island, with 111 villas on an island that is 90 per cent national park. Thirteen kilometres of forest trails and exceptional diving. It's the value entry to the private-island experience by a wide margin, and the trade is scale: 111 villas is a resort, not a hideaway.
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Cousine Island
Six kilometres from Praslin, a handful of villas, and the whole island bookable as a buyout. The option if you're travelling as an extended family or group and want to close the gate behind you.
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What it costs
Seychelles is expensive, and the structure is worth understanding before you compare.
Good four-star and upper-mid on Mahé: from roughly $300 to $600
The main-island five-stars: Constance Lémuria from around $1,000, with Four Seasons, Raffles and Cheval Blanc above that
Accessible private islands: Waldorf Astoria Platte Island around $2,700 to $2,850
Most private-island resorts: $3,000 to $8,000 including full board
North Island and Fregate Island Private: past $10,000
Full board matters on the private islands, because there is nowhere else to eat. On Mahé and Praslin you can eat out, and should.
How to choose
If it's your first trip, two islands: Mahé and Praslin, or Praslin and La Digue. Don't try to do all three in under ten days.
If you want the best rooms, Cheval Blanc on Mahé.
If you're travelling with children, Cheval Blanc for the kids' area, Raffles on Praslin for the resort facilities, or Waldorf Astoria Platte Island, which has a free children's club.
If you want a beach above all else, Praslin, for Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette.
If you want character over facilities, La Digue and L'Orangeraie. Bicycles, ox carts, no traffic.
If the island is the point, Six Senses Zil Pasyon for drama, North Island or Fregate for exclusivity, Hilton Labriz for the same idea at a fraction of the cost.
If you're combining with a safari, Seychelles pairs naturally with East Africa, and our Africa guide works through how to sequence the two. For the mainland Indian Ocean version of a beach week, the best hotels in Mozambique covers a cheaper and wilder alternative.
Best time to visit Seychelles
Seychelles is warm year-round and outside the cyclone belt, so this is about wind and water rather than temperature.
April to May and October to November are the best months. These are the inter-monsoon transitions, with calm seas, the clearest water of the year and the best diving and snorkelling conditions. If you can only travel once, travel then.
June to September brings the southeast trade winds. Conditions get rougher on western and southern coasts, seaweed can accumulate on some beaches, and the water is cooler and less clear. It's excellent for sailing and watersports, and it's cheaper. Worth knowing which side of the island your hotel faces.
December to March is the northwest monsoon: hotter, more humid, calmer seas, and more rain, with January and February the wettest. Christmas and New Year are peak on price despite the weather.
Our family travel guides go into how we weigh this kind of seasonal trade-off with children.
Getting around
Seychelles International is on Mahé. Mahé to Praslin is a fifteen-minute flight or a one-hour ferry. Praslin to La Digue is a short ferry. The private islands are light aircraft or helicopter, and transfers are a meaningful cost on top of the room rate rather than a rounding error.
Book inter-island ferries and flights ahead in high season, and leave real margin before an international departure.
FAQ
What is the best hotel in Seychelles? Cheval Blanc Seychelles, which opened in December 2024 on Mahé with 52 Gathy-designed villas, is the strongest new property. Four Seasons Seychelles is the established benchmark, and Six Senses Zil Pasyon is the best of the private islands that still feels like a hotel.
How much do hotels in Seychelles cost? Upper-mid on Mahé runs $300 to $600 a night. Main-island five-stars start around $1,000. Private islands run $3,000 to $8,000 with full board, and North Island and Fregate exceed $10,000.
Which island should I stay on in Seychelles? Mahé for choice and convenience, Praslin for the best beaches, La Digue for character. Most people do two. The private islands are a separate decision.
When is the best time to visit Seychelles? April to May and October to November, the transitions between monsoons, when seas are calmest and the water clearest. June to September is windier and cheaper; December to March is hotter and wetter.
Is Seychelles good for families? Yes, though fewer properties are built for it than in the Maldives. Cheval Blanc has a dedicated children's area, Raffles on Praslin has the resort facilities, and Waldorf Astoria Platte Island includes a free kids' club.
How do you get between the islands? Mahé to Praslin is a fifteen-minute flight or an hour by ferry, and Praslin to La Digue is a short ferry. Private islands are reached by light aircraft or helicopter, at meaningful extra cost.
Is Seychelles better than the Maldives? Different. Seychelles has mountains, granite boulders, forests and inhabited islands with their own culture, so there's somewhere to go and something to see. The Maldives has flatter, more uniform atolls and a deeper bench of purpose-built resorts. Seychelles suits people who want a destination; the Maldives suits people who want a resort.
How many nights do you need? Seven to ten for two islands. Under a week and the inter-island transfers eat too much of it.