We left Mahé for 2 weeks at the Four Seasons Desroches in the Luxury Transport car service that the FS used (€120/US $132.28). Marcus was very entertaining and informative.
At the airport on Mahé, everything (check in, baggage check and everything else except the security check) was taken care of by the Four Seasons representative, Clara. There was not even a request for payment. We just sat and waited--and not too long either. Now that makes traveling a breeze, even at our ages.
The flight was fairly smooth and it was on time. It was a shared flight and it cost €989 = US $1090.21 roundtrip for the two of us. There were 14 people on the IDC Aviation Beech 1900D flight which could accommodate 16 people. At the runway on Desroches, we were met by Bianca Anderson, the Resort Manager. We were reminded of the TV series, Fantasy Island, in the 1970s with Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as Tattoo shouting "da plane, da plane" when guests arrived. Gemma (from Italy) and Anny, Assistant Hotel Manager (from the Seychelles) gave us a buggy tour of the FS portion of the island (IDC uses the other portion). Then we were taken again by buggy to our suite (and told about our upgrade from our upgrade).
Our Villa which was called a Suite
With our Sunset Beach Suite (a suite on Desroches was a higher level than a villa), we increased our square feet to 2874, and had a lawn area and the beach at the end of our backyard. It went for 1780€ per night when we checked it on our first day there. We paid the price of the lower level sunset view pool villa--675.75€ = US $762.32 per day. We increased our toilets to two (highly valued ones), and we had two separate areas for our sinks. We had an outdoor shower and two indoor ones, as well as a bathtub (in addition to an outdoor shower by the pool). Dimitri had his own office area that he could keep as warm as he wanted without complaints from Audre. When we arrived, the coffee table in the living room had two young coconuts to drink, a large bowl of fruit, as well as a plate of chocolates, and 3 tiny coconuts (coconuts are not a nut but, instead, a drupe BTW). Our fruit was lovingly refreshed daily by Greta from in-room dining.
The bedroom area was large, separate, and opened out to a long deck with a table and chairs. In the lawn area, we had a pavilion for Dimitri’s afternoon nap, as well as a hammock (actually comfortable for two people). There were also 3 chaise lounges. If we kept walking to the sea we could inspect the beach restoration project as well as the reef-building project. Bianca, the Hotel Manager, said our 2-person kayak would be placed there and it was.
Vivek, the Executive Housekeeper, personalized our suite/villa for us and, each morning, would stop by our table at breakfast to find out if there was anything (else) he could do for us. Our housekeeper, Man (from Nepal), was a delight to have come to clean (twice daily).
We loved that the resort was new-ish (it opened in 2018) and that it looked like it survived the COVID closure without too much damage. We did not love the Internet speed. Oh well.
Our Beach Vacation
On Desroches, we finally had the perfect beach vacation (after tries and misses in Koh Samui Thailand, and in Cambodia near Sihanoukville) and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We biked the entire 12.2 km island more than once, walked the beaches, and snorkeled and swam and kayaked. Audre started swimming laps again while Dimitri did his PT exercises. Dimitri’s new knee cooperated nicely with all of our activities. We ended up extending our stay to three weeks! Actually, we stayed 3 weeks and one day so we could graze our way through the Essence of Lebanon buffet for a third time.
It was the southeast monsoon season and we had encountered the wind on the west side of Mahé where the Four Seasons was located. Desroches was long and narrow. When we were there, the south and west sides were windy but the other sides were not. It made beach-going quite pleasant. Even though we weren't using the Tropic Surf services, Casey and Erin and Steve always had tips for us when we were kayaking or snorkeling. Also quite pleasant, was going to the beach and having a picnic lunch delivered to us.
Each morning, the recommended beach was posted outside of breakfast. Invariably, it was Aquarium on the northwest side. On one of our first beach forays, we met a family from England who entertained us with their kayaking and paddle boarding. We enjoyed their company for about a week and then sent them to James at the Four Seasons on Mahé.
When we snorkeled, Dimitri put on his wetsuit because 84° F water temperature wasn't warm enough, for even a dunk. BOY he looks good in a wetsuit!
At every meal, the staff made a big deal over us and we reveled in that. Breakfast (complimentary because of our Elite benefits) was very much to our liking. There was a buffet of fruits, breads, pastries, charcuterie, salads, cold cereals, cheeses—everything. Then you chose your “main course” from a menu. On the menu was an Asian specialty that we liked: congee (an investor in the Desroches property was from Hong Kong).
Bablu (from Nepal) and Melody (from the Philippines) were the ones who typically took care of us at meals. They were exceptional but all of the staff in the restaurants were personable, knowable, and very good at their jobs. Chirag and Manjeet would drop by our table for a chat too--keeping us informed.
A simple lunch of two soups cost about SCR 600, US$40. We started to get annoyed by the à la carte food prices. There were "meal plans" and they were looking appealing but at €510 a day for two meal plans (which we wouldn't be able to eat) that didn't make sense. We spoke to Ali about a 1/2 board meal plan (lunch and dinner) for one person that we would share (which was our habit anyway). He agreed and after 6 days of à la carte food prices, we were on a meal plan for the two of us that cost US $213.83 per day. Then Audre didn't have to obsess over the cost of our meals anymore.
At Aquarium Beach we met a couple from Italy who we clicked with immediately. They were joggers and we saw them on the paths, as well as at the beach, and at meals. We were amazed by how fast Mario swam and how far they kayaked. Oh to be 20 years younger! Monica had problems with mosquitos and sand fleas. Audre carried with her after-sting "potions" and shared them with Monica. Audre also told her to get the FS insect spray and electric mosquito repellents for their villa. Before they left for the Four Seasons on Mahé, Monica and Mario had a bouquet delivered to our suite/villa. We hope to meet up with them somewhere in the world next summer.
On our first day on Desroches, Ali asked us if there was any special meal they could prepare for us. Jokingly, Dimitri asked for an Egyptian stew called melokiyah. One morning at breakfast, Ali came to our table to announce that a shipment of melokiyah had arrived from Dubai. He had the Egyptian chef (also named Ali) cook it and the dinner was fabulous with pita and hummus, and for dessert: basbousa and mahalabia!
There was a farm on Desroches run by IDC that supplied the Four Seasons with some of the fruits and vegetables it needed.
Simon and his son, Stephen, were growing figs on the island. Our daily delivery of fruits started to include those much-loved fruits. They were good!
We went on a Nature Cycling tour of the medicinal plants with Ritval, the FS Assistant Recreation Manager, and had a wonderful time. Ritval explained to us that when the wind blows through Casuarina (coastal she oak or horsetail she oak) it sounds like waves but it’s constant, not rhythmic. We heard it all the time with the southeast monsoon on Desroches.
At a picnic lunch at Aquarium beach, a grey francolin bird came to visit our table.
On Desroches, we were introduced to what Audre called the crystal kayaks. We really liked them once we figured out how to make them more comfortable!
There were a huge number of Aldabra giant tortoises on Desroches and the 125-year-old George was the king. We were told that he was still having sex.
One night when we were watching one of our TV shows a knock on the door brought us delicious turmeric popcorn. It seemed that there was no limit to the mollycoddling that the Four Seasons provided!
We loved this beach vacation and thought it was perfect. We also decided that even perfection has flaws. The beaches were beautiful but we didn't appreciate the copious amounts of sea grass. We didn't get as far as the reef so we didn't see fish or sea turtles (we saw a few heads bob out of the water). We also didn't see any coral. Our Italian friend, Mario, told us that he saw everything (and showed us photos) so all of it was there but not accessible (to us oldsters).
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