Around The World In 21 Days: Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
First of all…apologies to my very few readers that I have not continued on with updating about my RTW trip! A variety of things popped up, with work keeping me very busy and then taking another big trip, this time to New Zealand which took a lot of planning, much like this RTW. However, I am going to try to get through the second half of this trip over the next month…there’s some great stories still yet to be told and some fantastic hotels!

Actually, one of those fantastic hotels is the Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort. The Hilton Northolme, located on the Northwest Side of Mahe Island, is one of two Hilton Resorts (plus a DoubleTree Resort) within the Seychelles. There’s also the Le Méridien Fisherman’s Cove, which is part of Starwood. Basically, I had a number of options at my disposal between properties with my two primary chains that I stay at. There are many other resorts across the island as well, so there really are options. It’s hard enough deciding between the four various properties, but I’ll let you in on how I essentially came down to the Hilton Northolme.

For starters, the DoubleTree Allamanda Resort is located on the Southeast Side of the Island, which while features a lot of beaches is a good bit farther from the main city and capital of Victoria. Furthermore, it’s more the traditional resort/hotel layout, and just didn’t seem ‘special’ enough considering the fact that I flew half way around the world. Then there was the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa, which looked amazing, but it was on another smaller island and I would have been somewhat captive to the resort. Which, hey may not have been a bad thing, but I couldn’t have easily spent the time doing some of the things that I did. I mean really though, the Hilton Labriz really did look like a fantastic resort! The Le Méridien, looked like a good resort and is just down the hill from the Hilton Northolme, in the village of Beau Vallon; the only problem was that their rates weren’t that good for me and I was out of starpoints with some of my other stays coming up. Since my work travel mostly involves staying at Hilton HHonors properties, I rack those points up much quicker.

But what was it that made the Hilton Northolme jump out otherwise – I mean I really could have stayed at any of the other resorts and been happy. Part of it was the size – the Hilton Northolme is a rather small resort (although while I was there they were increasing the number of villas, so maybe less so now). Another part was the villas. They have two categories of villa, Hillside and Oceanfront, which both offer views of the water, with the Hillside located on the hill behind the Oceanfront Villas. I had booked a Hillside and hoped for the best that an upgrade would occur. On another note, it appears that the new construction are a new category of villas: The Grand Oceanview Pool Villa.

Arrival
After a cab ride from the airport and over the mountains, I arrived at the entry to the Hilton Northolme. Curiously, since the resort is sandwiched between the hill the road is on and the water, vehicle access is rather limited. In this case, there is a small parking lot and drop off spot right inside the gate of the property. There’s a small reception in a building here, but there was no one there when I arrived. I wasn’t worried or anything, and two minutes later a fellow showed up to grab my bags and take me down to the reception.

The reception is located in the main building/area which also houses the two restaurants and bar and is located more or less outside. I mean, we are in a tropical island paradise, why have things all cooped up inside? Unfortunately, upon reaching the front desk my villa wasn’t quite ready yet, but with the sunset already in progress it seemed like a mighty good idea to head over to the Oceanview Bar to wait with the sunset. I sat, relaxed on the patio drinking the local beer and feeling relaxed and ready to enjoy the next few days of not doing much at all!

Reception

First Sunset At The Hilton!

The Room
The really great thing I had found out the day before was that I had been upgraded to the Oceanfront Villa…I was excited! I’m sure I would have been happy in the Hillside Villa, but the Oceanfront Villa was almost like winning the lottery. I may have jumped around a bit in excitement the next morning when the sun came back out and I could appreciate the view.

King Oceanfront Villa

View From The Villa – West

View From The Villa – Southwest

The interior of the villa was exceptional! A nice large and very comfy king bed with netting should you choose to sleep with the doors and windows open was the main focus of the main room. Here, the staff had left me a welcome message on top of the bed, not in the form of a printed note, but of arranged plant clippings. Definitely a more unique way to do it, and definitely would you would expect at a resort where you might be having a romantic getaway (or you know a solo-traveler who just likes luxury hotels!). There was the typical ‘Welcome to our hotel’ note that I often get as a result of being a Hilton HHonors Diamond member (even if I was in between Diamond status at the time and only Gold – they’re systems I guess hadn’t updated since I had made the reservation several months earlier), laying out hotel benefits and amenities. Also waiting for me on the table in the living room was a welcome snack. I would have figured for a resort on an island for it to be fresh fruit, but it was instead scones and honey if I recall correctly.

King Bed.

How Romantic!

Welcome Snack

The living room emptied out to the patio via the double doors, which since they are also inline with the bed, it gives you a great view to wake up to! Also connected to the patio was the large bathroom, featuring a large tub and large shower that were located next to the doors, giving one an opportunity to shower with an oceanview, you know if you don’t mind being slightly exposed.

Living Room

The Very Large Bathroom

Can You Start Your Day A Better Way?

Dining
I did not make to each of the restaurants during my stay. I had breakfast each day in the Hilltop Restaurant, which was either included with my stay or was part of my status – something that I wasn’t clear on. Either way, I didn’t have to pay, and I would have considering that they put out a pretty good spread! Plus there was champagne/sparkling wine available as well, so how could you hate that? Like the rest of the hotel, it featured great views out over the water and was opened up to the outdoors. Considering that there was fantastic weather each of my mornings here, I don’t think you could ask for a better way to start the day. Plus, the service was top notch, even considering it was serve yourself for the most part. I don’t think I ever had a problem with a beverage being low, and that was dangerous considering how many glasses of the sparkling wine I had gone through! But again, no complaints!

Definitely No Complaints!

The Birds Also Enjoyed The Breakfast

Other than the Hilltop Restaurant, I had frequented the Oceanview Bar and Restaurant. While, I believe I only wound up eating one meal here on my first night, I came back almost every day for a few drinks in the evening. The staff here was excellent and typically engaged in a little conversation as well. It never once got busy, and life just seemed to move a little slower while on the bar deck with a beer in my hand.

Dinner, First Night

A Beer + A View? Always Fantastic.

I know That I wasn’t In The Caribbean, But A Mojito Felt So Right.

Unfortunately, I never did make it to fine dining option at the resort, Les Cocotiers. I guess there is always next time, right?

Amenities
Despite being a smaller resort, the Hilton Northolme has all the amenities that you would expect, but the best part is that you are not competing with many other people for use! There was the required, if slightly small, pool that had a fantastic view of the water, chairs to lay out on, fitness center, spa, and a beach with all the gear you could need.

Not A Bad Place To Cool Off After A Day Of Relaxing

My first morning at the resort, I had walked down to the spa after breakfast to inquire about scheduling a massage after breakfast. One of the benefits of staying at a smaller resort is that you aren’t going to have to fight over anything, and this meant getting a massage at practically any point. Consider the fact that I figured that I would probably find some way to get a sunburn sooner rather than later I had opted to go ahead and just get a massage right away since they had availability. I was invited into the treatment room which featured large glass doors looking out to the ocean and the coast. There was a little bit of a language barrier between the therapist and I, but once she got going I melted away into the massage table. Why can’t more of my days start out with a massage?

To be honest, that first day really was all about being lazy and seeing everything that the resort had to offer. So, after my massage, I headed back to my villa to change into clothing more appropriate for water activities. There’s a small beach located in the shadow of the main building that contains all the waterfront amenities. Here you are not going to find jet skis and overpriced rental kayaks; being a small resort they have most of what you would want right there, although perhaps not the jet skis (thankfully!). There’s a few lounge chairs up above the beach and a hammock in the shade which is the perfect place to sit back, relax, and watch the waves come in. There are plenty of snorkels and masks available, which is great as the water is crystal clear and is home to a number of fish, just a short distance in! They also have a kayak (which I never saw more than one, but never saw anyone ‘fight’ over it either), which I took out into for some paddling that afternoon. It was a little bit difficult as the waves were up just a bit, unlike when I try to normally go when the water is flat on the bay back home. The important thing is that I didn’t flip the kayak!

Gear On The Walkway To The Beach

I’m Glad These Were In The Shade – A Very Relaxing Spot!

The Beach At High Tide…Look At That Clear Water!

Nighttime At The Beach

The hotel staff will also happily arrange you any number of activities as well. Given my short stay, all I arranged through them however was a rental car for my second full day on the island. Despite being relatively last minute they were able to get me a car from down the hill in the village at a not too terrible rate of 50EUR. The rental car company delivered to the hotel and for a return, I just gave the keys to the front desk…talk about easy!

Overall Impressions
Wow! The Hilton Seychelles Northolme really is a fantastic property! Seriously, this may have been one of the best hotel stays that I’ve had and I’ve had some pretty awesome ones over the years. The small resort setting turned out to be fantastic, and definitely helped me feel relaxed. I didn’t feel crowded in and to be honest, outside of the main building I rarely saw other guests. I mean you would see maybe a group of five at the beach at any one given point, but that was mostly it. You do feel like you’ve escaped to an island in the middle of nowhere!

Then we get to the staff here at the resort, to which every one that I interacted with was just great! I may have only been here for three nights, but they had made me feel like I was an ‘old regular’ my first day there. Granted, I was probably the easy guest to remember, given that I was probably the only person staying at the resort who was not there with anyone (I really do mean that). The first day or so I kept getting questions like “will your significant other be joining you?”, to which I also got a bit of a amused look half of the time when I explained that I was not their “typical guest” and there on my own. Perhaps being the one solo guest made me stand out a bit more to the staff, but I don’t think that would have had any impact on their service. I really can’t say enough about how everyone here was just “on point” for the duration of my stay.

If I were to find myself back in the Seychelles, which I do hope happens again, I would enthusiastically stay at the Hilton again; after this stay it definitely moved on to the list of my favorite hotels in the world. If anything I need to make a return visit to check out the new additional villas that have opened since my stay here last year!

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