Hotel Review: Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort

As far as tropical island fantasies go, there are quite a few places out there that would prove to be unforgettable vacation destinations, but we’d honestly argue that none can rival the sheer beauty and tranquility of the Seychelles Islands and we will try to explain why based on our own personal experience there.

For the record, we’ve visited many different locations around the world that have left us with our jaws dropped to the ground but our vacation in the Seychelles probably topped them all. If what you’re looking for is a beautiful set of beaches, pristine jungles, and honestly some of the most gorgeous coral reefs you could ever lay your eyes on then the Seychelles should definitely be at the top of your bucket list.

The shorelines here seem to be taken out of a fantasy movie, you could snap a picture of any beach yourself and put it on a magazine’s cover and nobody would be able to tell the difference. But what a lot of people probably don’t understand is the fact that although the islands themselves are amazing, what really stood out for us was the hotel where we spent the nights.

That might sound silly at first glance but you need to remember the fact that the hotel itself can actually make or break your vacation simply because of how important it is for your experience.

If you spent the day walking around the island all day long but during the night you got a visit from cockroach, you’d never remember the beauty and elegancy of this place and instead you’d only remember the bad experience. But that obviously didn’t happen here. 

So, with that being said, how about we bring up the island per se for a bit, and then we jump right into the meat of this review.. the magical resort where we’ve spent three unforgettable days. We’re talking about just one island here, because we got to start our vacation in the Seychelles on the blissful Silhouette Island, 30 km west off the main island. 

The entire island feels like a tropical haven, with rugged terrain that helped it keep its sheer natural beauty, mist forests, pristine beaches and probably some of the most unique marine life. There are over 2,000 species in here after all, but other than those you also have plenty of different birds, geckos, skinks, bats and even turtles walking around freely.

Getting to the island is also rather easy as you only need to take the 45-minute ferry from the Hilton Labriz Jetty and as soon as you get there you will be able to spend the rest of your time there simply basking in the sunlight and enjoying tropical life to the fullest.

With that out of the way however, it’s time that we talked for a bit about the spectacular hotel where we actually spend the nights in and that is none other than the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort and Spa, the only resort on the Seychelles’ gorgeous Silhouette island. 

First Impression

From the moment we’ve booked our plane tickets to the Seychelles, we knew that our stay at the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort was going to be pretty special. That’s why we wanted to start our vacation there, but honestly I didn’t expect it to eclipse almost everything else and become one of the best parts of our journey by far.

But before we actually got to this dreamy resort, we needed to physically get ourselves to the destination which is where the shuttle ride came in. We were taken straight from the airport to Hilton’s dock, the Bel Hombre Jetty to be more precise, and it was a wonderful drive through Mahe’s twisted roads, even though it felt a bit strange since they drive on the opposite side of the road there. 

Once we arrived at our destination, there was a lovely seaside lounge where we were greeted by a staff member with wet towels and some refreshing drinks. What was even more interesting is that this is actually the place where you also get to check-in, so they took care of our bags and we went off to the terrace where we enjoyed our cocktails and our first laid-back moments in the Seychelles, while waiting for the ferry.

Although the ride was 40 minutes long, it felt like a quarter of that because of the sightseeing we got to experience during our trip to the hotel. On top of that, once we did arrive to the Silhouette island, we had a warm welcome and actually got acquainted with some of the staff members which was definitely a good touch because it helped us feel more comfortable around them.

After that, we were taken straight to our rooms in golf carts, but even the ride there was unforgettable, because we got a full tour of the resort. During this segment we actually got to learn a lot of interesting history regarding the Silhouette island and the hotel itself.

Since this is the only resort that you can get on Seychelles’ Silhouette Island, they’ve decided to really make it worth your money by taking advantage of every aspect they could regarding their location.

We will talk more about that in the next segment, but for now we’ll just say that the experience already started off perfectly right from the get go.

Accommodations

We got to spend our nights there in a magical Beachfront Villa, nestled just a few steps away from the beach and complemented by a superb plunge pool. As soon as we were done unpacking and got a small tour of the villa, we decided to jump right into the pool which was definitely a refreshing experience considering how many hours we’ve spent on the plane to get there to begin with.

We usually find most hotel rooms to feel a bit claustrophobic based on how close the ceiling can be to you but this wasn’t the case with this charming villa because you could literally stand on a chair and pick up the longest object in the room and you still wouldn’t be able to touch the roof.

Regardless though, we slept like babies here, especially in our first night, with the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach and a massive king size bed that was all you could ever ask for.

The bathroom is also worth mentioning as it was rather luxurious to the point where we felt bad about dropping anything down on the floor, that’s how immaculate everything was. The free-standing bathtub was picture-perfect, and we can’t even begin to describe how amazing the indoor showers were after a whole day of exploring the island.

If we had to actually describe our experience here at the Beachfront Villa, we’d honestly say that this was just the perfect blend of tropical island and modernity simply because it just felt like every step that we took we were pampered and we never felt like we were at a loss.

The villa we had for ourselves was well over 1,000 square feet in size and the walk-in closet was also a nice touch, especially considering just how many items of clothing we had on us. We also need to talk about the insane views that you get the moment that you walk into your room.

The ocean is just peering out of your sight outside of your windows and as you look down you can immediately get a glimpse of the beach, the plunge pool or the beautifully luscious jungles that are spread all across the island.

Although the resort has many different villas, we could honestly say that this felt more like a private resort than your usual resort, simply because of how much “you” time you get during this experience. You will get to walk around all day and you will rarely see anyone around you which just makes every day so peaceful. 

We highly recommend you to wake up early and take a walk on the beach at sunrise because you’ll feel like you’re the main protagonist in a fantasy storyline.

Overall though we can’t really complain about anything as far as the accommodations go, we had good expectations but even they got blown way out of proportion the moment that we saw just how stunning this was for us both physically and mentally.

Eating and Drinking

Hilton Seychelles Labriz offers not one but seven different restaurants, each of them with their very own range of cuisines, serene views and excellent staff, so depending on what you prefer you can easily get the best experience you could ever ask for by just choosing the one best suited for you.

Overlooking the main pool and Mount Dauban, Café Dauban might prove to be the perfect start of the day, with a mix of Creole specialties and international dishes for breakfast and especially.. good coffee. Coffee in the Seychelles isn’t great in general, but if you’re avid fans of coffee here we’ve had the best coffee on our trip.

Grann Kaz on the other hand is more of a Creole restaurant in which we recommend you go if you want to try out some local specialties, like curries, dal and rice, combined with seafood and tasty meats. What’s really special about this restaurant is that it’s set in a beautifully restored plantation house, the former home of the Dauban family who used to own the entire Silhouette island.

But our favorite dining experience here was easily at Four Degrees, a laid-back barbecue and seafood restaurant that’s set right on the beach. We had some of the best seafood dishes ever here, barefoot, watching the sun set over the mountain with some tasty cocktails, with live music and the sounds of the waves of the Indian Ocean in the background. A night to remember for sure! 

In another night we also got to enjoy a breezy romantic dinner for two on the beach, one of the many special dining options on the table at Hilton Seychelles Labriz. Of course, that was also an unforgettable experience, but that night at Four Degrees was definitely hard to beat. 

The resort also has three other restaurants: La Pizzeria, which is exactly what it sounds like, the perfect pizza place on the island, Sakura, a beautiful restaurant offering Japanese cuisine, and Teppanyaki, a restaurant which you will find right on the lakeside. What’s special about it is that it is a fully Japanese teppanyaki style restaurant, but you need to book a table in advance.

For breakfast, eating at Portobello, on the terrace, right next to the lake was just heavenly. I don’t know if it’s available only for special Hilton members, but there were only a few guests having breakfast there and it felt like we’ve had the entire place for ourselves. Compared to the main restaurant, where the whole breakfast was a bit chaotic, starting the day here was absolutely amazing.

But there’s another option that might be even more incredible if you’re staying in a lovely villa with its own pool: getting a floating breakfast. Of course, it’s mostly for those picture-perfect photos, but even the food itself was really good: freshly squeezed juices, coffee, delicious pastries and many cooked dishes. The service was also impeccable and you’ll probably feel like royalty. Speaking of feeling like royals..

Spa and Wellness

The resort’s breathtaking Eforea Spa should be on top of your list when you get to the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort and Spa because honestly the place is amazing but it would lose quite a lot of its charm if it weren’t for this new addition to their roster.

First off, the location is absolutely perfect, we’re talking about an actual spa tucked away between palm trees up on the hills to offer you the perfect vantage point to the Indian Ocean.

On top of that, you get plenty of choices as soon as you make your way here, including two massage rooms, a picturesque plunge pool, a steam room, a whirlpool and a sauna and that’s not even scratching the surface.

Apart from the Eforea Spa, the main pool is obviously the main attraction of the resort, but let’s not forget about all the other amenities which just add to the experience tenfold.

The fitness room, although rather small, still comes equipped with every piece of equipment you could ever ask for, and let’s not forget about the fact that next to it you also have the amazing view which will help you concentrate even more on your workout.

If you’re looking for cardio though then look no further than the bikes that you can borrow around to just cycle around the whole place instead of walking. The whole site is rather large so we always recommend using the bikes because you’ll get to do a lot more sightseeing on two wheels rather than just on your own.

If that wasn’t enough to convince you though then you should know there’s also a diving center, a kids club and a turtle center which is sure to help provide you and your children with all the activities you could ever ask for from them.

Every night they also plan out different events such as outdoor cinema night or nature talks which are going to help you better understand the significance of the resort and the Silhouette island.

Beaches

But alas, a tropical location would be nothing without its stunning beaches, so how is the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort doing in that case?

There are several beaches that you can literally walk to from the hotel in a matter of minutes or.. seconds if you’re staying in a beachfront villa. Out of all of the aforementioned beaches we can safely say that the Presidential Beach was by far our favorite and the most gorgeous one.

You will find it on the north side of the resort, and what really made it stand out to us, apart from the fact that it’s so picturesque, is the fact you could see the tide working its magic in all its glory there, with the high tide eating up almost the entire beach and then the low tide revealing it in all its glory. 

As we mentioned previously, another great part about this resort is the fact that since it is so large, you won’t have to deal with almost any people walking around or ruining your experience by taking your spot and whatnot. In fact, during our stay there we literally only met a handful of people here and it felt like we had the entire beach for ourselves.

But alas, staying at this spectacular resort is what really made us appreciate beaches even more. You get access to a few kilometers of pristine white sand beaches and most importantly, the views here are just straight up taken out of a magazine photoshoot.

Final Thoughts

All in all though, staying at the Hilton Seychelles Labriz was an incredible experience that we just can’t wait to repeat. 

There are far too many reasons to come back here as soon as possible, whether we’re talking about the unspoiled beauty of the Silhouette island, those dreamy and almost empty beaches, or the charming beachfront villa in which we felt like royalty, there isn’t a single bad thing about this resort that we could ever bring up. Ok, there was, the Wi-Fi. But honestly, you might as well turn it off and simply enjoy the vacation of a lifetime.

The food was also amazing and the staff was just perfectly trained to the point where we were excited to talk to them and hear them talk about this place because of how passionate they were about it. Overall, this is one of the best locations we’ve ever visited and we can’t recommend it enough.

Where: Hilton Seychelles Labriz & Spa
Silhouette Island, Seychelles
Phone: +248 4 293 949
Website: www.hilton.com