Avani+ Barbarons Seychelles — Hotel in Mahé

We recently booked a trip from Dubai to Seychelles through the Holiday Factory here in the UAE. Upon arrival in Seychelles we were transported via van to the Avani Resort & Spa. The resort itself is about a 25 minute drive from the airport and traverses the hilly and rugged terrain of Mahe, Seychelles.

Upon arrival the resort staff collected our booking information and had us place our bags in the backside of the lobby. Unfortunately our flight into Seychelles arrived very early (8:00 am) in the morning and check in could not be completed until 2:00 pm. The staff politely offered the use of the resort Spa and Gym facilities in case we wanted to shower or get cleaned up. They also directed us to the hotel restaurant where breakfast was still being served.

At 2:00 pm we received our room and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice it was. The rooms are very clean and well equipped with great A/C and cable TV. The bathroom was nice with a large glass shower and huge bathtub.

The resort itself is located on a secluded area of beach along the west side of the island. This is great as it provides an area for hotel guests to enjoy their stay and the beach without a lot of others around. However, the major downside of this is that you are located quite a ways out and there is no shopping or local stores outside of the resort that you can walk to and visit. In order to do any shopping or traveling you need to hire a taxi or private car which can cost as much as 3 Euro per Km.

During our stay we took advantage of the hotel restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast is buffet style and has a lot to offer. It by far was the best meal of the day. Unfortunately the lunch and dinners we had at the hotel were quite disappointing. The food was extremely bland and void of any taste. It truly seemed as if all meals were cooked without any form of seasoning or spices. At one point during our stay I began to question whether I was getting sick and my taste buds were affected because there was absolutely no taste to the food. Definitely not what I was expecting while visiting a county that labels itself Creole.

The only other disappointing part of our stay is that many if not all of the resort staff seemed quiet, distant, unhappy or just generally unmotivated to be there. To me this really impact my ability to enjoy my stay. It is not that the staff were rude but just seemed uninterested in being there or taking care of the resort guests.

If it was not for the extremely bland and almost unappetizing food combined with the less than stellar attitude of the resort staff I would have easily given the Avani Resort & Spa a full 5 stars.

We really enjoyed our stay and the beauty of the place but those two things really impacted our overall stay.

Seychelles is absolutely one of the most perfect locations we have every visited. The beaches, rain forests, granite mountains and absolutely perfect climate makes this the best place we have every visited. We will definitely go back time and time again but might explore other options when it...

In short: great service, amazing food, good location, overall good value for money. To know more keep reading. We spent 6 nights at the Avani and were really impressed by the quality of service, in particular from the staff of the Food and Beverages and Guest Relations departments. Your every request is taken care of promptly and efficiently. The friendly staff is always happy to have a chat and give you some advice about places to see, things to do, good restaurants etc. The room was fine, spacious enough with your usual equipment and Air Conditioning which is very important in this climate. The bed was really comfy actually and unlike other hotels I didn't have any issues with finding sleep. The hotel itself has a nice long beach with unfortunately only the right section that's safe for swimming but it is great to relax as the view is gorgeous, with a nice little piece of forest closing the beach. The water there is safe for a swim and even for snorkeling. The lagoon was full of life and it's even legal to fish there. Bring swimming shoes though. The highlight of our stay at the Avani was by far the food and drinks. On our first night we had a buffet of local cuisine, with an amazing variety of fresh seafood dishes. The nice thing is that for those who don't like seafood or have allergies to specific things like mussels or clams, there are plenty of other options to ensure you have a good meal, either from the buffet or the A la Carte menu that both offer a good mix of local and Western food. The desserts were delicious as well, with once again special mention to the local treats like cononut, papaya or mango tarts, sorbets, jams etc. The local beer is pretty good but what stood out were the local infused rums and cocktails. My favorite was the "ti-punch". Not to mention that the hotel restaurant and bar are practically on the beach, so the view while having your meal or drinks is pretty awesome. If you go all the way to the Seychelles for holidays then I strongly suggest to not be one of those people who stay at the pool the whole time and end up not actually seeing anything of the islands. There are tour agencies within the hotel itself that offer day trips to the most interesting spots of the islands. I'd strongly suggest renting a car and doing some sightseeing of your own as well and the good thing about the Avani is that it's conveniently located a short drive from some of the best spots Mahé has to offer. As for the internet, keep in mind that the overall quality in the Seychelles is pretty poor and terribly expensive but the free Wi-Fi at the hotel was actually pretty decent, especially for checking your email or social media (not ideal for streaming but I still managed to watch some Netflix) and the signal was good all over the Hotel, from the room to the restaurant and even at the beach. That's about it,...

This was the first time I have visited seychelles and over all it has been a great experience, mostly thanks to avani hotel. It has extremely nice and friendly staff that welcomed us as we entered the hotel. The view of their private beach was astonishing as we checked in, although it did take a while for our room to be ready due to the smell of varnish which had just been applied on the furnisher. Our rooms were cosy and comfortable and they had been adjusted well for 3 people as it was me, my father and sister. The weather was the best I've ever experienced with there being clouds at times with a pleasant breeze or it would be nice and sunny. The food was great with quite a variety for the small resort that it is with a bar with a snack menu or a buffet and even a restaurant that opens for dinner, although we wouldn't recommend that restaurant as the garlic was spoilt and the food did not taste nice, but I would recommend the light snacks by the bar that you can eat while relaxing in your beach chair by the pool feeling the ocean breeze. The facilities were quite amazing with there being a gym, a spa and a children's playground area. I would like to mention the extremely courteous and friendly staff at the hotel that helped us so much ; whether it was picking a transportation company or picking the right full day excursion activities that suited us. The pool boys were efficient at replacing towels when people needed them and the men by the bar did a great job with their service despite the rush. The ladies helping out at the complementary breakfast were helpful with assisting us with the tea and coffee, and lastly I would like to mention the extreme act of kindness from the staff when my sister had forgotten her phone in the room at the hotel. We realised this when we were in the lounge at the airport. We immediately called the hotel and asked to check whether they could find her phone in the room which they did. I had my doubts on whether she was going to receive her phone in the next couple of minutes but to my surprise the kind staff handed the phone to a kind and generous taxi driver that was coming to airport anyway. The phone reached within 20 minutes maximum. We would like to thank the staff and the kind driver for their help. Overall, it was an amazing first experience in seychelles and the hotel was definitely worth what it cost and I think it is underrated as it has been given a four star rating and we definitely recommend anyone travelling there to stay at Avani. We are definitely going back to the seychelles islands and may even re-visit avani resort and...