We planned to use points for our entire trip to Mauritius and the Seychelles, and Le Meridien was the only Starwood or Marriott property in the Seychelles, so the Le Meridien it was! The Le Meridien was much smaller than the hotels we stayed at in Mauritius (the St. Regis and the Westin), but is a lovely property nestled into a hill right above the Beau Vallon beach.
Food: There is a “fancy” restaurant and a lobby area bar with food – we tried both. Food in both Mauritius and the Seychelles is crazy expensive, and this was no exception. But it was very good. Same deal with drinks – $15 and up for any mixed drink. Beer was about $10, but also much cheaper at the corner store just down the street.
Location: The location of Le Meridien is fantastic – it’s nestled on the Beau Vallon beach and you can walk over 1.5 miles down to the beautiful and picturesque granite boulders on the far end of the beach. There are many restaurants located on the beach and nearby, as well as convenience stores. Le Meridien is actually a rebuild of the oldest hotel on the entire island of Mahe. The ocean is stunning and the views really are exquisite.
Rooms: The rooms were clean and spacious, but felt a bit odd. The balcony/porch area had a lovely little veranda with an insane view, but the inside of the rooms were modern, a touch European, and very, very white. I’m not sure why they went with that theme, and I’m sure some people love it, but it felt a little strange to me on the beach.
Service: Helpful! Already had info I had requested in our room on the ferry service to La Digue, and the front desk/concierge all in one was happy to book us taxis and give us good advice throughout our stay.
Ocean: It was too rough to snorkel when we were there, which was really unfortunate because Le Meridien has a super cool snorkeling trail that we were sad to miss. Snorkeling is usually very good, but apparently sea conditions can be just a touch unpredictable from January-March. We did try to go out one day but the waves were breaking right on the reef and it was definitely a bit too shallow – so we retreated! Fortunately we had plenty of great snorkeling at La Digue and the St. Anne Marine Park.
Pool: There is a pretty large infinity pool that sits right on the edge, looking over the beach. We enjoyed it on the day the water was too rough to snorkel, and it was raining!
Would You Return? Yep, particularly if we were exploring nearby islands. Le Meridien was a great redemption of some Starwood Preferred Guest points, too. Le Meridien isn’t somewhere to hunker down for a week, but it is a great base of operations if you want to see Mahe or other sights. The location is really fantastic for walking and exploring, too. Now, if we wanted to hang out at a resort – I think we’d consider one of the other islands, perhaps.
