Denis island wins World Luxury Hotel Award– The Seychelles escape from the modern day world

Tourism |Author: Sharon Meriton-Jean and Betymie Bonnelame | November 16, 2015, Monday @ 11:25| 7809 views

Partial view of Denis island home to a private island luxury resort blended among lush tropical vegetation. (Gerard Larose, Seychelles Tourism Board)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Situated in the western Indian Ocean, the Seychelles archipelago boasts a tropical climate giving its islands a lush green vegetation surrounded by turquoise coloured ocean and powder white beaches.

With such attributes the archipelago is considered one of the world’s most idyllic holiday destinations for travellers looking for a peaceful getaway and a more relaxing pace of life.

Denis island is one of the Seychelles' 115 islands where guests have a chance to ‘get away from it all.’

The island located some 96 kilometres away from the main island of Mahé came into the limelight last month, winning the Luxury Private Resort and Best Scenic Environment awards at the World Luxury Hotel Awards held at the Grand Harbour Hotel, in Hong Kong.

Denis was the only island from the Indian Ocean to be nominated in the category of Luxury Private Island for 2015.

The awards are voted online over several months by past guests, based on several criteria including the standard of service they received, during their stay in the different hotels nominated in each category.

Denis island located some 96 kilometres away from the main island of Mahé emerged as the winner of the Luxury Private Resort and Best Scenic Environment awards. (Denis Private Island) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

The island is not new to receiving prestigious global luxury hotels awards. It won for the second consecutive year the Best Scenic Environment Award. It also won best luxury private accommodation last year in the Luxury Travel Guide’s Global Awards.

“It is easy to say that a hotel is beautiful, that it has an array of facilities or that the service is great but to actually be chosen from a pool of establishments and be awarded as the best in your category is certifying and recognising that this is certainly the case,” says a proud Nicole St Ange, Denis Private Island's Public Relations Manager.

Back-to-nature experience

Denis is one of the Seychelles coralline islands and is considered a dream place for visitors wanting to get away from the hustle and bustle of big cities.

Named after French explorer Denis de Trobriand, who visited the Seychelles in 1773, the island was a successful coconut plantation for over a hundred years until the price of copra went down in the 1950s.

Today the island, which is privately owned by a Seychellois family, Kathleen and Michael Mason, spreads over 131 hectares boasting 25 cottages where the highlight on environment and conservation in every aspect of the architecture and designs.

“Denis Private Island differs from other hotels as it is a ‘back-to-nature’ experience in a tropical hideaway setting. The island doesn’t boast extreme luxury, the island is about a retreat that offers tranquillity and simplicity; where pleasure and comfort coexist equally,” St Ange told SNA.

The northernmost island of the Seychelles archipelago has also earned a reputation for its sustainable projects especially for its farm which provides most of the provision for this secluded island.

Asked to describe the island to SNA, St Ange says, “it is a place where one can escape from the modern day world and truly live an authentic island experience. No keys, no phones, no worries.”

Having successfully introduced four endemic birds of the Seychelles, which includes the Seychelles Magpie Robin, the guardians of the island, which include the Green Island Foundation (GIF), a non-profit organisation has worked towards saving them from the brink of extinction with activities such as the eradication of rodents and predators.

As the person in charge of the environment on Denis island, GIF’s manager Arjan de Groene, who visits the island regularly, says it is difficult to choose amongst the myriad of breath-taking places on the island.

“Is it the huge banyan tree in the staff village, teeming with white [fairy] terns? Is it the quiet rocky shores of the south coast, where you can sit and contemplate the intricacies of life staring out over the crystal clear ocean? Is it the rehabilitated forest in the conservation area where the trans-located endemic birds flutter around your head?” contemplates de Groene.

For years, Denis Island was known only as a private island luxury resort but today it is a sanctuary for endangered birds unique to the archipelago which co-exist alongside other species like the giant tortoise. (Denis Private Island) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

He conceded that “perhaps the best view is the West beach, where you can sip your cocktail while watching the sunset and be lucky enough to see tiny turtle hatchlings making their way down to the sea.”

According to St Ange guests of Denis are also always welcome "to join in Nature Tours, whereby they can understand and also appreciate the efforts that are made to safeguard the island natural habitat for generations to come."