Northolme Hotel

We visited the Hilton Northolme for a week in October 2007 - purely with the intention of relaxing and doing nothing. The hotel is actually only a couple of years old, having being built in the place of the original Northolme hotel. Bonus points to Hilton for ensuring that the development was sympathetic to the environment. In fact, they have gone out of their way to ensure the beautiful natural environment is impacted only minimally. As such, all the villas are built from wood and nestle in the rainforest or directly overlooking the sea. We had villa 203 - in the rainforest and with a partial sea-view. It was wonderful to sit on the balcony at dusk with a bottle of wine and watch the fruit bats come out. The villa was immaculate. Extremely spacious and well designed. The double jacuzzi bath and walk in shower were superb - I especially like the handy ledge for leg shaving (Hilton obviously had some input from a lady on that one.....). A huge four poster bed meant we had a good night's sleep every night. The hotel has only 40 rooms and provides for a very discreet experience. The hotel never felt crouded and there were always spare sun-loungers both by the pool and on the beach. The hotel was fully booked through our stay and it could have been half empty for the few people we saw. Both of the restaurants and the bar were excellent. We did prefer the buffet restaurant though (I never thought I'd say that!!!!). Les Cocotiers, the a la carte restaurant, lacked atmosphere and whilst the food was superb we felt a bit awkward. The buffet restaurant provides a buffet for starters and desserts but you have a choice of main meal which is cooked for you and then bought to your table. It was great being able to chose a fish from the counter and have it prepared exactly the way you want it. The defining factor has to be, however, the staff and the level of service they provide. It's not quite up there with The Datai in Langkawi (but then again I don't think I'll ever experience anywhere quite like that again), but it's not far off. My glass was never empty (unless I wanted it that way) and every staff member from senior management to the grounds and housekeepers would take the time to say "Good Morning". It would be an ideal place to spend a honeymoon. We just loved the Seychelles and hope to return in the not too far off future. We wouldn't hesitate to stay at The Hilton Northolme again, although think we might stay on some of the other islands too.

The Hilton Northolme is a fantastic place to relax. We spent every day down at the beach, snorkelling, kayaking or swimming and sunbathing. The staff were very friendly and always chatty and helpful. The location is quiet and not particularly close to any amenities so I would recommend at least a half-board stay. The food was out of this world, fresh and with a huge selection. It was a briliant place for a honeymoon - it felt special and exclusive.

WOW! That best sums up the Northolm. WOW! On our honeymoon we stayed at the L'archipel on Praslin, at the Sainte Anne resort and also on Denis Island and although all of them were amasing, the Hilton was simply stunning! Every possible thing was perfect, the rooms were 'gaw dropping', very cleaverly designed and the finish was outstanding! We had a 'Ocean view' room and I would definetly recommend that you spend the extra money as the view from our private terrace was perfect! Staff could'nt of been more friendly, the location was great, the food wonderful, we simply could not get enough of the hotel! Highly recommended!

Absolute nightmare! Sounds like other reviewers stayed at a different hotel or have very low expectations! We came to Hilton from Denis Island (which was the most pleasant experience) and we were shocked by the following: waiting for half an hour for a glass of champagne at check-in, cleaners banging on doors at all hours totally disregarding "do not disturb" sign, restaurant staff chasing us with bills down the resort and worst of all constant sweeping of the territory, outside the room at 7.45am & throughout the day. In summary a concrete monster with no beaches and nowhere to walk to, poor service, inconsiderate & indiscrete staff. No special treatment for honeymooners either. One positive - the manager arranged a transfer to Banyan Tree after we complained & promised to improve!

We spent 5 nights at the Northolme as the final part of our honeymoon and adored it. So much so, that after 7 nights at Labriz and 5 exploring on Praslin and La Digue, we didn’t leave the place! The location is stunning and being elevated affords great views which are not always appreciated at beach level. We had a hillside villa above the main beach which was very private and absolutely fabulous; exceptionally comfortable, fine linens, furnishings and art. We adored the double lounger on the balcony, the double Jacuzzi bath (watching the sun set over Silhouette Island) and the shower is to die for and clearly designed by a woman (a rainfall head but tilted at an angle so the water doesn’t go in your eyes when washing your hair and, a built in ledge in the wall which aids shaving legs!!). There is also men and women sized slippers (must be a woman again!!). Great sound system and TV also. We loved the infinity pool and the mood lighting in the evenings. The library is superb; a great quiet place filled with hundreds of books, comfy chairs, pool table, dart table, massive TV, selection of board games and a good library of DVD’s and music concerts you can watch in the library or your room. We ended up playing pool each evening after dinner, searching the books and choosing a DVD to fall asleep too; something we never do on holiday and great! The spa is great, good setting on the edge of the headland above the sea and boulders with outdoor rain showers, however, the real highlight here is the therapists who are superb. The hotel provides some form of entertainment after dinner most evenings. We enjoyed a good jazz band and the cinema on the lower deck is great fun, sit on the right hand side and if you don’t like the film watch the fish. Although we didn’t snorkel, we believe from guests we spoke to that the snorkelling around the hotel is excellent. We did see the flying fish and the dolphins from our balcony. The breakfast is very good, the cooked breakfast and pancakes are prepared fresh for each guest and brought to your table. We couldn’t quite face the champagne at breakfast though but, a nice touch. The bar menu although good would benefit from having a little more choice; we ate lunch each day and were starting to get bored. The fishfingers are wonderful as are the burgers. We ate at Le Cocotiers which is lovely and the food is good, however we chose their busiest night (when the buffet restaurant is closed) and, frankly we think it showed in their level of service. Our highlight was the in-villa dining experience where you can either have dinner on your balcony, the beach, spa, etc. The level of care and service we received is more than worth the venue fee that applies. The staff had gone to an amazing level of effort in decorating not only our balcony but our room as well, and we were served a menu of our choosing. They had even chosen appropriate music from our CD collection to be playing when we arrived – fabulous memory. Whilst overall we received fabulous service here, there are some truly dedicated and genuine staff, there is an odd irritation ie, the bar service can be very slow, some days all towels in the room – other days towels missing, fruit by the pool some days, little things. More consistency and watchfulness is needed, thats all. We did have one serious complaint which I will not divulge and which I am pleased to say was dealt with immediately and to our complete satisfaction in a very professional manner – what was especially pleasing was the quickness with which this was cascaded upwards throughout the hotel team and actioned, showing a genuine desire to satisfy their guests needs. The sunset cruise is fabulous, a 60ft catarmaran, champagne, snorkelling, music and a sunset, well worth the money, we really enjoyed it. This is a great hotel, one I would highly recommend and it is in the small details where the difference shows.

A really excellent 11 night stay in mid-July. From arrival to the sad moment of having to leave, the service was truly excellent. Champagne on arrival and a tour of the facilities sets you up well for the stay. The food in the restaurants is excellent. We stayed on a Room & Breakfast basis which was a good option as although the buffet provided for those staying on half-board is very nice, it's so easy to go into Beau Vallon or beyond for more choice. The A la carte restaurant is excellent and very romantic on the terrace. We had pondered over a few of the other hotels nearby, but having checked them out, the Northolme was definitely a class apart. Highly recommended!!!

We spent the last two nights of our Honeymoon here and wished we had longer, what a fabulous Hotel. We were greeted with champagne and had a guided tour of the resort which was very helpfull. The rooms are fabulous, very spacious with amazing balconies and a huge bathroom. There is a really good choice of food in the dining room and main course is cooked as required by you. We indulged in the him & her massage in the spa which was a wonderfull experience. We would be happy to stay here again.

Fantastic Hotel! We stayed here for our Honeymoon at the end of May 2007. The rooms are nice and spacious and have four posters and sitting areas. It is a pretty exclusive resort and taylormade for couples. The staff are really friendly and helpful...nothing is too much trouble for them. The restaurants are great but the A la carte is the best option to go for and well worth an extra supplement even if you go half board. The only quibble we would have would be the price of drinks...even water is expensive here. We stay at 5* hotels all over the world but apart from Rome this was the most expensive for alcohol. We paid 60 Euros for 2 bloody Marys each...which works out about £10 per drink. Even a bottle of Perrier and a still water was around £10. We thought the overall experience was great though and would recommend anyone with a big enough wallet to go. Taxi's are expensive from the hotel also if you are going into the capital, Victoria. Local taxis are cheaper not private hire.If you have a bigger wallet go to French Polynesia or the Maldives.

From the welcome to the send off this hotel was first class. We were met at the welcome pavillion and given a tour of the hotel facilities which was a nice touch. Our room was an ocean view villa and it was huge. The room had a four poster bed and a nice seating area, DVD player and LCD TV not a common feature in hotel rooms. The balcony was huge, two sun loungers, a table and two chairs and also a sofa style lounger. The bathroom had a whirlpool bath and a walkthrough shower with all the nice touches, robes and slippers. We made use of the free snorkelling equipment and snorkelled in one of the three available beaches. We also made use of the spa and has a very relaxing couples massage. The restaurants were very nice, we only ate in the buffet restaurant but the choice was great and the main course was cooked fresh when you had chosen. The main bar was also very nice and we enjoyed the "sweet of the day." Overall this hotel was brilliant the staff were very friendly and polite, just what you would expect from a Hilton.

I stayed there from 3.5.-17.5.2007 and i only can tell you, that this is a place to be at this world. Perfect room, with really everything you need (coffeemachine, soundsystem, etc.) - great food, served from very friendly people (special from Gina and Meshack Mutisya and the rest of the gang). Really a great vaction place to do nothing (just read books). If you like to see one of the world best beaches, rent a car from Nigel and drive 30 minutes to Ansè Intendance (don`t stay at the hotel there, it's noisee and really complicated). And last, if need something, talk to Kaviraj Poinen, he the guy who makes mostley everthing possible at the Northolmehotel Thanks to all the People overthere, you make me a unforgetable vacation! Norbert