North Island Seychelles

Deeply Disappointed – A Letdown from a Supposedly World-Class Resort||||As someone who’s visited over 84 countries and stayed at many of the most exclusive properties in the world, I had high expectations for North Island. Unfortunately, what I encountered was one of the most frustrating and unprofessional booking experiences I’ve ever had.||||After receiving a confirmed industry rate, I restructured my entire trip — changed international flights, adjusted hotel bookings across multiple countries, and made significant financial and logistical sacrifices to include North Island in our itinerary. Only days later, I was informed that the confirmed rate was suddenly no longer available. The new rate was more than double what had been originally quoted.||||The explanation? A vague and evasive response:||||“Due to circumstances beyond our control.”||When I asked for clarity, I was told:||“Unfortunately, I am not able to disclose the information.”||And perhaps most baffling of all:||“The uniqueness of the island sometimes makes it challenging to adapt to specific rates.”||||This level of opacity and lack of accountability is unacceptable for any hospitality brand — especially one that markets itself as the pinnacle of ultra-luxury. I wasn’t simply shopping around. I committed. I canceled other high-end stays and rearranged our plans based on their confirmation.||||As a travel advisor, luxury travel content creator, and owner of multiple businesses, I value reliability and professionalism. North Island failed on both fronts. No alternative solution was offered. No real attempt at service recovery. Just templated apologies and doors closed.||||For travelers who value transparency, trust, and a seamless luxury experience — you may want to look elsewhere.

We have been passionate about exceptional cruises and lodges for several decades. I have often cited our trips to Antarctica, Amanikan, the 5 Amankora in Bhutan and the Widerness lodges in Botswana as some of the most exceptional over the last 25 years, but I admit that the North Island dethrones all these references in terms of exclusivity. ||The island has been supporting an environmental project aimed at reintroducing the natural fauna and flora of the Seychelles to the island, including giant tortoises and certain birds, as well as the takamaka, the badamier and the coco de mer for 20 years. |The 11 villas, ranging from 450 to 750 m², were built in the pure Wilderness tradition, with architecture and materials perfectly integrated into the site and have aged well for over 20 years. Privacy is completely preserved.|We were amazed by this stay from start to finish.||Thank you to Mark, Nicolas, Peter, Moses, Chef Jones and the team for a memorable stay.

Cancelled our reservation 2 weeks to the day before check in because the owner wants the entire island. I spent 1.5 years planning the perfect trip to Africa for our daughter. This comes after I requested LAST WEEK to postpone our trip, I was worried about customer service during their transition of leaving Bonvoy which they told me absolutely not, that it would be a full charge for any changes or cancellations. We completely understood because that information is stated upfront in the booking (but thought it was at least worth asking). But to be such an exclusive resort luxury resort and in all my years of working in the travel industry I have NEVER seen such terrible customer service. I will never book a client here again. In fact I will go out of my way to tell people to not stay here. This is unacceptable.

Great service and beautiful private island. One of the best resort arrivals ever, staff great the helicopter and whisk you away to your villa with a beach view, private pool two outdoor showers, and extra suite. The butler took care of every need, stocking the refrigerator with items preselected during booking. The beach is stunning, etc.||Now, everything can be improved and there were a few minor issues. We had a wine tasting in thier private wine cellar but the selection was pretty mediocre and the sommelier wasn’t very knowledgeable. Mostly South African wines which are fine moderately prices wines but nothing compared to Napa or Bordeaux.||They tried hard to create custom menus but perhaps language got in the way. I explained that I grilled fish and I love chicken curries, but I don’t for fish curries. The curry sampler they prepared for us was exclusively fish and octopus curries.||Nonetheless, the island and the villa were stunning, we rarely encountered other guests, and we will be back.

North Island is wonderful when it comes to the villas, the service, the food, the activities, but is it really worth its exceedingly high price? I don't think so, quite frankly, it's overpriced compared to other luxury places on the Seychelles. When we were there, there were only 3 couples in a total of 11 villas. It's a bit laughable if you have to pay extra for cocktails and mini bar when the daily rate is around € 4600, per person mind you. All in all, it's going to be our one and only visit, I am sorry to say.

The staff makes you feel at home and very comfortable. The villa fits very well in nature and indoor and outdoor blend into each other. The kitchen of the two restaurants are excellent. In the morning they asked for my favourite dessert. In the evening the red velvet cake was served! The best I ever had. |The people working there care for nature and make a tribute to it which gives a very good feeling.

My husband and I spent 10 days at the North Island and had the best experience. From the moment we stepped onto the island until the time we left we were treated like royalty. Douglas was our villa host and was so accommodating. He was awesome and seemed to anticipate our needs. |The villa was spacious and we loved sitting outside and hearing the waves. Even when our air conditioning was not working properly Douglas had someone there to fix it promptly and made sure they were not interfering with our schedule. The food was amazing and Kevin, the chef at the West beach, was so friendly and always smiling. He would come out to greet us and make sure we were taken care of. The island itself is amazing. The beaches were beautiful and we loved being able to feed the land turtles, which were spectacular. We were also able to witness a hatching of the sea turtles and watch them go out to sea for there first time. That will be something we will never forget. The weather was not so nice during our stay, windy and lots of rain but despite that we had a fabulous time and would definitely recommend. It was the most private place were have ever vacationed and we felt like we had the island to ourselves most days. The freedom of being able to roam the island and set your own schedule was a plus. ||||

We stayed on North with my husband for our honeymoon and enjoyed every moment of this experience. |Our villa was spacious and secluded that gave the utmost privacy. Honestly, sometimes, it felt like we were the only guests there and entire island was just for us! We were free to roam around on our own buggy, choose to have lavish breakfast in the comfort of our villa or enjoy cocktails while watching incredible sunset on Honeymoon beach. |People are genuinely caring and go out of their way to make sure you don’t need to worry about any single thing because they took care of everything… |You lose yourself in nature, forget about hustle and bustle of crazy city life and just stay in the moment, either it’s playing with Brutus the Giant Tortoise or heading to Spa Hill to greet the new day just in time of the sun rising.|Beautiful island, beautiful memories. Will for sure come back, already as a family of three!