Daniella's Bungalow

The bungalows and garden set the scene. Reviewers call the bungalows spacious, very clean and well equipped, with plenty of room, and the garden draws special affection, beautiful and green with lovely mountain views and an avocado tree to sit and eat under. A small beach lies just across the road, and mornings bring a breakfast that guests honestly describe as modest but agree is very, very tasty, with fresh fruit and coffee that one visitor called gorgeous.

What lifts the score is the genuine care of the hosts. Guests recount being helped from the airport, given an early breakfast so they could make their excursions, driven or guided into town, and looked after with real kindness when things went wrong, brought tea and food when they fell ill and given full support when one guest needed to see a doctor and when another family's daughter got sick. That flexibility and warmth, honeymooners and families alike agree, is the heart of the place.

An honest note, raised by the guests themselves, is simply that the breakfast is modest, even as everyone agrees it tastes wonderful, so this is a heartfelt family guesthouse rather than a full-service hotel. The location helps seal it, with a bus stop about a minute away and Beau Vallon beach only around ten minutes off.

Bel Ombre sits on the north-west coast of Mahé, a quiet, mostly residential village just south of the busy Beau Vallon bay, so you get calm, local surroundings within easy reach of the island's most popular beach. A small beach lies right on the coast road here, buses run frequently to Beau Vallon and on to the capital, Victoria, and supermarkets, a petrol station and a good spread of restaurants are all close by. The area is also woven into Seychelles folklore as the setting for the legendary buried treasure of the pirate Olivier Levasseur, La Buse, and the green hills behind it offer walks and mountain views, making it a handy and characterful base for exploring the north of Mahé.