Grann Kaz

The rooms and the housekeeping are a standout. Guests describe them as very big and nicely designed, with a good kitchen, a fridge and a smart bathroom, everything you need for a comfortable stay. The whole house is kept immaculately, inside and out, and reviewers note that the staff spend so much time cleaning that you almost want to take your shoes off before walking in. When one guest had a small issue with a restroom, the team fixed it quickly, a sign of how attentively the place is run.

The hosting is the other half of the appeal. Breakfast comes highly recommended and, guests say, is well worth taking, and the staff are described as always available, kind, welcoming and helpful throughout. The owner, Mavis, earns special mention for personally and precisely explaining how to get around the Seychelles, and the team will happily cook for guests who ask. It is the kind of warm, knowledgeable care that turns a good stay into a memorable one.

One honest, minor note comes from a guest travelling with a baby, who found there were no high chairs available and hoped that might be added soon. Beyond that small point, the picture is glowing, with huge rooms, good air conditioning, shops nearby, a beautiful beach close at hand and a setting that feels almost luxurious for the price.

Anse La Mouche is a wide, sheltered horseshoe bay on the south-west coast of Mahé, one of the calmest and safest swimming beaches on the island thanks to its shallow, gently shelving water, which makes it a favourite with families. The setting is green and unhurried, a world away from the busier north, and the surrounding area is dotted with some of Mahé's best-loved south-coast restaurants, the studio of the celebrated artist Michael Adams, and craft and pottery workshops. The pretty coves of Anse Soleil and Petite Anse lie over the hill to the west, the takamaka-fringed surf of Anse Intendance is a short drive south, and the capital, Victoria, and the airport are around half an hour away over the mountains.