Kempinski Seychelles Resort Baie Lazare

Baie Lazare is on the quieter, south-western side of Mahé, and the Kempinski occupies the ground between the bay and the hill it calls Mount Kempinski: a beach in front, the Indian Ocean beyond it and, at its back, a green rise of forest. The two colours, the deep green and the pale blue, decide everything, and the rooms and suites sit between them under a tropical canopy.

This is a diving resort as much as a beach one, and the day divides accordingly: the water in the morning, Kempinski The Spa in the afternoon heat, dinner at Windsong or Café Lazare and then Planters Bar and Lounge until the bay is dark. Families are made welcome, couples are left alone. It is the Seychelles without ceremony, which is how the islands are best taken.

Green behind, blue ahead

The resort takes its bearings from the two things it stands between. Behind it, Mount Kempinski rises close and green, near enough that yoga is offered on the mountain; ahead lies Baie Lazare, a bay on the south-west coast of Mahé with the Indian Ocean opening beyond. The rooms sit in the strip of garden between, under the palms, and the light changes by the hour from the green side to the blue. On an island famous for its beaches, the mountain turns out to be half the pleasure.

Rooms, suites and family rooms

The accommodation is straightforward in the best sense: rooms and suites in the garden between the hill and the bay, family rooms for those travelling with children and, at the top, The Plantation Suite and The Picault Suite. Interiors are pale and draped in the island manner, the bed under a canopy and the doors open to the garden. This is not a resort of gestures; the comfort lies in what is used daily, and in a terrace turned towards the right colour.

Diving by day, Planters by night

The hotel describes itself as a beach and diving resort, and the second half is not a courtesy: the sea here is the reason for the trip, and diving belongs to the daily fabric rather than to a list of excursions. Kempinski The Spa takes the afternoons, when the heat argues for shade. Café Lazare handles breakfast and the easy meals, Windsong the evening, and Le Petit Chef adds a lighter note. Planters Bar and Lounge is where the day ends, with the bay in darkness beyond, which is what a Seychelles evening ought to be.