Seychelles - Cerf Island Resort

[mmm2009]

I just wanted to give my review for my recent trip to Seychelles for the LL package for Cerf Island Resort.



The resort is on a small island off of the main island of Mahe - so therefore be prepared to relax and not venture off too much because you have to take a boat to go anywhere. The island is very small (you can kayak around the island in a few hours) and there is nothing on the island other than the resort (and one other resort, and a few construction sites).



The resort looks exactly as the photos on LL - the villas are beautiful and huge for 2 people! Very good quality and we were very impressed by how clean and nice the room was. The resort is very peaceful and as they don't have a lot of villas you feel like you have the place to yourself. I had one of the best massages at this resort (May from Thailand gives the best massage!).



My only dislike with this resort was the food. Breakfast and lunch was good, but dinner was terrible. To the point where we would dread going to dinner. The chefs were trying to hard to cook whatthey thought guests would like - but it ended up being a disaster. When the chefs cooked a traditional dish that the locals eat - that was excellent (only done one night though). The management should encourage the chefs to cook local dishes as that is their forte.



A note about visiting the Seychelles: be prepared to experience lackluster customer service in general. Overall we felt like we were not welcomed by the locals and for the price that you have to pay to get there, eat, sleep, and travel around it was a bit disappointing. The resort staff were nice - but not friendly or willing to go above and beyond to help you or answer your questions. It was a mixed bag: some were nice and smiled and others dragged their feet and you felt like they just couldn't wait to go home or go back to talking with their friends in the corner. Much of the time we felt like we were interrupting their gossip sessions to ask how to dial out of the resort internationally or if we could schedule a snorkeling trip, etc. While visiting attractions in Seychelles cab drivers and staff at visitor attractions could care less about you and if you got a smile out of them then consider yourself one of the lucky ones.



So in summary for the Cerf Island Resort:



Pros: beautiful location, excellent accommodation, peaceful surroundings and atmosphere, excellent massages

Cons: prices ($30 cocktails), staff's aloofness, food,

[jsattapr2]

mmm2009, thanks for postingyour comments.



Too bad the staff at Cerf Island didn't do a better job, since the photos of the place look so beautiful. Did you meet other guests during your stay who had similar impressions?

[kyshel]

I appreciate the content of your review--detailed info on staff, food etc, but so much more for the general impressions about your stay. That's important because it helps me relate to your experience. I would likely have similar opinions about the property. Thanks.

[mmm2009]

j-s-2



Yes, I think if the management would tweak a few things like better training for customer service and better dinner service - this place would really be a topnotch resort. When we went, there wereonly 3 other couples at the resort, and during dinner service we were not the only ones who had to send food back or speak to the chef. As far as the overall customer service we did read of similar feelings onother travel review websites before going on our trip - so we did go there aware ofthis - so it wasn't as big of a shock.



Seychelles is a magnificent destination, but it is very expensive, so with that being said, the LL package for Cerf Island Resort was a really good deal and it allowed us to go to this beautiful place and get everything we could out of the experience.

[Mountie]

mmm2009, I can tell you this for certain, if I traveled all of the way to the Seychelles, I don't care if the hotel package was free, I would not only expect but I would demand exceptional service!



Of course, maybe you live in Kenya or some place a little closeer and getting there wasn't such a long trip.



Thanks for the detailed report.



Think I can scratch the Cerf Island Resort off my bucket list.

[luckydip]

It is a pity that customer care is not very good in the seyshelles. This is a fabulous destination. Having stayed with the locals you get a diffrent picture. Once they know you they are very friendly and would get out of their way to make you feel welcomed.



Acombination of Mauritian hospitality and Seyshelles environment would be ideal.

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi mmm2009,

Having been to Virgin Gorda and loved its large boulders, I have often wondered what it would be like to visit the Seychelles to see their large boulders in this beautiful setting. Unfortunately, the way to get there is long and daunting. I echo mountie's comment, that if I traveled that far, I would expect excellent service. Thanks for your fair warning on this property.