While UAE residents have enjoyed a relative return to normality in recent months, with many services, restaurants and hotels up and running since the summer, foreign travel is still somewhat of a taboo subject. Is it responsible to go through an airport, get on a plane and enter a new country purely to seek a week of respite and R&R while COVID-19 is still at large and global mass inoculation is several months away? While the jury is still out on the moral reprehensibility, it’s safe to say the feeling of needing to escape both physically and mentally has been overwhelming since coronavirus hit and turned the world, as we knew it, on its head.

THE HILTON SEYCHELLES LABRIZ RESORT & SPA IS LOCATED ON SILHOUETTE ISLAND

So when the opportunity to visit Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa on the island of Silhouette presented itself, I weighed up several factors before making the decision to travel there. For starters, Seychelles has only reported 205 cases of COVID-19 to date, and the death rate is still at zero, meaning infection rates there are extremely low. Coupled with that, the country has strict entry rules for visitors from the UAE, meaning we would have to be tested for the virus before getting a permit to enter the country and would also have to quarantine at our resort for the first five days of our holiday before being tested again to ensure we hadn’t contracted the virus in the meantime. Restrictive? Very, but also reassuring to know we wouldn’t be putting ourselves, or the local community, in danger unknowingly.

GRAZIA INVESTIGATES HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED PARADISE

Situated 20km northwest of Mahé, the largest island in Seychelles, the Hilton Labriz is the island’s sole resort so lends itself perfectly to the extra safety measures in place. Accessed via ferry from Bel Ombre port, taxi transfers to the port can be arranged straight from the airport and the boat ride takes roughly 45 minutes. Full disclosure, adding a ferry into the mix, after you’ve stepped off a plane and would much rather keep further travel to a minimum isn’t ideal, but Silhouette more than makes up for it in other ways. Private helicopter rental is also available and takes just 15 minutes.

Surrounded by tropical forest and nestled into the side of a mountain, the resort is comprised of a selection of private garden and beachfront villas, some with private pools and others without, and is stunning to say the least. And because it is spread out over several kilometers, at no point did we feel hemmed in or restricted in our movements.

THE RESORT IS COMPRISED OF PRIVATE GARDEN AND BEACHFRONT VILLAS, SOME WITH PRIVATE POOLS

Safely ensconced in our beachfront villa, we were able to fully appreciate our abode for the next week, which boasted several features that had been designed with maximum relaxation in mind. A quintessential hammock for blissed-out afternoons spent reading? Check! Direct access to the ocean? Check! The sound of waves crashing gently on the shore to lull us to sleep every night? Check, check, check! However, it’s worth mentioning that due to the added safety measures in place at the resort for visitors from the UAE, we didn’t receive housekeeping for the duration of our stay, so if daily fresh bed sheets and avoiding all household chores is fundamental to your idea of a five-star holiday, you’ll struggle to make do with making your own bed and sweeping up the super fine sand that will undoubtedly make its way into every orifice of your villa despite your best efforts.

THE BEACHFRONT VILLAS FEATURE A PRIVATE VERANDA THAT LEADS DIRECTLY TO THE BEACH

While the resort features several different restaurants, including the buffet-style Café Dauban where breakfast is served every morning, the traditional creole Grann Kaz located in the restored plantation home of the Dauban family who were the island’s owners during the 1800s, two Asian offerings Sakura and Teppanyaki and Portobello, a fine dining Italian restaurant, only one or two were open every night meaning you didn’t really have much choice in the matter. By day, only the pool bar and pizzeria Lo Brizan was included in our full-board package, so the limited menu felt quite repetitive towards the end of our stay.

GRANN KAZ RESTAURANT

On day five of our holiday we were able to get COVID-19 tests, free of charge, at the island’s medical centre and after (thankfully) receiving negative results, were finally able to avail of some of the activities and services on offer at the resort on days six and seven. These included a three-hour guided group-hike into the rainforest that was well-worth working up a sweat for, and a dreamy massage at Eforea spa, which is perched into the side of the mountain and like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

GUESTS CAN ENJOY GUIDED GROUP HIKES INTO THE RAINFOREST

So, was it all worth the tests, planes, taxis, ferries and further tests? Our trip definitely felt different to any other holiday we’ve ever been on and the fear of contracting Covid-19 did loom on the horizon. But if you’re prepared to embrace the so-called new normal at face value and comply with all the extra safety measures in place, it is possible to escape and experience all the stunning seclusion, sun and sand Seychelles has to offer. While wearing a mask, of course.

Getting there:

• Prices at Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa start at Dhs2,117 for a King Garden Villa on a Half Board basis, per room, per night for 2021
• Emirates Airlines flies direct from Dubai to Mahé, five times per week. Prices start at Dhs3,665 return for dates in January.

Transfers: 

• Land Transfer: Mahé Airport – Bel Ombre Jetty: One way private car transfer at Dhs383 per car, per way. Maximum capacity: Four passengers. Duration: 30 minutues
• Ferry Transfer: Bel Ombre Jetty – Silhouette: Two way coach boat transfer at Dhs653 per person (Children aged six-12 years: 50% discount. Children aged below six years: free of charge). Duration: 45 minutes
• Private Boat Transfer: Dhs2,477 per way (up to six adults). Additional adults at Dhs225 per person. Maximum capacity: 25 passengers