What is the Most Expensive Hotel in the World?
This article lists North Island Seychelles as the most expensive hotel in the world. I was fortunate to experience it for one night on my 29th birthday in 2017. Here is what I wrote back in 2017 about the experience.
North Island, Seychelles is perhaps the single most expensive hotel in the world. This article lists it as number one, and I arrived with expectations of an extraordinary experience. I arrived with a boat from Silhouette Island to a warm welcome before Lavinia from Guest Relations drove me to the villa on a golf cart. I stayed in one of their ten presidential villas. There are only 11 villas total at North Island, each with a private butler to take care of you during your stay. The villa was fantastic with an attractive design, comfortable bed, large bathtub, outdoor shower, very fast complimentary internet access and a plunge pool. Frégate and Maia have swimming pools in the villas, and I expected North Island to have it as well. Instead, you have direct access to the beach which you can have to yourself.
While Frégate’s villas might be a bit better, North Island had better service. An amazing experienced butler from Indonesia and excellent service by almost all staff. Guest Relations were especially attentive and friendly. The food was North Island was a mixed experience. It started with a lovely lunch, almost on Michelin-level by their talented South African chef focusing on local Creole cuisine. We had a great talk, and he offered to have dinner with me. It was a big mistake as the food was very disappointing at dinner. I gave my honest feedback, and he went back to the kitchen to make an amazing dish to save for the evening. On the following morning, he had to leave the resort for the day, and I had another disappointing food experience. North Island’s biggest challenge is to get more good chefs in the kitchen, so the food is consistently good when the main chef is not working.
Despite a few disappointments, North Island is for me one of the best resorts in the world. It’s true you can get a similar experience at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives or Soneva Kiri in Thailand and pay much less, but in the Seychelles, you pay for exclusivity. The beaches are amazing here, and with only 11 rooms it sometimes felt like I was the only guest staying here. My stay finished with a good spa treatment and relaxing at the beach before going back to Silhouette by boat.
