Villa Rochelle in Mahe 

Believe it or not, but it is perfectly possible to have an unforgettable holiday in the Seychelles without touching their luxury hotels and resorts, in the intimacy of a home with all its comforts, to live the atmosphere and splendour of an island unique in the world and full of surprises. At Mahé you will thus discover a life that remains hidden to organized tourism, and new and unsuspected possibilities will open for you: visiting wonderful out-of-the-way and wholly uncontaminated beaches, where you can often pass an entire day in the sole company of various species of sea birds and an odd fisherman, go to small and large restaurants frequented by both local inhabitants and tourists, make trips of various kinds, from a leisurely walk to the more demanding ascents of the island’s highest peaks, engage in aquatic sports to your heart’s content. Engage in deep-sea fishing, visit splendid marine parks, or pass delightful hours in bird watching. Or, again, you can go out to discover the fascinating itinerary of the many Seychelles and foreign artists who have here made their home and found their inspiration.

As in all the Seychelle homes, The veranda is the most important part of the home, the place where social life runs its course, the transition space that harmonizes the within and the without. Where you fell protected and at the same time immersed in the light, the wind, the warmth, and the breezes and the odours of the sea. At the centre of the veranda there is the great dining table and, just a few steps away, the cane lounge suite, where you can relax and enjoy the fresh air sweeping in from the beach. The ample drawing room is well equipped for many different activities: music, television, video recorder, a large table for games and writing (and also eating if you wish), a suite with divan and armchairs. The kitchen, equipped to meet all the culinary needs of the guests, is organized with a block consisting of a cook top with five gas-fired burners and an electric oven, kitchen utensils for preparing even the most elaborate of meals, a mixer/liquidizer, a toaster, a kettle for making tea and … a set of variously sized coffee percolators for espresso coffee. There are two bedrooms, one with two single beds and the other with a double bed, 2 m long by 1.80 m wide. The double bedroom looks out on the garden and the sea. The double curtains and the windows, which open either way, enable you to regulate the light and the air that come into the room just as you prefer. The bathroom is equiped with a large brick-built shower cubicle, a bidet, hot and cold water, a hair drier. The house can offer hospitality for up to four person. In case of need, a folding bed could be added for a child or youngster. The car can be parked in the space set aside for this purpose in the courtyard of the house. The stay includes, weekly changes of bed and bath linens, and the daily cleaning of the house from Monday to Friday (Holidays excluded). How to get there The villa is situated in a locality known as Machabee, some 15 minutes by car to the north of Victoria, the capital. Our caretaker will come to meet you at Mahé International Airport on the day of your arrival and accompany you to the villa. see the map of Mahé How to book a car We can help you to book a car from a care hire company. The cost for a car Daihatsu Sirion (type Peugeot 206, five-seater with four doors) with air conditioning amounts to 50 Euro per day. If you wish, we can book the car for the length of your stay. You can then settle the bill directly with the hirer. Remember, however, that in Mahé you drive on the left. Features of the house in a nutshell • covered floor area 120 sq.m • garden area 200 sq.m • sleeps 2-4 people • double bedroom, second bedroom with two beds. large drawing room, large kitchen (extra bed if required) • long-bladed ceiling fans in every room • bathroom with large shower cubicle • veranda • small safe • hair dryer • television set • video recorder • wireless set and cassette stereo • iron and ironing-board • washing machine • kitchenware, tableware and crockery • linen (sheets, towels, etc.) • cushions in natural latex

Villa Rochelle is a recently built home, conceived and designed with all modern comforts, but also with some elements characteristic of the Seychelle tradition. The roof lined with the corrugated sheeting of Creole architecture, unmistakable feature of all the houses in the Seychelles, high ceilings with their exposed timber beams and long-bladed fans in each room, the spacious veranda with the traditional bamboo curtains, the little gazebo by the seaside, with its corrugated roof and carved Takamaka table. The simple and comfortable furniture is wholly handmade by local craftsmen, a true tradition that has grown up thanks to the precious local timbers with their exotic-sounding names: Takamaka, Calice du Pape, Casuarina, Teak. The house is surrounded by a garden that gently slopes down to the sea. Its protagonists are coconut palms straining towards the light and the sea, framed by frangipani trees with their sweet-smelling flowers, hibiscus, and other tropical plants and shrubs. With a sound track provided by the birds: the blackbird of the Seychelles, known in Creole as “pie chanteuse”, the scop owl, the gannets, the partridges, all of whom will keep you company with their cheerful presence. Villa Rochelle is a spacious home, as snug and cosy as you could wish, but it is the sea, with its reefs of granite fashioned by the wind that sets its tone and atmosphere, the sea that renders its panorama unique, mutable and ever-changing throughout the day. A sea that will rock you to sleep at night with its sudden rumbles, while its slow backwash will accompany you in the morning as you take your first coffee on the veranda, and also as dusk descends in the evening, when you can enjoy a shower in the midst of the garden’s tropical vegetation and bid the sun farewell as it disappears beneath the horizon. Except when the sea gets too rough, you can always have a swim along the coast that stretches in front of the house, or go snorkelling and admire a multitude of fish of every imaginable colour and size. A home that makes you live by the sea, but well protected by its walls. It is not an isolated house, for it is flanked by other houses with gardens, and yet is silent, reserved and wholly enveloped in its privacy. At any time and in all tranquillity, you can have a barbecue in the garden, take the sun on the rocks or the deckchairs in front of the house, admire the star-studded sky at night and have your dinner by candlelight.