Subject: Extremely Disappointing Experience at Chateau Elysium - A Honeymoon Letdown + Racist Owner I recently had the unfortunate experience of staying at Chateau Elysium during the final part of my honeymoon in Seychelles. While our previous accommodations had been amazing, Chateau Elysium turned out to be a major disappointment that we would prefer to forget as soon as possible. From the moment we arrived, it was evident that our honeymoon experience would not live up to our expectations. The presence of ants in our room and around the breakfast table was distressing, creating a sense of unease and discomfort that we did not anticipate during such a special trip. To make matters worse, the caretaker seemed entirely focused on attending to new guests, leaving us feeling neglected and unimportant. Breakfast, prepared by the caretaker, became an exercise in frustration as we were made to wait excessively between each course. Their constant state of confusion and inability to address our inquiries efficiently further compounded our disappointment. The delay in checkout added further frustration to our stay. As breakfast took longer than expected, we were delayed in vacating our room. However, the housekeeper arrived at our door and rudely demanded that we leave immediately, insisting that new guests had arrived. This was despite the fact that the check-in time was at 3 PM, and it was only 10:30 AM at that point. The housekeeper's behavior was completely unwarranted, treating us as if we were trespassers rather than paying guests. The lack of professionalism and respect displayed by the housekeeper was deeply disconcerting. Furthermore, the caretaker's constant unavailability was a recurring issue throughout our stay. We would search for him in various locations, including nearby properties, only to find ourselves waiting for 15-20 minutes before he could be located. This level of unresponsiveness and disorganization is unacceptable, especially when considering the responsibilities he was expected to handle, such as check-ins, guest queries, and breakfast service. It reflects poorly on the management's ability to handle the property and provide adequate staffing. Moreover, we were deeply disturbed by the owner's racist behavior. On multiple occasions, he made offensive remarks, expressing his disdain towards individuals with an Indian accent. He went as far as stating that whenever he hears an Indian accent, he assumes his servants are speaking to him. Although he attempted to backtrack by mentioning the current Indian Prime Minister, his underlying prejudice was evident in his tone and body language. Such racism is abhorrent and completely unacceptable, and it severely tarnished our experience at Chateau Elysium. In conclusion, our stay at Chateau Elysium was an immense letdown, especially considering it was the final part of our honeymoon. The presence of ants, lack of attentiveness from the caretaker, subpar pool condition, safety concerns, disappointing breakfast, unprofessional behavior from the housekeeper, and the owner's overt racism all combined to create an experience we would prefer to forget. We strongly urge prospective guests to consider alternative options that prioritize guest satisfaction and uphold a higher standard of service. As we reflect on our honeymoon in Seychelles, we are grateful for the exceptional experiences we had elsewhere, which only served to highlight the stark contrast and disappointment we encountered at Chateau Elysium

We really loved staying in Criollo house! Firstly, the owner and his family are really lovely and helpful! Secondly, the food was delicious, both breakfasts and dinners. Thirdly, the atmosphere in the house is amazing!! And of course the location is right in front of the beach😍 totally recommend!🔥🔥🔥

The most picterous place in Beau Vallon. The villa offers a private pool in a beautiful garden and direct access to the beach. Rooms are comfortable, nice with a spacious bathroom. Especially rooms with a sea view are stunning. The accommodation is a good choice for young couples who are ok with basic service. Just make sure your breakfast is included in the price, otherwise it is overpriced. The last days of previous mismanagement (Francesco and Loulou Guarnaccia) were still visible. The new property manager lacks essential skills in providing upper class customer experience (given the price 400€/night). A warm welcome with a welcome drink is essential. Information on additional services (day trips, taxis, water sports, restaurants,..) are missing. Accommodation issues are handled in an unprofessional manner. Although furniture and equipment are in good condition, it seems like it is living of its past. The place deserves better maintenance and attention to details (occasionally dirty sunbeds, empty bottles left for few days, not properly swept floor).

We stayed 5 nights and didn’t want to leave. Everything from the location of the villa to the furnishings was fantastic. The kitchen is well equipped for anything you might want to cook and it’s also in walking distance to a number of lovely restaurants. Daria was a brilliant host, always happy to help and went above and beyond to make us comfortable. We will definitely be coming back. Thank you so much.

You know sometimes you go on holiday somewhere and you walk passed a place you're not staying and think, "damn, I wish I was staying there instead of my place!"....well that's Criollo House! Loved this place! Amazing rooms, right on the beach, great service from Fran and his team! Highly recommend staying here, easily the best place to stay on Beau Vallon beach!

We just spend our European Easter holidays in Criollo house. The property location is awesome. Right on the beach, we had a great small splash pool and the new community pool was awesome too. We were dissapointed however with the villa itself. The place inside is needy and with a great lack of house hold items and appliances. The house is meant for 6 people but the crocery was probably good for 2 people. There was 1 pot the size of a childs hand. There was no broom, no dust pan. We asked for a vacuum cleaner that broke 1 minute into using it. (They did fox it for us, bit seems it was the only one the cleaners had so itbwas taken back) Not a sinle 2 plates or glasses matched. The drying rack was absolutely falling apart and rusty. The furniture itself was needy... the white parts of the sofas was an off white/ beige. White was not a good choice to start with for a villa rental. The headboard of the bed looked like it was 10 years old... again a material with white parts was used. As a mom of 4...the fact that there was no cleaning services made me feel like i was contstandly cleaning. A cleaning service would be great for 600 euro a night. Maybe even every 3 days... but it is advertised as self catering. the knives were old and blunt. Ikea knives. The bedding was clean but had stains... no one duvet was all white. It had old small Hallo Herr Cesur. Können Sie mir bitte mitteilen, was noch benötigt wird, um die Arbeit in unserem Haus fortzusetzen? müssen wir Holzböden auswählen? Badezimmerfliesen? noch etwas? stains. My son had orange patches on his duvet. The towels were needy and well used. The fake flowers in the living room had so much dust on them... they looked yellow and not white anymore. Pieces of the little mirror side table broke off. The top of the mirror in the lounge had atleast a cm of dust on it. The room fans was so dirty. The blades probably had not been wiped since it was bought. We spent close to 6000 euro in our time there. For that money they can do ALOT... LET ALONE THAT THE VILLA GETS RENTED THE WHOLE YEAR. I was dissapointed that no breakfast was included in the price. Website said one breakfast is 20 euro... but we were charged 35Euro per breakfast. We are a family of 6 so 210Euro a morning for breakfast is a rip off. 6 bed villa. 4 pods for coffee making for 10 days... Lucky we dont drink coffee... but its ridiculous. Next time we go in a hotel. Free breakfast, free room service, free water daily and free cleaning. There is a lovely Czeck republic lady saying they will take over villa management by 1st May 2022. Lots of stuff to do to get this villa up to standard. I hope they do it.

We were very much looking forward to our stay here. I confirmed our booking with the owner, Francesco, over email as well as a taxi to pick us up from the airport. When we arrived at the airport there was no taxi waiting for us, so we looked for one ourselves. When we arrived at Criollo House, Francesco seemed to have forgotten that we would be staying there for two days. The place was completely booked and there was no room left for us. He did help us to find another place instead, but since it was so very last minute (we needed a bed for that night and the night after that) there were not many options. So we booked an apartment a bit further, which was less luxurious for even more money… We were very disappointed since we had spoken over e-mail only two weeks before we arrived and everything seemed confirmed…

Lovely accommodation. Friendly Staff. Great location: The hotel is just by the beach.

We were in the 3rd villa from the beach. No AC in the living room. bedroom AC not large enough. Generally dirty Yellow water from the dispenser till we cleaned it. Filter past replacement date. Filthy headboards and sofa One small pot 4 water glasses of different types for 6 guests No two wine glasses the same No cleaning material Broken washing rail No vacuum cleaner No cleaning service My daughter cut her foot on tiles that were not layer properly. Generally it was not so welcome that I was not happy and there was an excuse for everything. Totally overpriced for what you get. I will stay in the savoy next time for not much more.

Beautiful villa with nice interior. We stayed for 3 nights. Very comfortable and cozy rooms Pool was clean and breakfast they offered was very nice. Host(Petra) and all staff members are very nice and polite. Thankyou for the service, Appreciated. 👍

Stunning boutique hotel on the best location in Beau Vallon. A true understated amazing place right on the beach. The place is managed by an amazing couple who will put in 200% to make your stay incredible. We love staying here and cant wait to visit the newly build pool. This place should the listed as " Criollo Estate or Mansion" as it is way more then a beautiful house"

A friend of mine got married and recently went on his honeymoon with her spouse and she shared this with me. I can't wait to visit myself! "After the hectic wedding preparations and our actual wedding ceremony, we were so happy to be finally going on our honeymoon. My spouse and I visited the Criollo House and stayed for 4 relaxing days. We took in all of the amazing views and direct access to the most beautiful beach on the island. The staff at Criollo House were exceedingly warm and hospitable. We had the most relaxing vacation. We highly recommend travelers and couples alike to visit and stay at the Criollo House you will not regret your decision."

Wow! What an amazing villa. Definitely the best villa we have found in Seychelles. The place was spacious, super clean and well equipped. It has a lovely private garden and plunge pool. The compound is super safe and is right on the beach. The rooms are large and airy with good AC. We enjoyed wonderful BBQ’s on our veranda every night. We had everything we could need and more, Francesco and Loulou were very kind and accommodating and helped us with booking PCR tests and lots of local tips. The location is perfect, walking distance to all the shops and restaurants. I could not recommend this place more highly! Thanks for a wonderful stay :)

From check in to check out our wedding party had such a pleasant experience. The staff made us feel so welcomed! The décor of Criollo House was thoughtfully creative. Our rooms were extremely comfortable, nice and clean and we had the most amazing and stunning sunset views from our rooms. If you’re looking to stay somewhere for a little group getaway to relax or a venue for your wedding, we recommend the Criollo House and definitely would stay there again.

Gorgeous Mansion style main house set on a beautiful strip of beach. We stayed in one of their Pool villas which was spacious and impeccably clean. The Pool area was not very private which didn’t bother us but might impact some people. Gran and Lulu the owners are there anytime you need them and are so welcoming and helpful. It felt woke we were staying with friends. And the dinner on the beach served by James was wonderful. Highly recommended.

Nice building with direct beach access but not worth the price you have to pay. It doesn’t feel like a hotel, more like a guesthouse with one person providing breakfast but he is very friendly. You can have dinner but it would be around 55-80€ per person and there are plenty of options around. The honesty bar is super overpriced (Double shot of Rum = 8€ no mixer included) Generally, take a look at other areas than Beau Vallon for your stay in Mahe.

This is an amazing place ;) We spent 8 nights at Chateau Elysium. This beautiful building occupies a 7 room Hotel and also operates several villas directly next to it. We chose the standard room, as our accommodation. This is the only room located at the ground floor next to an awesome livingroom. The room is quite large, has a limited sea-view and an own bathroom with a huge rain-shower. The rooms are serviced everyday and have a good aircon, which is running on a silent mode at night. As this room is very close to the pool, you can have a swim in the morning before breakfast which is served between 8 and 10a.m. Breakfast included in the room price of the Hotel offers Pancakes or croissants, toast, butter, ham, cheese, jam, eggs with bacon as you like, coffee, tea, fresh juice and a huge plate of fresh fruit. The staff at this premises is fantastic, absolutely polite, friendly an supportive. Besides the housekeeping and the guards (two are on duty in two shifts) one has to name Chobby, the local manager of this Hotel. He is an absolute friendly and helpful guy, thanks a lot for your hospitality ;). During Christmas Eve a special dinner was prepared by a great cooking Chef. Dinner in general is also available for a resonable price but needs to be ordered in advance. Furthermore there is a direct access to Beau Vallon beach and you here the waves of the Ocean at night, really great. Additionally, the managing director and owner of this place, Petr from Czech Republic is around from time to time. He even speaks German and is as great as all the other staff around and knows about the history of this premises. Further info: a private parking lot is available. So, we enjoyed our stay here and had a great time at Chateau Elysium. Highly recommended when being on Mahé.

Incredible hotel very beautiful good location we stayed at the beginning of December friendly staff very nice person got to the point and made a late check out since our flight was in the evening thank you very much we will definitely come back again

Amazing ambiance, fine service, perfect location, useful staff, great breakfast! Thank you, Peter, for the great hospitality! Natalia, Aleksandr.

One of the most welcoming, personal, unique, and beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure to stay! From the moment you enter, you feel like an honored guest of the family and staff. The chefs make amazing dishes just for you with the freshest ingredients. The rooms are put together with incredible quality and attention to detail. In every detail you feel the love of the owners for their hotel and for being hosts. The location is perfect, unlike most of the island you don't need a car to explore the village. Every time I suggest to go on another vacation, my boyfriend asks if we can come back here. It's a great place for any kind of trip, from workation to wedding. It's not cheap, but compared to how much you can spend at other places in Sechelles, you won't find any similar value.