Despite its iconic status as one of the world’s most idyllic island chains and the "secret" getaway for Great Britain’s royal honeymooners, Prince William and Princess Kate, Seychelles remains off the radar for many North Americans seeking locales for luxury vacation homes.
True, getting there is not the same simple matter as hopping in the car and heading for the Hamptons. Located just below the equator and about 800 miles off the coast of Kenya, in the Indian Ocean, Seychelles consists of 115 islands, most of which are unpopulated. Such remoteness not only adds to its escape-from-it-all appeal, but offers the chance to witness plants and animals found nowhere else—giant tortoises that can weigh in at 700 pounds and the coco de mer, a rare palm tree wrapped in all kinds of mythology that produces the world’s largest nut.
While Seychelles is among the most ancient of islands, with stunning granite outcroppings that emerged from the ocean 85 million years ago and bring a distinct sense of drama to its beaches and inland terrain, it was not until the late 1700s that people began to settle here. First came the French, bringing along slaves from equatorial Africa. The British soon after swooped in, claimed Seychelles for the Commonwealth, and there it remained, not gaining full independence until 1976. So considering geology alongside society, Seychelles is at once very, very old and very, very new.
While technically part of Africa, Seychelles often feels as if it belongs more in the Caribbean. The same Anglo-Franco-Afro mash-up that creates the Creole culture of, say, St. Lucia or Martinique, prevails in Seychelles. The popular seggae that fuels bodies on dance floors is a tuneful blend of Jamaican reggae and sega, the traditional music of Seychelles and Mauritius, to the north. The Creole patois spoken on the boulevards of Victoria, the capital of Seychelles, could pass for local parlance on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As for the Seychellois, surely some of the healthiest and handsomest people on the planet, they wear the faces of the world.
"It’s as exotic a culture as you’ll find anywhere," says Scott Mosely, project manager for Petite Anse Development, Ltd., the Singapore-based firm that has created a collection of 28 villa residences atop headlands flanking the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, on the main island of Mahe (www.petiteansedevelopments.com). Built on sites ranging from 1.5 to 5 acres, the residences are enshrouded with tropical foliage and look out upon Petite Anse, one of the loveliest beaches in Seychelles.
While abiding to a uniform design theme, created by acclaimed architect Cheong Yew Kuan, the pod-like construction of the residences, which typically range from three to six bedrooms, allows for plenty of customization and bespoke additions.
"At the outset, we thought six bedrooms might be tough to sell," says Mosely, "and then people started asking for eight bedrooms or more. We have the flexibility here to build whatever they want."
At one of the homes, dubbed the "Flinstone House," the infinity pool is built right into the granite cliffs above the bay so that it merges seamlessly with the hillside. At another, the owner has installed a private monorail so his elderly mother can easily head down to the beach to play with her grandchildren.
Purchasing property in Seychelles, says Mosely, is "a relatively simple affair," requiring just a 5-percent stamp duty and 1.5-percent processing fee. Beyond that, there are no taxes in Seychelles, including capital gains, and owners are automatically entitled to a residence visa for themselves and their immediately family for a nominal fee.
Priced from $7.5 million to $12.5 million, the residences come with full privileges at the intimate, 67-room Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, with a pair of fine-dining restaurants and a spa set atop the resort’s highest point.
