Praslin’s Islander Hotel rated highly by HolidayCheck in 2017 |18 August 2017

With German visitors topping its list of clients, the Islander Hotel on Praslin is another tourism establishment in Seychelles that has been rated highly by HolidayCheck -- the largest German-speaking portal that allows German tourists to review their travel and holiday experiences.

HolidayCheck certificates are given to establishments scoring highly based on excellent reviews received from visitors. The Islander Hotel was awarded a grade of 5.8/6 for 2017.

This is the second consecutive year that the establishment receives the HolidayCheck certificate, although it has been rated highly by the same travel website in the past.

Located at Anse Kerlan, the Islander Hotel is a small family-run establishment located a few steps away from the beach.

The establishment, which for some years has also received the TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence, offers 12 rooms -- all of them bungalow-style except for one villa.

The owner, Miette Godley, says they have been receiving German visitors since the hotel opened its doors in 1991, adding that most of their German clients book their holidays through tour operators, both in Germany and Seychelles.

Germany is currently the number one source of visitors to Seychelles having sent 28,210 tourists to the island nation compared to 21,294 for the same period in 2016 thus representing a growth of 32 percent.

“We were among the first tourism establishments within the Anse Kerlan region on Praslin to open its doors to tourists, even when all reservations were done by fax or telephone. Today we can acknowledge major improvement when it comes to increasing visitors from the German market, especially now with the internet which makes things a lot easier and faster,” says Mrs Godley.

“We have been welcoming German guests since we opened our doors to the tourism trade. Although at a one point the Italians were overtaking them, after a few years we saw Germany went back to being our number one source of guests,” she adds.

Aside from the accommodation facilities, which include their own kitchen, the Islander Hotel also has a restaurant on site providing mainly seafood and Creole cuisine.

The owners’ residence, which is also close to the hotel, allows them to offer a more personalised service to their guests, who Mrs Godley said are mainly middle-class tourists.

Mrs Godley has expressed her appreciation to her staff and the Praslin community in general who she says work hard to offer a good service to the thousands of visitors that choose to holiday at the various establishments on Praslin.