Mango House Seychelles: A tropical luxury hotel where Hilton points come in handy
- Mango House Seychelles’ location on the main island of Mahé means you can enjoy the benefits of an ultraluxurious resort without having to take expensive interisland flights.
- Redeeming Hilton points can provide outsize value for booking your stay.
- The beach is small and currents can be rough, but the three pools provide plenty of areas to sunbathe and relax.
Lying hundreds of miles off the coast of Africa, it can take well over a day of travel to reach the Seychelles from many parts of the world. Yet this dreamy archipelago of granitic and coral islands continues to beckon visitors with boulder-strewn beaches, incredible cuisine and welcoming hotels, many of which are bookable using points.
Among them, Mango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels & Resorts manages to stand out thanks to its convenient location on the main island of Mahe, the prevalence of award-night availability and the elegance of its accommodations and amenities.
On a recent trip to the Seychelles, Mango House provided just the right bookend to a luxury-hotel-hopping experience but also felt like a destination unto itself.
What is Mango House Seychelles?
Opened in July 2021, Mango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels & Resorts is a luxury resort with just 41 rooms and suites ranging from starting-category Deluxe rooms with twin beds to Premium rooms with either king or twin beds and a variety of one- to three-bedroom suites, some of which have their own private plunge pools.
The resort stretches along the low coastal bluffs of a peninsula above a small beach, though chances are you'll spend most of your time around one of the three main swimming pools rather than in the ocean since currents can be rough and only a little sand remains at high tide. The hotel is home to a handful of restaurants and a few other high-end amenities, including a pocket-size gym and a small spa.
It is located near Anse aux Poules Bleues in the district of Baie Lazare on the southwest coast of the Seychelles' main island of Mahe, which means you don't have to connect on an expensive interisland flight to reach it once you arrive in the country.
It takes about 45 minutes to drive there from Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) over Mahe's central mountain range, and a taxi will cost roughly $80-$100 each way (bring cash since few hired cars accept credit cards).
How to book Mango House Seychelles
As part of LXR Hotels & Resorts, Mango House Seychelles participates in the Hilton Honors program, so you can earn and redeem points for stays there.
Nightly rates start at around $480 per night and include breakfast, though they can regularly range above $1,100 per night.
Award nights typically cost 110,000 Hilton Honors points apiece, and even when paid rates are high, there tends to be a decent amount of award availability. Always check paid rates and compare them to the award pricing since you'll want to be sure you will get enough value by redeeming points if you choose to go that route.
When booking Mango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels & Resorts, use one of the credit cards that earn the most points for Hilton stays, as well as one that possibly offers automatic Hilton Honors elite status for value-added benefits. These include:
- Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: Earn 12 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels; automatic Gold elite status; and the ability to upgrade to Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year by spending $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year.
- Hilton Honors American Express Business Card: Earn 12 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels; automatic Gold elite status; and the ability to upgrade to Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year by spending $40,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year.
- Hilton Honors American Express Card: Earn 7 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels and automatic Silver elite status (with an upgrade to Gold through the end of the next calendar year when you spend $20,000 in a calendar year).
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Earn 14 points per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Hilton hotels and automatic Diamond elite status.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Mango House Seychelles is also part of Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts, so if you have an eligible card like The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and make a booking on AmexTravel.com, you can receive perks such as availability-based upgrades, up to a $100 credit to use on-property during your stay for things like drinks or meals, complimentary daily breakfast for two and guaranteed late checkout.
Rooms at Mango House Seychelles
I used Hilton Honors points to book two award nights at Mango House Seychelles in May in a standard Deluxe twin room. I was hoping for an upgrade (preferably to a room with a king bed) thanks to my Hilton Honors Diamond status, which I hold because I have the Hilton Aspire. No such luck, unfortunately. Due to the hotel's small size and the Seychelles' popularity at that time of year, Mango House seemed to be almost completely booked out.
My room, number 33, was located at the end of the resort farthest from the entry gate and highest along the bluffs, so it had beautiful views of Anse La Mouche Bay, and though it was near the property's perimeter wall and a small road, it was quiet.
At almost 500 square feet, the room felt very large and was decorated in a breezy colonial-chic style with high, wood-beamed ceilings, glossy hardwood floors and two gauzily curtained canopy double (not twin) beds dressed in white linens with baby-blue stitching.
The narrow wooden table under the wall-mounted flat-screen television doubled adroitly as a workspace, though when temperatures were cooler in the mornings and evenings, I took my laptop out onto the private balcony so I could take advantage of the speedy free Wi-Fi as well as the refreshing sea breezes.
There were plugs and USB-A ports aplenty and a tasty welcome amenity of plantain and coconut chips along with macarons, which I might or might not have nibbled on as a morning snack to accompany a coffee I whipped up in the minibar's Nespresso machine.
The entry foyer had copious closet space and led past sliding wooden doors into the generous, granite-tiled bathroom with dual vanities and separate stalls for the toilet and the walk-in shower with overhead and handheld showerheads.
The hotel stocks locally made Belleriche skin and hair products in large-format bottles as well as brightly patterned lightweight robes with vibrant patterns designed by Seychelles-based artist Alyssa Adams.
What I ate at Mango House Seychelles
There are five restaurants and bars at Mango House Seychelles, so you might not even feel the need to leave the hotel during your stay, though it's certainly easy to do so if you want to venture into some of the nearby towns for a meal or two.
Muse
Muse is the hotel's all-day dining outlet. Lunch and dinner fuse Italian cuisine and Seychellois ingredients, with dishes such as red snapper carpaccio with passion-fruit vinaigrette and seaweed chips ($32), black truffle and burrata pizza ($38.50) and king tiger prawns with zucchini scapece ($70). Because I only had two nights at the hotel, I skipped dinner at Muse.
However, this is also where breakfast is served, so I staked out an alfresco table on each morning of my stay where I could listen to the waves while I was treated to plates of tropical fruits and house-made pastries.
Servers would come around periodically with help-yourself plates of vegetables, charcuterie and cheeses and you could order as many small a la carte dishes as you liked including decadent roasted banana pancakes drizzled in dulce de leche and healthy avocado toast on rye bread with pomegranate.
Soley Bar
Located by the hotel's eye-shaped main pool near the entrance to the property, Soley Bar is a cute open-air lounge and restaurant where you can enjoy tropical cocktails and light fare from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. daily. I skipped the drinks since a server brought me an ice bucket filled with water bottles, but I tucked into a tandoori chicken wrap with cucumber and tangy raita sauce ($31) that hit the spot for lunch.
Kokoye
Be sure to check the time for sunset each day so you can snag one of the outdoor tables at Kokoye, the cocktail bar on the floor above reception. Although the interior is artfully decorated with wallpaper showcasing Seychellois flora, wraparound velvet banquettes and wicker furnishings and fans, you'll want one of the balcony tables for those panoramic views.
As dusk settles, you can even see the island's giant bats wheeling through the sky or hear them chattering loudly in the nearby trees.
The drinks menu is populated by botanical-infused cocktails like a martini of jasmine tea-tinged gin with elderflower liqueur and vermouth ($15.60), a sweet and earthy dark chocolate rum Old-Fashioned ($15.60) and a tart, frothy five-spice rum sour ($15.60).
Azido
Take advantage of the fresh fish and seafood sourced locally with an outdoor dinner at the hotel's Japanese-inspired restaurant, Azido. You can dive into ultrafresh bluefin tuna sashimi ($49) along with specialties like scallop and tiger shrimp truffle gyoza ($35.50) and heaping hand rolls like a hearty one with soft-shell crab, avocado and cucumber ($31).
Moutya
Spend an evening at the hotel's romantic Creole restaurant, which is usually outdoors except in inclement weather. The menu includes signature dishes like crunchy Desroches Island heart of palm salad ($25), red snapper ceviche with coconut milk ($28) and rich, savory snapper curry served with fluffy coconut rice and cucumber satini salad ($37).
Amenities and things to do at Mango House Seychelles
- The main infinity pool is adjacent to the lobby and features days-long views over the bay, plus plenty of daybeds.
- The eye-shaped pool is livelier thanks to Soley Bar and access to a tiny strand of sand where you can wade into the bay.
- The elevated, quiet pool at the far end of the property has a shaded deck ideal for afternoon snoozes.
- There are lounge chairs on a lawn overlooking the hotel's small main beach, but beware of the strong tides.
- The petite fitness center has a smattering of Technogym cardio machines and weights.
- Upstairs from the lobby, the Anpe Spa proffers treatments like a purifying facial with a coconut-charcoal clarifying scrub (75 minutes; $168). As a Hilton Honors Diamond elite, I was treated to a complimentary 20-minute mango balm foot massage.
- The hotel can help you book both on-site activities like cooking classes and off-property excursions, such as jungle hikes, yacht charters and scuba expeditions.
Insider tips for staying at Mango House Seychelles
- Points rates aren't always a bargain, considering room rates dip below $500, so always double-check your math before redeeming and consider booking a higher-category room for more amenities.
- Breakfast is included with stays, so make sure you put any additional elite-status amenities to use.
- While you save on not flying to an outer island, you also miss out on tourist-free beaches and reefs to snorkel, so plan on booking an extracurricular activity or two.
- Service is generally friendly and efficient, but you might have to ask twice for things like activity arrangements or room fixes. Relax, though, you're on vacation.
Accessibility
The main building of Mango House Seychelles, where you will find the lobby, the infinity pool, most of the bars and restaurants, the gym and the spa is wheelchair accessible, with ramps as well as elevators to get between various levels.
The hotel offers buggy service to rooms for those with mobility issues. However, wheelchair users might have a difficult time navigating the sometimes uneven terrain and accessing the pools, which do not feature chair lifts.
There is a wheelchair-accessible King Deluxe room with a 32-inch-wide door and various features such as lowered beds, counters and room controls, as well as grab bars in the bathroom and emergency pull cords.
Bottom line
Not only is Mango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels & Resort a beautiful, luxury property that feels like a destination in its own right thanks to its secluded location and small size, but it can also be an excellent stopover stay between jaunts to some of the Seychelles' farther-flung island resorts. The sunny staff will ensure your stay goes off without a hitch, and the variety of poolside settings and dining venues means you won't get bored here, even on longer stays.