Raffles to open luxury resort on Praslin

Raffles, a luxury hotel and resort brand under Kingdom Hotels, is apparently advancing plans to open a top-of-the-range resort on the island of Praslin, probably at the second half of next year, and the construction of buildings according to the source was already well advanced, but without the fanfare of the hotel group’s marketing and PR teams.

The news was obtained and ascertained when visiting Praslin island with staff of the Seychelles Tourist Board (STB) who went on a retreat to the island’s Lemuria Resort, giving this correspondent added opportunities to do some fact finding, but then resulting in one mighty rush back to Mahe international airport on an inter-island air service by Air Seychelles to catch the departing Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi with just minutes to spare.

Raffles is also planning to offer luxury villas in an adjoining gated community, which will be serviced,according to another source, and which can be “let out” at times when the owners are not in situ. The arrival of this globally-renowned luxury hospitality brand will undoubtedly add to the attraction for the archipelago’s up market clientele and is going to support STB’s own marketing efforts with the strong promotions Kingdom’s leading brands like Fairmont and Raffles are known for.