La Digue · Seychelles
Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie Resort & Spa
The most refined address on an island where bicycles outnumber cars
7 photographs · select any to enlarge. Credits are shown with each image.
La Digue has almost no cars - people get about by bicycle or ox cart - and L'Orangeraie is the island's most polished place to stay. Villas climb a hillside through a garden of frangipani and orange trees, with the upper ones looking clean across the channel to Praslin.
The architecture borrows from creole tradition without turning it into pastiche: timber shutters, verandas, pitched roofs, and a good deal of hand-carved local woodwork. The spa sits at the top of the hill and is reached by a short funicular, which is a small piece of theatre in itself.
The real draw is what lies a few minutes' ride away. Anse Source d'Argent, with its sculpted granite and shallow turquoise water, is probably the most photographed beach in the Indian Ocean, and it is on the same island. Anse Coco and Grand Anse on the wilder east coast take a little more effort and reward it. Access to La Digue is by ferry from Praslin.
At a glance
What to expect
- Creole-style villas
- Hillside spa with funicular
- Two swimming pools
- Bicycle hire
- Restaurant and beach bar
- Garden setting
- Close to Anse Source d'Argent
- Ferry transfer from Praslin
Keep exploring
More in Seychelles
Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa
Sole resort on Silhouette Island, backed by a rainforest national park and a long empty beach.
Denis Private Island
A low-key private coral island north of Mahe with 22 beachfront cottages and its own farm.
Six Senses Zil Pasyon
A private-island retreat on Felicite where the granite landscape does most of the design work.
Alphonse Island Lodge
An eco-luxury lodge on a remote outer island famous for its saltwater flats and untouched reefs.