What can I say about this hotel, or more to the point, about the owners. We telephoned from Paraslin about 14.00 to say we would be arriving at 16.30 at the hotel. 'Fine' they said, 'see you then'. We arrived on cue at 16.30, and rang the bell as directed - no one came, in fact they didn't return for over an hour. We were stood in the boiling heat with our suitcases. There was no note, nothing, yet just two and a half hours previously we'd had our arrival time confirmed. After about half an hour, a rambling drunk man arrived, saying he worked at the hotel, and the owners, Evans and Terese, would be there in a minute. This chap went on to tell tall tales about how he had won a paragliding competition in Greece and been awarded $250,000 which he had now squandered. Whilst harmless enough, this guy was not the way we had expected to be met, and he had no way of letting us into the hotel. After another half an hour or so, Evans & Terese arrived (the owners) saying, 'oh sorry, we were at the beach', this was a very half hearted apology and not meant. I explained we had been waiting over an hour. Evans' manner, far from being welcoming and accommodating, was somewhat menacing and intimidating. Terese showed us to our room - despite requesting a particular bungalow (our friend lives in the Seychelles and had made the booking, asking for a particular chalet), we were not allocated it, despite the hotel being virtually empty. Terese realised the bathroom had not been cleaned, and returned with a dirty mop to 'clean it'. We felt so thoroughly uncomfortable, we simply let her do it and wanted her out of the room. When getting into bed, we found hairs all over the sheets, the bed had obviously not been changed.

About half a mile away is Beau Vallon with an ok restaurant called the Boat House, but take a torch. If you've been to Praslin, Beau Vallon beach will feel like Blackpool in comparison!

Granted Seychelles hotels are expensive, but for €125, this hotel for the night was definitely not worth it. Just lucky that we were only there for one night before our early flight home.

Le pti payot was the accomodation I had booked on the net prior to my holiday in Seychelles. The chalet we were given did not have water to cook, to shower or wash teeth. Owner (Evans) came up with all sorts of excuses. When we called him again later in the day with the same problem, we greeted us with just a towel around his waist and smelling of alcohol. Incidentally, his towel fell off and he had nothing on!! Apart from poor service, we were also afriad of his personality. I dont own a hotel, but common sense tells me that you never greet your guests while you are drunk. Therefore, we had to change accomodation the following day. When we asked him for refund, he refused initially but then agreed to refund us 2 nights out of 5. Then we opted for Romance Bungalows (see review) - very good place to stay. Although Pti Payot is located next to the sea, it is about 400 - 500metres from Beau Vallon Beach and there are no street lights. It is rather scarey to walk in pitch darkness, therefore cant rely get out of the chalet for a good dinner!

If you want 5* perfection don't visit Pti Payot but if you want a self-catering place full of character, with a wonderful view and welcoming hosts then we thoroughly recommend Pti Payot. A selection of chalets on a hill overlooking Beau Vallon beach, the place is fantastically located 100 yards from the beach. If you get the top chalet, like we did by luck, the view is wonderful too.

Run by Evans, an ex-professional windsurfer, and his lovely partner Therese, you can expect a true Seychellois welcome. The chalets are well-stocked and, whilst you should not expect everything to work perfectly, you have more than you need. Evans and Therese even put on a dinner free of charge for guests once a week when you can enjoy lovely food and Evans' lively conversation in most languages under the sun!

Thoroughly recommended.