A almost perfect vacation after our horrible stay in Nepal

Why does one pay double the price of the very best accommodation at a similar resort to stay at Fregate?

I have yet to find out why, BUT I can tell you why you should NOT.

Weather.
No reason to be here during the low season unless you want worse weather than in Europe.

Beaches.
We were told the sea would be too rough to swim which was correct. The beaches are photo-friendly but actually pretty useless and thanks for the sand flies. If you are a beach person, this is definitely not for you. The hint might be the granite all over the place!

Isolation.
This is the only reason I can find as to why you are paying $4,000 per night…. yes that's correct…. but I am not a film star, I don't wander around in the nude and I don't want to spend 2 weeks confined to a villa.
No-one at the 2 restaurants, no-one at the bar, no atmosphere whatsoever…..Boring!

Food.
The food was not up to the standards of a three star hotel. Steaks and lobster were horrible. Thank goodness we liked Indian and Thai which we had every lunch and dinner. Shame our local restaurants are of higher quality.
I have no problem eating the produce from the island but they should also be able to offer alternatives which they were unable to do.
While I understand with such a low occupancy rate, logistics must be a nightmare, but if the solution is not to offer any choices and rely on the island produce, that is a nightmare of a holiday.

Villa/Service
On arrival, the air conditioner had just been turned on although it was a horribly humid and cloudy day. Actually, the AC was the only thing during the whole trip which was better than I have at home….. the ONLY thing. The television didn't work at all during the duration of our stay. The DVD machine had to be changed and lots of the discs were scratched. At least the internet did work, albeit slowly and pretty challenging for my work. The actual accommodation was fine although looking its 10 years. The interior furniture was adequate. The decking was not well built but the pool was okay.
Fortunately, the junior p.a., that is what they are called, was duly overwhelmed after 24 hours and we were re-assigned a different villa and a senior p.a. With the new villa, supposedly viewing the sun rise and fall was possible, although during our stay we saw no evidence of such an event. The senior p.a., who actually was a great improvement, but why are they called p.a.'s when all they do is act as a waiter? When there are only 3 other villas occupied out of 16, why would you give one of your inferior villas, without any supposed views, to a couple staying 2 weeks in the low season? Was more money required? Paying double was not enough? Further proof the management is un-involved and prefers the birds.
The cleanliness of the place is open to question. Poo from the millipedes spent their time in the bath tub unmolested.
The sheets and pillows were poor quality.

Spa.

The one and a half hour massage and scrub at the spa using the natural products of the island was soothing but it didn't warrant double the cost of a similar treatment at a five star spa.

Animal life.

Those of us who have seen the Hitchcock film The Birds were slightly alarmed, but horror stories about the animal life by and large were greatly exaggerated with the exception of the sand flies which were prolific and not mentioned prior.

Exploration.

We did a day trip to Praslin and La Digue where we experienced an authentic Seychellois curry…. it was rubbish. We went to 2 beaches on La Digue, the famous one called the source of money, miss it, it has to be terrible in high season, worse than Margate. On Praslin, the Lazio beach was the best we had seen the whole trip but save yourself a lot of aggravation and just go to the Caribbean.

Conclusion.

So you tell me why we paid double? You tell me why we went at all? Our last holiday was 2 weeks in the Maldives when it rained every day. This holiday was considerably less enjoyable. Not good…. As I write this, our last Wednesday evening, dinner was so bad we left it. No-one cares.
You have to laugh…. last day the AC has broken down.
160 euros for a bottle of Pimms.
Wine list, poor quality ridiculous prices.

We spent a week at Fregate Island in February with our son and daughter, ages 9 and 6. It was the most amazing experience for all of us. It really is your own private island, exactly the way that nature intended it to be experienced.

For the week we were there, the weather was a bit unusual for February - there was fairly high surf - and some of the beaches were closed. Our kids are good swimmers and enjoyed getting pummeled in the larger waves and trying to swim out past the break. If you want consistent flat water, this is not the place to go.

We were very fortunate that Juliette at Mr. and Mrs. Smith had arranged for us to be in Villa 3. It was perfect for our family of four. A fantastic master bedroom, dining area and living room on one level, and a second bedroom with bathroom on a lower level for the kids. They thought it was fantastic, like they had their own house. I would not recommend that Villa for children any younger, or non swimmers, as the room opens onto the pool area.

As far as our stay on the island, we took advantage of just about everything we could, and I have to say the entire Fregate team is absolutely amazing. Nothing we asked for was too much, and after we had been there a few days and we got to know them and they got to know us, some of the recommendations and arrangements they made for us were just incredible. From our beachside dinner to having the chef prepare raviolis for our son at an island lookout on a golf cart stove - absolutely amazing. The motto of the island is anything, anywhere, anytime and they certainly lived up to it. The food was absolutely incredible. Every meal was beautifully presented and incredibly well prepared. Notwithstanding the gourmet quality of the meals, they were always ready to prepare something simple and vegetarian for my wife as well as the usual child friendly meals.

Before our trip, we read some of the reviews on this site that talked about millipedes in the rooms and other issues with "nature". I have to say, once you see the situation on the island, this should be the least of your concerns. The rooms are meticulously cleaned, twice daily, and while the millipedes can be large, they are completely harmless. After we did a tour with the island ecologist and the kids held the millipedes for themselves, it was a complete non-issue. The birds (and the lizards) are everywhere and they join you for breakfast and lunch, but that is part of what makes this island and the entire experience so unique.

This is not a Four Seasons and it doesn't and shouldn't try to be. It is an incredibly unique island in a very unique location in the world. We have been to a number of other 5*+ resorts, and always enjoyed ourselves, but this is truly a very special experience that (to date) beats all others.

If you do give Fregate a try, do it with an open mind (and wallet) and you will enjoy yourself in ways you never thought possible. If you are not comfortable in a natural environment or you feel you have to control every moment and make it work to your standards and expectations, this is not the experience for you. On the other hand, if you like unique experiences, extreme luxury and are willing to let the island try its magic on you, you will not be disappointed.

We are working on our return trip now!

Many thanks to Marc and the team for making our stay so enjoyable.

As a child I wondered what would become of bird sanctuaries with endangered species. Would people ever see them? On Fregate Island Private, amongst the exclusive villas, endangered species thrive; they are curious, and the kids LOVED them! There is a beautiful beach for swimming and snorkelling at the marina, and we tried sailing an optimist with the kids in the harbour. The staff were very relaxed and friendly, Asanga booked everything and Sherpa'd meals and picnics to every point on the island (he even beamed us the Cricket World Cup! You beaudy!) Eric at the harbour gave me a proficient PADI course (I did okay for a poor swimmer) and we had a great time underwater - the reef is slowly recovering after EL Nino 1999 and the tsunami, and the fish are slowly coming back (Eric showed me his friendly Napoleon fish).
If the golf carts were any faster they would have accidents on some of the corners and besides, they are SOLAR… and Rufus will never forget (driving) them! Neither will someone else’s kid that nearly hit us! We had one or two days of rain and if that spoils your holiday like the Italian correspondent well, that’s just the luck of the draw. The Gym is squashed full of flash new expensive kit and it all worked as far as the kids could see! We all did a massage which is a damn good idea for the legs after a dive course and certainly between long flights.
The island is full of fun, luxury and culture and a tribute to the owner, his touch is on everything (especially the historical nautical museum).
Many thanks to Marc for his special treatment and our best regards to everyone