We had printed out boarding passes and joined the queue to drop our bags. As we got to the front of the queue it was obvious the computer system wasn't working. So they said they'd manually book the luggage, fingers crossed it'll turn up with us at the other end.
We found the correct departure lounge and waited. The plane was due to leave at 9.05am, we were still sitting in the lounge at 9.05am. About 9.15 we got herded onto a bus to get to the plane. While they kept everyone in separate lounges for the different flights, when you walk down this path to board a bus they mix up a couple of flights so you have to know which flight you're heading to so you get on the right bus, crazy. Anyway we got on the right plane, it was full. It didn't leave until 10.15 so we were over an hour late leaving for The Seychelles.
We had a wonderful view of the top of Mt Kilimanjaro from the plane.
The top of Mt Kilimanjaro above the clouds
The flight was uneventful and we arrived at The Seychelles at 2.15, The Seychelles are an hour ahead of Nairobi so it was a 3 hour flight. It took some time to get through immigration as other flights had arrived before us. Thankfully our luggage did arrive so we collected that and headed to the arrival hall. There should have been someone to meet us and help us through to the next connection but we couldn't see our name anywhere.
We checked our itinerary and went to the desk of the agent who was named in our itinerary. Sure enough they had our documentation but didn't seem too fussed that they weren't there to meet us. Anyway we got our vouchers and headed over to the domestic lounge for our connecting flight to the island of Praslin. We booked the luggage on and were told our next flight would leave at 4.15. It was a 15 min flight to Praslin Island where our hotel was located. We sat in the departure lounge along with many others. When 4.15 came and went and no one seemed to know what was going on, Terry went back out past the security screening; no one seemed to care; to find someone to explain what was going on. Then we found out there were technical problems with the planes so instead of 2 planes rotating between Mahe Island (the main island we were on) and Praslin Island there was only 1. So much so that we wouldn't be flying out until 5.30! They knew this when we checked our luggage in but no one said anything except that we'd be leaving at 4.15... Extremely frustrating. Not a great start for this last week of R&R...
The people who had been waiting in the lounge before we got there did get on a plane around 4.30 and this same plane came back for us at 5.15. We took off at 5.30, someone did meet us at Praslin airport and then drove us to L'Archipel Hotel, our accommodation for the week. We arrived around 6.30, very tired and frazzled. It was nearly dark so we couldn't see much of the view but we could hear the sea, smell the salt and feel a lovely sea breeze. We were given an iced tea and then waited about 15 mins before a customer service guy arrived and told us a bit about the housekeeping. Our room rate was to include breakfast but they were also including a set menu for dinner which was unexpected. We could also have a la carte but that would be extra which is fine, as we thought we'd have to pay for our dinner anyway.
He said they didn't recommend we drink the tap water, however we'd have to pay US$2 for a 250ml bottle each and every time. He kept saying "this is a 4 star not a 5 star hotel" as if that was explanation enough. To say we weren't happy would be an understatement.. Terry got very upset, as he can, but this guy wasn't budging. We wanted to speak to the manager but as it was Sunday night the manager wouldn't be back until Monday morning. Not a great start.
We went to our room which was quite large; air con, ceiling fan, decent size bathroom and separate shower. It was quite dated. We went back to the dining room for our meal off the set menu and ordered a drink. I ordered a cosmopolitan (a very common cocktail) and Terry a caipirinia. The waiter said that would be fine and then the customer service guy came back and said they didn't have cranberry juice, the main ingredient of a cosmopolitan, so another confrontation. In the end I had a G&T, the hotel said both drinks would be "on the house". Terry would speak to the manager tomorrow. We were very tired as we'd been on the road for over 12 hours for a connection that should have taken about 6 including waiting time.
Our room at L'Archipel
We had the lower level of this villa at L'Archipel
Red fody
The hotel wasn't quite what we were expecting. We'd been expecting something more like the Maldives especially for the nightly rate we were paying.
We ate our meal, the food was OK and hit the sack around 10.
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