Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
One of the first resorts in Seychelles, the 4-star Coral Strand Smart Choice was opened in 1972. The resort immediately won the hearts of locals and tourists, becoming an integral part of the island life. Coral Strand Smart Choice is located on the North West of Mahe Island, on the famous Beau Vallon beach, which stretches for several kilometers along Beau Vallon Bay. Fine sand, small waves and stunning sunsets make this beach truly special, like no other on the island. The resort is a great starting point for exploring Mahe Island and its main attractions: Morne Seychellois National Park, Marine Reserve, Botanical Garden and the capital of Seychelles - Victoria. It takes only 25 minutes by car to get from Seychelles International Airport to the hotel. The simple and uncluttered design of our guest rooms invites you to unwind after an active day spent outdoors. Coral Strand Smart Choice offers 164 guest rooms furnished with king-size or twin beds with the option of connecting rooms, all equipped with flat-screen TV with international TV channels, Wi-Fi, individual air-conditioning, shower, hairdryer and bathroom amenities. Guests can choose between a mountain view, which offers a breathtaking tropical landscape, or a spectacular view of the Indian Ocean. Start your day with an ocean view breakfast at Island Trader Restaurant. Dine at our gourmet Mahek Restaurant, servicing authentic Indian cuisine, or visit Coral Asia Restaurant, renowned for the best sushi and sashimi in the Seychelles. Our Ocean Deck Bar offers the best sunset views over the ocean. Indulge in tropical cocktails, local beers and the famous Coral Cheese Burger by the Chef. Seychelles is one of the most romantic destinations in the world, where the most beautiful weddings take place. This is also one of the places where the ceremony is held with the issuance of an official marriage certificate, recognized in most countries of the world. Coral Strand Smart Choice has great experience in hosting wedding ceremonies, including the organization of welcome cocktails, receptions, banquets or just a romantic dinner for two.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Mid-range
Classic
Languages Spoken
English, French, Russian, German
Location
Beau Vallon, Mahe Island Seychelles
Coral Strand Smart Choice
3,316 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Coral Strand Smart Choice hotel is commended for its attentive staff and pristine beachfront location, which guests love for the serene sunsets and easy access to water sports. While the charm of the atmosphere and cleanliness is often highlighted, some guests feel the rooms are cramped and outdated, detracting from the overall value.
Additionally, noise from ongoing renovations has been a concern. Despite offering a variety of dining options, reviewers suggest a need for more entertainment and updates to enhance the guest experience.
Location
Beachfront
Atmosphere
Charming
Rooms
Dated
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Spotless
Noise level
Noisy
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Satisfactory
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Rooms: Check in was quite slow but we were able to check in early. The room we were initially given was on the ground floor and suffered from damp. The duty manager was very helpful and moved us to a higher room the following morning. The second room was better - they have a double bed, TV with international channels, hair dryer in the bathroom, small balcony with 2 chairs, a safe and a small amount of space to hang clothes. The room was clean and fine for a few days.
Food: Breakfast was a large spread with continental and cooked options. The service in the beach bar was slow but the drinks are fine, the food is ok. The indian restaurant food was good for dinner one night. I'd recommend B&B only as there are other options to eat nearby for lunch and dinner.
Location: The hotel is on Beau Vallon beach which is lovely. There are a number of small very good bars and restaurants nearby to walk to in the evenings. The beach is clean, the sea was very choppy but fun to jump in the waves.
Staff: The staff are hit and miss, some are great (the duty manager, the luggage boy, and the lady who welcomes guests for breakfast), some look bored and were quite rude (in particular the girl in reception who gives out welcome drinks).
One other thing to note is that on 2 nights the hotel had a party until 2am in one of it's function rooms. This made it quite hard to sleep on these nights, despite being quite far away from the noise, I understand this is a regular occurrence so ask for a room away from reception just in case.
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Date of stay: January 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Rooms higher up seem to be less damp.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We booked last minute and were not expecting much based on all the reviews but we were pleasantly surprised. We upgraded to a sea view room and we would definitely recommend this as the standard garden view rooms actually overlook the car park. The room was a little tired and dated but it was very clean and although small, the bathroom worked just fine with lots of pressure in the shower and plentiful hot water. We found the food to be very good with lots of choice and very fresh. Yes the dining room is a bit of a soulless space but we could not find fault with the food. Staff were helpful and kind. Location is amazing - you can't fault the location - right on the beach with amazing sunsets. There are places to walk to, to eat out and we recommend hiring a car to get out and really appreciate this beautiful island. We just sorted ours through reception. To summarise, this is not a 5 star luxury hotel, but as long as you accept that, then it is a good, solid choice.
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Date of stay: March 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A lot to digest? Read an AI-generated summary of recent traveler reviews.
the hotel attracts a mixed reviews. it wasn’t our first choice but we managed to secure 2 rooms at very good rates after our bookings at the other hotel was cancelled by mistake. we are pleasantly surprised.
the hotel is dated and tired. however, it’s fit for purpose. looking beyond the look, we are pleased with the service, food, location, beach and facilities.
it’s well located at beau vallon with a sandy beach the water at this part of the island is calm during october. it’s closed to many restaurants, money changer, and a night market. the sunset is beautiful and the colour is different each night.
breakfast spread is excellent. swimming pool is good. the staff is helpful in ensuring all the guests are provided with clean beach towels and beach benches.
we rented a car to move around the island. it’s about 15 minutes drive to the jetty (for cat coco ferry), 20 minutes to eden island and 25 minutes to the airport.
my son has rated this hotel 5.
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Date of stay: October 2019Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arrived after a long flight and was made to sit in a reception area with multiple other guests to await the filling out of forms, copying of passports which was poor given the company had supplied most details. Given a room and found it to be smelling very damp, lots of ants on the walls and mould marks on the roof and top of the walls. The chairs in the room were like old school metal chairs. The bathroom was really tired and in need of a drastic upgrade. The hotel is certainly not a 4 star hotel. I was moved rooms after waiting four hours to one which was marginally better. It was on the same floor, but I do not understand why the management allow their rooms to be varying in decor standard when essentially they are the same style room. The staff at the restaurant were not particularly inspiring either with an average menu with costs the same as the better quality restaurants nearby which I would recommend people are at. The location on the beach is great and this could be an excellent hotel with a bit of effort to improve the standards.
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Date of stay: March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Location of the hotel is great no doubt, the staff at pool and reception is helpful. But still we had some serious problems with our stay.
1. The rooms are too small to fit in and bathrooms are worse. 2. The first room we got had a damp smell so had to change it. 3. We stayed for three days and there was maintenance going on just above our floor for two days Straight, Complained to the staff but had no effect. 4. Charged almost 6 EUR (95 SCR) for a 500 ml water bottle, where as you can get a 1ltr bottle from the shop next to hotel for 1 EUR, i don’t totally disagree with the hotel’s business but at least they should be reasonable. And even after that they kept calling at the night to pay the due amount of the bottle I purchased at the reception.
A suggestion, you can charge a security amount if you do not trust your guest instead of asking them to write their CREDIT CARD details on a piece of paper at the reception.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My wife and I stayed at Coral Strand during March and had the most amazing time. We had read a lot of reviews before our stay and we were a little concerned on arrival. However we were really pleasantly surprised.
The hotel is a 1970's build, I remember it as I was on Mahe back in 1989. It is not a modern resort hotel but it is an ideal hotel for couples and it's location has to be the best of any we saw on our travels around Mahe. You will not be cut off from reality here, you get to have your superb location but still have local life on your doorstep, that may not be to some peoples liking and if you don't want to mix and support the local Seychelles population then think again. The people are lovely we had no problems and they add to your experience of the holiday.
The Hotel itself could do with a wee lick of paint here and there and maybe the quiet lounge areas upstairs need some attention, but you won't really be using them much anyway! However I think the hotel should explore developing those areas as it would certainly create a better evening ambience. The grounds are really well maintained everyday staff are cleaning and tending to the site.
Reception is very open plan quite unusual really and this means the front of house team are on view and in the mix of all nationalities at all times and I'm sure at times having worked in a hotel myself that stress levels must rise for them! They have no where to hide!! I have nothing but praise for the whole front of house team, try and keep those smiles wide even when you have the problem guest!!
Our room was lovely clean, bathroom was good too and housekeeping were on the ball all of our stay well done. View of Ocean, palm trees etc what more could you wish for. For the picky amongst you, please remember when this hotel was built, don't expect a sleek modern looking 4 star sterile room!! But you will have all your needs.
And now for the important bit!! The food!!!
Well you will not be disappointed here, all meals are buffet style but absolutely amazing. Breakfast is vast with all needs/diets catered for to fill you up for your day ahead, and that carries on through the day. Dinners are set around a theme each evening the choices are amazing and my wife who has dietary needs found she could happily and safely fill her plate every night of our stay. The sweets are to "die" for and a big thank you to the chef for his expertise and the lovely special sweet he made for my wife's birthday.
So yes your stay here will not be in some modern, clinical, sterile 4 star box room, it will be in a hotel filled with warmth and a charm representative of the islands people ideal for a couples holiday at a sensible price.
Finally a big thank you to Yuri, Irina, Moyo, Niyasha, Adby, Jeanne and all the staff who made our stay so pleasant. Wishing you every success for the future in these turbulent times. Malcolm & Heather
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
At check in we switched our room 4 times because of the smell of mold and had to pay to upgrade so we didn’t have the mold smell. On our second to last night of our 6 night stay, the hotel rented out the main restaurant for a wedding which didn’t stop until 2:30am and was right below our room. The music shook our walls and furniture. Management said they would refund our room but it took 3 weeks and they refused to refund the upgrade. I don’t recommend this resort.
The location and food are the only good things about this resort.
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Date of stay: November 2019Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed a week at Coral Strand. It is a good medium size hotel with a good breakfast and nice service. Our room had a small terrace to the pool side and with a sea view. The beach is beautiful and very nice.There are lots of restaurants within walking distance. The pool is good, but we preferred the beach. If you want scuba diving two companies are within walking distance from the hotel. We had 4 nice dives with Blue Sea Divers and our divemaster was very informative and professional. You can easily take the local bus to Victoria and to the beginning of the hike to Anse Major. There is a small supermarket where the bus stops for the hike, and don´t forget to bring food and water, you can not buy anything at the beach. We also recommend you to bring your own snorkeling gear.
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Date of stay: October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We went for a romantic weekend only to find that the rooms were in terrible condition and after day one we had a water leak in the room. Engineering tried but took hours while we had to wait. Took me two phone calls to asked to be moved which they finally did. No one ever said sorry or apologized for the inconvenience. Poor service at reception, on arrival and even at departure. The service at the pool restaurant was average but would be nice for staff to smile while serving us and doesn’t look like it’s a hassle for them. Would not recommend this place at all.
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel location was excellent, staff was second to non, food was also good, the Indian restaurant was amazing the chef for the Indian restaurant was also amazing. However the hotel is very dated we saw broken tiles almost everywhere. The elevator near our room was broken the whole 10 days time we were there. bath towels were clean but worn out (some of them) - overall it needs a lot of work- rooms also were clean but need a lot of upgrading.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is almost impossible to answer. In past years, weather patterns were much more defined than they are today. December should be a good month but is supposed to be the start of the rainy season. Generally heavy rains do not last for long, but they can...! Comfortable temperature and humidity.
Nevertheless, with weather anywhere in the world today, it is potluck!
There are more places to choose from in the Beau Vallon area.
PRICE RANGE
$168 - $285 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
hotel coral strand, coral strand beau vallon
LOCATION
SeychellesMahe IslandBeau Vallon
NUMBER OF ROOMS
164
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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