“We want people, famous or not, to be able to relax on their holiday,” St. Ange told the Telegraph. “They shouldn’t have to worry about being spied upon.”
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North, as it is known locally, is run by the eco-conscious Wilderness Safari company, based in South Africa, who have managed the ecological restoration of the island for more than a decade.
Careful habitat management and a strict policy of sustainable development mean that visitors feel they are in an untouched paradise. Scuba diving, sailing, snorkelling, bike rides and nature walks are the order of the day.
North has also played host to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge
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>> George Clooney’s honeymoon hotel: in pictures
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The island’s 11 villas are large, each with its own pool, and there is no menu for the restaurant – the chef makes up meals according to guests’ individual preference, though fresh line-caught local snapper and wahoo fish are usually a favourite.
The whole resort is designed with the aim of restoring a sense of being at one with the natural environment. Guests can even hire a beach for private use.
After the high sophistication of the Cipriani and Aman Canal Grande hotels in Venice the utter peace of an Indian Ocean island will be the perfect place to wind down.
The paradise feel of islands like North is clear. The beaches are achingly beautiful and at this time of year the weather is usually picture perfect as there is often no wind to disturb the surface of the sea.
There is no restaurant menu – chefs make meals according to guests’ preferences
North also gets little rain, despite its proximity to the moody and magnificent larger island of Silhouette which is so high and steep it often attracts its own tropical downpours.
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The sight of Silhouette from North as the sun goes down behind its dramatic summit is one of the best views in Seychelles.
Standard villas on North start at £2,000 per night, but the Clooneys are likely to have opted for Villa 11, which is set apart and slightly larger than the others and costs a cool £3,200 a night. And although it might seem pricey, the rates are almost totally inclusive, unless you order vintage wines.
George & Amal will be able to unwind in the privacy of their own spa
Guests can also pay for private yoga sessions and spa treatments, while the short helicopter ride from the main airport on Mahé costs £1,175 per couple.
The Clooneys are believed to be honeymooning on the island for a fortnight bringing the cost of the trip, without extras, to £47,000.
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Press reports that the Clooney wedding celebrations cost anything from £5million upwards mean that a week at North Island will seem like a bargain in comparison.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin followed in the honeymoon footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
They too chose North, and like the Clooneys had visited Seychelles previously. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have visited too, and the actress Salma Hayek chose North for her honeymoon.
North is one of the world’s most exclusive private islands
One of the many attractions of the island – and of the Seychelles in general is that it offers a higher level of privacy than almost any other destination.
North, like other equally luxurious privately owned islands such as Frégate and Denis, are inaccessible unless you are a guest.
>> Top 10: Romantic Seychelles hotels
>> George Clooney’s honeymoon hotel: in pictures
Following the visit by Wills and Kate the government introduced a law making it an offense for a Seychellois citizen to provide assistance to any papparazzo who was cunning enough to hire a fishing boat and try to take photographs from offshore.
North also makes much of its strong eco-credentials
In the case of the Cambridges the government even stationed a coast guard vessel offshore to make sure the royal couple were left alone.
During their honeymoon Prince William enthused that he was pleased to have returned to a country where the safeguarding of nature is so important.
He and Kate were presented with a souvenir of their holiday by the President of Seychelles – a beautifully boxed coco-de-mer nut.
The nuts of the palm tree Loadoicea maldivica, which only grow naturally on one island in the Seychelles, Praslin, are often called “love-nuts” because of their erotic appearance.
Seychelles is renowned for its coco-de-mer palm
They are also the largest seeds in the plant kingdom with a unique botanical history and can weigh up to 30 kilogrammes. Tourists can visit the valley where they grow on the second largest island of Praslin.
If Mr. and Mrs. Clooney are lucky they will have spent their time on North in peace sipping sun-downers and watching flying foxes cruising above the granite outcrops in search of ripe mangos at the crest of the island, and fall asleep to the gentle grunting of some of the Seychelles giant tortoises that live on the island.
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Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africa/seychelles/articles/Inside-George-Clooneys-47000-Seychelles-honeymoon/
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Publish date : 2014-10-04 07:00:00
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