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North Island, Prince William’s £6,800 per night honeymoon resort, joins Marriott

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This is a story so odd that it is hard to believe that it is true, but it is.

You may have heard of North Island Resort in the Seychelles.  If the name rings a bell, it is because it is where Prince William went on honeymoon, as did George and Amal Clooney.  It is situated 30km from Mahe Island, the capital of the Seychelles.

The resort website is here.

North Island Resort has a grand total of 11 rooms across its 500 acres.

‘Rooms’ is perhaps understating it, however.  The 11 villas are each 450 sq m, so about 6x the size of the average new-build UK house.

It is reassuringly expensive as you would expect, with rates at €6,433 per night before a 15% tax and 6% service charge.  That is £6,800 per night all-in.  If your children are 12+ there is an extra charge.

If you want to read a review, my friend and occasional HFP commentator Tom has been a couple of times.  He reviewed it on his blog – which is probably the worlds biggest source of private island resort reviews written by the same person – here and here.

Why is North Island joining Marriott Bonvoy?

You may have heard of ASMALLWORLD.  This is an organisation with, to put it mildly, a chequered history.  Set up as, basically, a ‘Facebook for rich kids’, its Wikipedia entry features a long list of allegations against it.

For extra kudos, disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein owned the company at one point.

Today, ASMALLWORLD styles itself as “the leading private international lifestyle club”.

A few weeks ago it acquired LuxuryBARED, an online luxury travel agency, as the foundation of a new division called ASW Hospitality.  It has now announced that ASMALLWORLD is taking over management of North Island.

This seems, on the face of it, crazy.  We are talking a business with a chequered past and no experience in hotel management moving into the sector by taking over what is arguably the most famous private island resort in the world.

And it gets odder ….

ASMALLWORLD has decided to add North Island to “The Luxury Collection”, one of Marriott’s brands.  The switch is scheduled for December.

Unless there is some change in the rules, this means that you will be able to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points – and remember the nightly cap from the end of 2019 will be 100,000 points which I value at £500 – for a villa selling for £6,800 per night.

Somehow I doubt that will be happening, but let’s see.   After all, Jan Luescher, ASMALLWORLD’s CEO said:

“North Island is one of the very few resorts the whole world knows and talks about. ASMALLWORLD is proud to manage this iconic property and to work alongside Marriott International to get more ASMALLWORLD and Marriott International’s loyal guests to experience this one-of-a-kind resort.”

It is not substantially crazier than expecting Prince William or George Clooney to hop onto marriott.com to book their honeymoons …..

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points sign-up bonus and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (84)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • TripRep says:
    25 Feb25 February 06:27

    Interesting, makes me wish I had a stack of Marriott points. I see Hilton also have 3 properties in the Seychelles, anyone been recently? Any good?

    • TheSkintTraveller says:
      25 Feb25 February 07:16

      Going to be staying at Northolme in a few months time so will let you know.

    • Alex W says:
      25 Feb25 February 08:06

      There is a guy on here who bangs on about going to Conrad Rangali, can’t remember his name.

    • Marcw says:
      25 Feb25 February 08:12

      I’ve heard/read the Hilton properties are not great.

      • meta says:
        25 Feb25 February 08:35

        Same. I am staying at Doubletree in April for the last two days. Otherwise, it is best to base yourself on Praslin and or La Digue. No major hotels there, so I am using my hotels.com rewards nights.

        • Qwerty Bertie says:
          25 Feb25 February 15:12

          I have stayed at the Doubletree. I do not recommend it, and upgrades are virtually impossible as all the rooms are the same except for a tiny number on the top floor, four I think.

          We had a quick look at Northolme when we drove past it, and it looks less like a hotel/more of a holiday camp. Didn’t look great to me, but I would try it over the DT to see if better, or actually now I think about it, despite being diamond, I would reluctantly deviate from Hilton the next time I go to Mahe.

          Labriz to me would be crazy. I hate the idea of not having the freedom to jump in the hire car and go where I want, when I want.

        • meta says:
          25 Feb25 February 17:20

          @ Qwerty Bertie Apart from not getting an upgrade what else you didn’t like about DT?

        • Cat says:
          26 Feb26 February 10:57

          I did one of the Doubletree day packages while on my way back to the airport. The beach is pleasant enough, but nothing like the jaw-droppingly spectacular beaches that you can find on Praslin or La Digue. Northolme doesn’t appear to have much in the way of breathtaking beaches either. I really wouldn’t bother with the Hilton properties. I’d go with hotels.com personally. If you really want to go with a chain, go for the Raffles or the Constance Lemuria on Praslin. Both give you reasonably easy access to one of Anse Georgette or Anse Lazio, and the other is accessible with a bit of a hike.
          Have fun!

      • Qwerty Bertie says:
        25 Feb25 February 18:26

        I’ve had better food at Pizza Hut. The room had several niggling maintenance issues, things which felt petty to bring up so we suffered most of them in silence. Parking is free, but limited spaces. Prior to the holiday my research led me to believe it was a good location, but actually it is somewhat remote from most of the things to see on Mahe. I had a hire car for freedom, but even so it felt we were too far from Victoria and most of the island. The hotel beach seemed nice at first, but then we noticed most other beaches blow it out of the water, including all the main public ones. The hotel beach was fully unusable for several hours each day due to the tide, whereas a lot of the beaches don’t even lose half of their depth.

    • Tilly says:
      25 Feb25 February 08:38

      Stayed at Labriz on Silhouette Island in November. We absolutely loved it. Excellent service and experience.

    • Andy D says:
      25 Feb25 February 10:04

      Stayed at the Hilton Labriz on the island (Silhoutte) just down from North Island (you can see it) we loved it.

      As Hilton gold got upgraded from a standard beach room to a mountainside villa with private pool, garden the works.

      Great for a relaxing break.

    • TripRep says:
      25 Feb25 February 10:47

      thanks for the replies, might look into a hols there if I can dare risking a BA 241 CW to get there….

      I’d be interested to hear the feedback, feel free to email me after your stays. I see the DT is only 70k/night

      • meta says:
        25 Feb25 February 11:40

        Yes, I booked on points as I had them from work trips. Cash prices can be 300 euros or less in sale for standard room DT only has two room types and all 30 rooms have balconies with sea view. Actually I think DT is better if you don’t want to spend too much on incidentals as it is on the main island whereas at Labriz you’re limited with restaurant options. It really depends what you’re after. Snorkeling/Diving trips are much better organised from Mahe and Praslin. It really depends what kind of experience you’re after. I am actually using Lloyds upgrade voucher to get there (booked last April). Apparently it’s now more difficult to get CW or F seats, so I guess I was lucky.

    • Jovanna says:
      25 Feb25 February 15:44

      The Northolme has some good views over the bay and the villa felt private. Grounds are nice. Breakfast was busy every day. Food was sub-par and expensive. We booked a honeymoon package because it was the same rate as the advance purchase. Diamond member, so breakfast was free. Don’t recall an upgrade but villa was away from the main reception area.
      The honeymoon package included a free transfer to and from the airport (about 70 euros each way), a bottle of sparkling wine, a 1-hour massage for two, and housekeeping running us a bath one night with rose petals and candles and more sparkling wine…
      Prices at Northolme were slightly cheaper than Silhouette. You’re a short cab ride from one or two other places along the bay should you want to leave the resort. Taxis were expensive. The bus was pennies. You could walk but the road is very dark and unlit at night.
      Silhouette was better. It feels more exclusive because it’s the only thing on the island. The boat ride across leaves 3 times per day. It’s about £140 per adult for the return trip. It’s added to your bill.
      We had a beachfront villa. You’re just a few feet away from a stunning beach and you hardly see anyone on it. No upgrade – resort ‘full’. Restaurants are poor. The only decent thing that I had was a burger, which was £20 – £25. Frozen pizza was about the same price. Beer was about £15 per pint, even the local stuff (which is about £1 a bottle in the supermarket). As a Diamond member there’s a separate restaurant for breakfast. This wasn’t very busy and was quite nice. There is a small gift shop on the island and that’s it.
      Both resorts had a happy hour, with reductions on selected drinks and cocktails.

  • Andrew M says:
    25 Feb25 February 06:37

    Do they have a self-catering kitchen, i wonder ?

  • Mr Dee says:
    25 Feb25 February 06:57

    Only reason I could imagine is to sell some rooms during quiet times or as a feeder system to their club

  • Susan says:
    25 Feb25 February 07:07

    It’s hardly private if there are 10 other families around. Why on earth pay that much to have to deal with someoneelse’s kids. May as well stick to Benidorm 😉

  • KP says:
    25 Feb25 February 07:08

    I can’t seem to comment on the VS TLV article. Question is – what are the taxes on redemption tickets ?

    • Roberto says:
      25 Feb25 February 08:15

      It says in the article..

      • Rob says:
        25 Feb25 February 08:27

        We don’t know because it wasn’t bookable when we wrote it. VS didn’t know either.

        • Alan says:
          25 Feb25 February 11:46

          LOL love that VS don’t know either – kinda hope they’ll have an idea when they start charging folks…

    • John says:
      25 Feb25 February 09:11

      It’s more the airport security screening they do that puts me off going to Israel, though I understand why they think they need to be so invasive.

  • meta says:
    25 Feb25 February 07:09

    I wonder whether they’ll offer free night(s) with their membership… It could be worth paying the fee for Prestige/Signature if you get free nights included plus the miles.

  • Tom H says:
    25 Feb25 February 07:26

    Could it not be like Necker Island and VFC?

  • Shoestring says:
    25 Feb25 February 07:35

    Still can’t get kudos right!

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