Chauve Souris Relais

If you’re considering staying here, I would think twice. At the very least, know what you’re signing up for. The good: Beautiful location. Lots of interesting local birds, and the snorkeling around the island is nice. The bad: The property is poorly run and in rough condition. Some specifics: - The bathroom door in my room didn’t close - at all. I complained and a carpenter came the next day, but after the fix it only shut if you forced it, and it was loud. - The bed was rock hard and extremely uncomfortable. You could feel every spring, like sleeping directly on a box spring. I was told the other rooms are the same. - There’s a club nearby that plays music late, so the “peaceful island” comes with a soundtrack of unce unce unce. - I found broken glass on the main deck and reported it. Some was cleaned by the next day, but not all. I ended up picking up more myself and reporting it again. - The window didn’t seal properly, leaving gaps. - There are a lot of bugs, and the mosquito netting had holes and draped very loosely around the bed. I woke up to insects inside it. - The entire place feels dilapidated. The guy running it mentioned they know renovations are needed. - The food was disappointing. Breakfast was very basic - more like hostel level quality (boxed juice, grocery-store yogurt cups, white bread, mediocre eggs, no fruit). Dinner was not good either. My fish was so tough it seemed like they thawed it in a microwave. Meals didn’t come out together, leaving people waiting 5–10 minutes while food got cold. The biggest issue is management. The place feels understaffed and not professionally run. They seem to be relying on the setting to carry the experience, but it doesn't when everything else is amateur. An example: when I arrived, it was raining and the boat transfer was rough. My suitcase was placed in the bottom of the boat and got completely soaked - every piece of clothing was wet with salt water. A simple plastic bag would have prevented this. Instead, I was left with no dry clothes. I had to sleep in the clothes I had traveled in. They gave me a rusty drying rack, which left some marks on my things. They later brought a washing machine, but complained about the inconvenience, which felt very unprofessional. A smaller note: the water access stairs (only in one room) aren’t really usable due to slippery conditions - they recommend that guests in that room use the shared deck anyway. I ended up leaving early and booking another hotel at a similar price point. The difference was huge: a beautiful room on the water, incredible breakfast, amazing staff, and amenities. I wish I had known all of this beforehand. I wouldn’t recommend staying here. If you want to see the island, you can easily swim over and snorkel around it from the main island instead.

​Zero reliability – Avoid if you want a stress-free vacation! We booked our stay months in advance to ensure everything was set for our trip. However, only a month before our arrival, the host canceled our reservation due to "overbooking." This is completely unprofessional and unacceptable. Instead of honoring a long-standing reservation, they left us stranded, looking for a new place last minute when prices were already much higher. A very rude and disappointing experience. Save yourself the trouble and book somewhere that actually respects their guests.

Our stay at Chauve Souris Relais was truly a piece of paradise. Laurent, Mr. Duke, and the rest of the team were amazing—thank you for making our stay so comfortable and memorable. We stayed in the Pirata Villa, and waking up to the stunning sunrise from our room balcony felt absolutely dreamy. We were also lucky to be there during the full moon, and the view of the moon shimmering across the sea was nothing short of surreal. The food was another wonderful surpriseeverything was delicious and exceeded our expectations. Overall, our stay was excellent, and we highly recommend this piece of paradise in Praslin. A magical experience from start to finish.

Location is amazing with beautiful views, food is great. BUT it is not clear upfront that they have a break time from 2-5pm where nobody is reachable, so difficult to get to or off the island at that time. Also, we had pre-booked the boat to or off the island and 3 times they missed reading the messages on time. Leading to having to swim back to the island with my pregnant wife which is not acceptable. No phone number available that would respond and we were left completely by ourselves. Clearly the place is a good location but it needs a bit more respect for guests.