Coco Blanche

Set across the road from Anse Royale beach on Mahe, Coco Blanche is a small run of five self-catering villas built around a private garden. Coco stands alone behind its own fence, an open-plan villa of 65 square metres facing the ocean from its patio. The other four, Coco Rouge, Coco Germe, Coco Tandre and Coco de Mer, sit about 75 metres from the water and share a modern, garden-facing design across 70 square metres each. Two of them can be joined by an interleading door, giving groups of up to six a combined 140 square metres, two kitchens and three patios between them. Each villa keeps its own kitchenette, lounge, air conditioning and a patio for eating outdoors. It is a family-run address. David and Caroline Deltel, who opened Coco Blanche in 2011, live on-site and handle transfers, car hire and trips to Cerf Island or the Jardin du Roi spice gardens a kilometre up the hill. You can hear the road's daily traffic of fishermen and schoolchildren from the patio, a reminder that this is Anse Royale itself and not a sealed compound. Being self-catering, guests set their own rhythm, cooking in the villa or grilling fish on the outdoor barbecue provided. The beach lies a short walk across the coastal road.