She was a beauty before. A luxury private sanctury on the southwest coast of the Seychelles’ biggest island Mahé. 30 thatched-roofed rustic villas nestled on a hill with splendid views of the Indian Ocean and the idyllic Anse Louis beach  – a dream for luxury paradise seekers. In 2020 the exclusive resort was rebranded: The Anantara group based in Bangkok and running more than 40 hotels in 20 countries took over and turned Maia into it´s first property on the Seychelles. Designed by Bill Bensley and Lek Bunnag, two of the world’s most highly respected luxury resort and hotel architects, the resort does not disappoint though the 30 acres tropical garden forest full of cinnamon trees is relatively small compared to competitors. The southwest-coast location guarantees beautiful sunsets by the way. And the outstanding Balinese spa with three outdoor treatment rooms will turn you into a massage addict. The spa is for most guests the main reason to leave their villa cocoon including private pool. Therefore the main restaurant seems often deserted and the impressive black lava pool is a bit smaller than in other comparable resorts. Each villa is assigned a butler which is nice but usually butlerservice is overrated. Really not bad: the all-inclusive price includes not only meals and most drinks, but all non-motorised watersports, scuba diving lessons, yoga and qi gong sessions, a mani and pedi, and laundry. The winelist with more than three hundred different wines is impressive, the food fine but not overwhelming.