Four Seasons Resort Seychelles

AREA Architects' 67-key Petite Anse property opened February 2009 — Hirsch Bedner Associates throughout, with a granite-and-wood pavilion vocabulary that follows the cliff line down to the bay. Each villa carries its own infinity pool, deck and outdoor reading pavilion; four kitchens (Koi, ZEZ, Kannel, Steak Shack) cover the dining bench, with Le Syel Spa eight rooms up the slope above the bay for sea-view treatment work.

A Four Seasons on the hillside above Petite Anse beach in Mahé, with private pool villas in tropical forest. One of the Indian Ocean's most dramatic resort settings, with the island's extraordinary granite landscape as the constant backdrop.