ABOUT US

Family-owned, personally decorated and fully staffed, our guests love Sea Monkey because it offers all the luxuries and personal service of a boutique hotel, but with a far more homely feel.

The emphasis here will always be on the personal touch delivered by a team who truly care about the experience and wellbeing of their guests.

Here’s just a little bit more about the people who make Sea Monkey tick…

Who Are We?

Sea Monkey is the latest adventure in a lifelong love affair with the hospitality business.

We – that’s to say, Marcel and Corinna Frichot – are professional hoteliers of many years. We started out at Denis Island in the Seychelles in 1980, before opening Knockinaam Lodge, a small country house hotel in Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. Here we were awarded a Michelin star and won Country House Hotel of the Year in the same year.

Having put it firmly on the map and established a gastronomic reputation which stands to this day, we moved onto The Elms, a Queen Anne-styled manor house in the Worcestershire countryside.

Our next project was Cheltenham’s Lypiatt House Hotel and The Daffodil, a well-known restaurant housed in Cheltenham’s famous 1922 picture palace.

Marcel is Seychellois and, over the years, the pull to return to the beautiful island where he grew up grew stronger. We searched for years to find just the right location, before we finally stumbled upon a perfect spot, private and secluded, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea. We fell in love with it immediately.

Everything we’ve learnt about hospitality – and truly delighting a guest – over the years has been lovingly poured into making Sea Monkey as indulgent and restful a place as it possibly can be.

The Team

Your team at Sea Monkey is headed up by our trusted Seychelloise Manager. Alongside her is a very experienced and highly skilled local cook who can lend her hand to all types of cuisine and prepare whatever you fancy to eat.

The team is completed by Naresh and Shiva, the Nepalese houseboys, who live on site and are available around the clock to guarantee the constant smooth running of the place.

But Why Sea Monkey?

How did Sea Monkey get its name? Seychelles legend tells of an impish character, often fleetingly glimpsed but never fully seen. Marcel and Corinna have it on good authority that this elusive, magical creature is a monkey, and its curled tail is now the villa’s logo.