Six Senses Zil Pasyon

When we first encountered Six Senses, all those years ago, we were skeptical, having made do all our lives with just the usual five senses. Given their fantastic taste in locations, however, and their equally fantastic knack for effortless top-flight luxury, it quickly became clear that the brand had earned its sixth sense, and possibly even a seventh. Now, however, with the advent of the Six Senses Zil Pasyon, on a private island in the Seychelles, we’re fully prepared to grant them eight, nine, or even ten senses — whatever it takes to keep the luxury flowing.

And while there’s not a bad private island in the Seychelles, they’re not all as pristinely beautiful as Félicité, where Six Senses Zil Pasyon makes its home. Its 652 acres of dramatic elevations and virgin forests are home to just 30 extraordinarily luxe timber villas, each of which includes a private sundeck and an infinity-edge plunge pool among its many, many high-end comforts. From any of them you’ll have views out to sea, carefully framed by native vegetation. (In fact the entire project aims not only to preserve Félicité’s natural environment, but to leave it in better shape than when Six Senses arrived, with the help of an on-staff ecologist.)

The spa, naturally, offers an extravagant array of therapies in a dramatic rock-fringed setting. It’s more than just a massage and a facial — the program is Integrated Wellness, and it’s as all-encompassing and intensive an experience as you want it to be. Then again, you can reserve your life-changing moments for a snorkeling or diving excursion, a helicopter tour of the archipelago, or an odyssey via stand-up paddle. Just be back in time for dinner, as Zil Pasyon’s restaurants serve a fine interpretation of the well-traveled culinary blend that is Seychellois cuisine.