Seychelles

Seychelles is an archipelagic island country in the Indian Ocean. It is one of the most stable countries in Africa, economically, having the highest gross domestic product in the African continent. One Christmas break, we arrived to this paradisiac island during the rainy season. When we ventured out, we were prepared in case of heavy rain.
We stayed on Mahe Island, the biggest island in Seychelles. The hotel was adequate. At check-in, the hotel registration manager informed us that there would be two extra charges, U$250 per person for a Christmas buffet, and U$350 per person for the New Years buffet. That amounted to an extra U$1200 added on to the lodging bill. When we informed the management that we did not want either buffet, they became agitated and said, “You will be charged that amount whether you dine with us or not.” Needless to say, we became a little agitated. Fortunately, we had made the reservation through an online travel agency and pre-paid our stay. So, they were not able to access our credit card. The manager informed us that they would charge the online travel agency anyway. We promptly called the travel agency and told them the situation. The charge was never applied to our credit card. We have since learned that this is a growing practice during the holidays by hotels to make additional money.