Six Senses Zil Pasyon, located on the 652-acre Felicite Island in the Seychelles, is set to open in Q3 2016, and will incorporate into its design the small island’s dramatic granite boulders that fringe the shoreline.

With 30 villas and 17 private residences, Six Senses Zil Pasyon will occupy just one-third of the picturesque island, with the rest of the island left in its natural state.

The 7,000sq ft (650sq m) Six Senses spa will be spread over 19,000sq ft (1,765sq m) of towering rocks, boulders and oceanfront, and is designed to accentuate the island’s natural geography. With contemporary architecture and the integration of sustainable processes and technologies, the spa is designed to become an integral part of the island’s ecosystem, and to offer guests a symbiotic experience of Felicite’s environmental and built features.

The spa will include five individual villas for treatments, along with a hammam, sauna, saltwater pool, steam, yoga platform and nail bar. It will provide holistic treatments from both in-house experts and regular visiting wellness practitioners.

Designed by the Six Senses Architecture and Design team along with Richard Hywel Evans of London-based Studio RHE, the resort features contemporary architecture and interiors, and has been designed to “embrace the untouched picturesque landscape of the island,” the company said.

The architecture aims to create comfortable spaces that appear to have evolved naturally as a collection of structures – or a ‘village’ – that is true to the island setting.

An intentionally restrained base palette of stone, timber, tile and fabric is used to reflect the natural surroundings of weathered rock, petrified timber, vegetation and rare orchids. The interiors also draw inspiration from the island’s natural assets, with clean, simple lines and seamless transitions from indoor to outdoor.

The 28 one-bedroom pool villas and two two-bedroom pool villas all have private infinity pools, and exteriors feature the subtle grains of balau timber with wooden shingle roofs. Exposed wooden beams feature in the vaulted ceiling in each villa’s living areas. Other features include large sun decks, outdoor dining areas and private wine cellars.

The resort will also include six bar and dining options, including a ‘no meat’ Ocean Kitchen, featuring a local catch of the day.

The resort’s main swimming pool is set at the water’s edge, where the ocean’s waves break over a rock wall. There are also three white sand beaches and the chance to swim with turtles.

Other activities include Trouloulou, a kids’ club villa with a two-storey treehouse and archeological sand pit; cooking classes; outdoor Cinema Paradiso; a petanque court and numerous walking trails.