Best of the Maldives: Lettuce – Le Meridien

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Le Meridien - hydroponic garden 3

Maldives resort gardens are used for any sort of fresh veg and herbs the chef needs in his kitchen. But the record-breaking hydroponic garden at Le Meridien features a special treat with unparalleled variety – lettuce. It grows 6 different varieties of lettuce

  • Green Coral
  • Crystal lettuce
  • Red Oak
  • Mizuna
  • Lollo Rosso
  • Romaine (Baby Gem)

The resort describes their lettuce plantation process:

· “Lettuce is grown in three stages: Seed sowing, Transplanting, and Harvesting. Lettuce gets ready to harvest in 45 days. Before transplanting into main NFT channels the lettuce is in nursery stage which completes in 20 days, and then after transplant another 25 days.”

Lettuce entertain your palette!

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Best of the Maldives: Lazy River – Centara Mirage Lagoon

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Centara Mirage Lagoon - lazy river

Loved these from the water parks in America and I first called for them in my 4th “Things I Haven’t Seen in the Maldives” post back in 2014. Thanks to Centara Mirage Lagoon, the “lazy river” feature, that we enjoyed in the sunny summers of Carolina, is now available in the sunny side of life for a leisurely water-sun lounging combo so appropriate for the Maldives.

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Best of the Maldives: Pool Channel – Oaga

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Oaga - river

Pools have evolved in the Maldives from simple rectangular intra-island swimming holes to infinity pools, fountain featured, split-level, swim-up bar extravagances. But none are quite so extensive, creative and storied as Oaga pool channel behind its Veyoge Gallery Pool Villas.

  • “Nestled in the lush gardens of Oaga Art Resort, the Veyoge Gallery Pool Villa draws inspiration from the enchanting Maldivian folklore of the star-crossed lovers ‘Khalid and Sitti.’ This captivating garden villa in the Maldives features an exterior made of invisible mirrors, reflecting the secretive and mystical nature of the lovers’ tale. According to legend, Khalid and Sitti leaped into a lake and transformed into mystical creatures, eternally united.”

The “pool” connects all of the plunge pools for the Veyoge Gallery rooms with a long, sinuous channel that culminates at a larger pool by the craft beer bar and decorated with images of Khalid and Sitti.

Oaga - channel pool

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Best of the Maldives: Most Pools – Haven Villa

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Haven Villa - pools

The very earliest beginnings of Maldives Complete was a spreadsheet of my research looking for resorts with pools (which in the 1990s was not all that prevalent and the kids really enjoyed a break from the gritty coral sand and salt swimming in the lagoon). Over time, pools (infinity ones at that) became standard fare for resorts and increasingly, especially at the luxury end of the market, for villas themselves. We enjoy having our own private pool for a cooling plunge. And I have seen a couple of properties with two pool villas. But Villa Haven’s Two Bedroom Residence with Two Beach Pools and Garden Pool is the first THREE pool villa I have come across. An enclosed one in the back area for those wanting privacy, a small one for maybe the kids and a big one for everyone.

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Best of the Maldives: Largest Hydroponic Greenhouse – Le Meridien

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Le Meridien - hydroponic garden

Some resorts have gardens for the ultimate in low-mileage produce. Others have invested in sophisticated nurseries and infrastructure to expand their capability (not to mention tap into the Maldives biggest and free-est natural resource…sunshine). But Le Meridien sets a new bar for scale  (see the chart below which shows the gorwn stuff growing) and sophistication of local grown produce with its state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse:

  • “Our greenhouse is semi-automatic with area around 500 m2 which can accommodate 7580 plants. We grow plants with hydroponic technique (NFT system) under controlled environment. We maintain air temperature below 30 degree Celsius using misting system, shade net and nutrient water temperature 24 degree Celsius using chiller. It’s a cyclic process, we do seed sowing and transplanting twice a week and harvesting every day. In our hydroponic system we use Albert solution (Nutrient A+B)  for proving nutrient to plants. Nutrient range is maintained 1.5 EC and pH -6. We do organic cultivation in our greenhouse, for controlling insects if any we use yellow/ blue sticky traps. We have rainwater harvesting system as well which accommodate 30k liters of water. Our production capacity is: 30kg/day.”

Le Meridien grows…

  • Lettuce
    • Green Coral
    • Crystal lettuce
    • Red Oak
    • Mizuna
    • Lollo Rosso
    • Romaine (Baby Gem)
  • Herbs
    • Spearmint
    • Peppermint
    • Thai Basil
    • Italian Basil
    • Rosemary
    • Thyme
    • Parsley

  • Vegetables
    • Bokchoy
    • Asian Spinach
    • Water Spinach 

Le Meridien - hydroponic garden 2

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Dialed Up Dipole

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Indian Ocean Dipole

Warming sea temperatures, El Nino, Crown of Thorn Starfish. After all of these threats to reef health, it’s no wonder Maldive reefs have been struggling. And now a fourth (!) assailant entered the scene – Indian Ocean Dipole. The BBC describes the IOD, aka “The Indian Ocean El Nino” (“Indian Ocean Dipole – What Is It?”):

  • “Temperatures in the eastern part of the ocean oscillate between warm and cold compared with the western part, cycling through phases referred to as “positive”, “neutral” and “negative”. The dipole’s positive phase this year – the strongest for six decades – means warmer sea temperatures in the western Indian Ocean region, with the opposite in the east.”

And this added boost to ocean temps isn’t only a hazard to corals, but to other life in the atolls. Notably, in the recent loss of mangroves as examined in this month’s Nature article “Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean Dipole explain mangrove dieback in the Maldives”:

  • “Mangrove forests enhance Small Island Developing States’ resilience to climate change, yet in 2020, a mangrove dieback impacted ~ 25% of mangrove-containing islands in the Maldives…We attribute this dieback to salinity stress driven by record-high sea levels in 2020, linked to an extreme positive Indian Ocean Dipole event.”

Indian Ocean Dipole 2

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Best of the Maldives: Lip Enhancement – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi - lip enhanceent

For that jellyfish-stung, fish-like pucke for your Instagram kissesr, Soneva Fushi’s spa offers lip enhancement treatment:

  • “To deliver plump yet natural looking lips, nanoneedling with PRP is used to provide a gentle exfoliation to the lip area while reducing lines and Fordyce spots. The injections also work to stimulate collagen within your lips and leave you with a youthful, plump effect.”
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Best of the Maldives: Turtle Rehab Centre – Joali Being

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Joali Being - turtle rehab 1

In a destination where the salutary effects of warm sunshine and remote tranquillity are complemented by gentle waters, wellness spas and programmes are standard fare in the luxury segment. Joali Being is the first Maldives resort to base its entire proposition around the wellness concept. And, the wellness is not just for its human guests, but also for its aquatic ones as well. Specifically, sea turtles who are treated at its Raa Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (thanks Paola):

  • “Serving as a step-down facility of the Olive Ridley Project’s Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa atoll, the new Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in Raa atoll at JOALI BEING is used for the rehabilitation of long-term sea turtle patients who are not in need of the intensive veterinary care received at the rescue centre. Sea turtle patients will be transferred here from the Olive Ridley Project’s Marine Turtle Rescue Centre when they are nearing their release back to the ocean after treatment by the veterinary team. During their time at the Raa Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, patients will continue to receive care from the resident Sea Turtle Biologist, Mohamed Shah, under the direct supervision of the Olive Ridley Project’s veterinary team…Patients admitted to the Raa Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre will undergo different types of customised rehabilitation such as Targeted External Weight Therapy (TEWT), dive conditioning and supervised exposure to enrichment devices.”

And like the increasingly high spec spas of the luxury set, the turtles are treated to their own stylish surroundings with an artistic likeness (the hallmark of its sister property, Joali).

Joali Being - turtle rehab 2

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Best of the Maldives: Petting Zoo – Oaga

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Oaga - petting zoo 1

The Maldives is famous for its underwater menagerie of marine critters, but no resort has as many land critters as Oaga. A range of cute and curious animals can be found across the Maldives islands from local flying foxes and push-up-manic litt’l lizards. Some properties have some domesticate imports like cats and bunnies. But Oaga has an entire petting zoo which includes:

  • Bunnies
  • Goats
  • Chickens
  • Ducks
  • Macaws
  • Parakeets

One of the lattermost, named “Kiwi” is especially social with the guests flitting about from villa to villa to see if anyone happens to be munching on minibar nuts (which by coincidence we had, so she became Lori’s best friend enjoyed a prolonged and intimate visit for an extended period).

Oaga - petting zoo 2

Oaga - petting zoo 3

Oaga - kiwi 3

Oaga - kiwi 2

Oaga - kiwi 1

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