Best of the Maldives: Helipad – Anantara

Anantara helipad

A whole entourage of superlatives are emerging out of the headline royal visit of Saudi Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz to the Anantara this week. Most amount spent on a holiday. Most rooms booked at once. Tightest security (reportedly staff are not allowed to have their phones on them). But my favourite from all of the reports is the building of at least one helipad for the prince’s helicopter on his mega-yacht (see above). “Helipad” has long been on the “not seen yet” list ever since the surrender of the Maafushivaru Lonubo’s to the inexorable tides. I’ve seen them pencilled in on some of the extravagant resort plans like the one with the underwater golf course, but nothing “on the ground” so to speak until now.

7 Way to Recreate the Winter Olympics in the Maldives

 

Maldives Olympics rings

 

 

 

The Maldives attracts celebrities of all types including famous athletes. After London 2012, a few luminaries like Michael Phelps and Roger Federer popped down for a chill out, so maybe a number of the Sochi stars will now make their way down to escape the chill.

Sochi has shown that a seaside resort can host the Winter Olympics so to make them feel at home why not the Maldives Winter Olympics?…

 

1.  SKELETON – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah water slide

 

2.  SKI JUMPING – Velassaru

Velassaru - jumping

 

3.  BOBSLED – Kurumba

Kurumba - banana boat

 

4.  SKIING – Jumeirah Vittaveli

Jumeirah Vittaveli water skiing

 

5.  LUGE – Gili Lankanfushi

Gili Lankanfushi - slide

 

6.  BOARDING – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru boarding

 

7.  HOCKEY – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah air hockey

Best of the Maldives: Circus – Centara Grand

Centara Grand circus

 

Another performer who has sprung onto the Maldives resort scene with the greatest of ease is Khun Goy at Centara Grand

“Circus Under the Stars, staged regularly at Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives, has as its star someone who is very well known on the island, for she is also known to guests as Khun Goy, the resort’s leisure and entertainments manager. The show, which is held on the beach, includes breath-taking performances on aerial silks and the flying trapeze. Khun Goy (the word ‘Khun’ means ‘Miss’) first had the idea for putting on shows during the Christmas and New Year holidays, and they proved such a hit with guests that the shows are now regular features, provided free of charge under the resort’s cashless island program. Her real name is Thaiyara Suvan, and she is a super-fit 34-year-old from Bangkok who began her career in the performance and fitness coaching business twelve years ago. She developed an interest in working on the flying trapeze and from that began to work on her skills with various forms of the aerial arts…She joined Centara Grand Island Resort in October of last year, where she teaches adults and children alike in aerobics, gymnastics and yoga, as well as organizing entertainment events.”

Best of the Maldives: Vocalist – Kurumba

Kurumba - Miro Solo

The Brit Awards last night celebrated the top musical acts in the UK, and if there were a “Mald” awards, a leading nominee would be one of the budding musical stars of Maldives is Mira Mohamed. We saw her at Bandos during our stay. Unlike the typical background music pervading the sparsely attended night-time lounges, she stopped me in my tracks as I was rushing to a meeting with the deputy resort manager. A classy and talented performer, she brings a very personal flavour to her song renditions. She has toured a number of resorts, but Kurumba is featuring her as a regular headliner.

Best of the Maldives: Tandem Bicycle – Jumeirah Vittaveli

Jumeirah Vittaveli tendem bicycle

Give me your answer true
Will you let me peddle along with you
When you and I go cruisin’
You’ll thank me for choosin’
You to come and have some fun
On a bicycle built for two

I’m half crazy for the love of the Maldives and the distinctive touches each resort brings to enhance this paradise. A number of resorts offer bicycles as a leisurely way to explore the island. And given the Maldives romantic ambience it’s a bit surprising that no resort has offered this earlier – a tandem bicycle. Jumeirah Vittaveli introduced their doublemint fun just recently describing…

“A tandem bicycle – made for two – will allow newlyweds to explore the winding lanes of the island, which mirror the aesthetic of a traditional Maldivian village.”

Buddy biking!

Best of the Maldives: Wedding Proposal – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah - fire wedding proposal

 

Will you be my Valentine?

Or will be be mine forever? Both are popular questions being asked today. But few with more bright light and fervid heat than Nick Candy’s proposal to firey Strictly contestant and actress Holly Valance.

“The 38-year-old property tycoon got down on one knee on a beach in the Maldives with the words 'Will you marry me' written in fire when he popped the question.”

None of the reports divulged the resort where it took place, but the tell tale give-away was the Reethi Rah pool shown in the picture she tweeted.

Not only is Valentines Day an iconic occasion to start a brothel, but the Maldives is also THE dream location to conclude it with your honeymoon according to the latest Agoda survey.

Happy Valentines to the romantically inspired everywhere.

Best of the Maldives: Concave Shoreline – One & Only Reethi Rah

One and Only Reethi Rah aerial

 

 

One & Only Reethi Rah inverts the one of the most classic landscapes of the Maldives. The archipelago is renowned for its pointilistic array of white sand dots punctuated by green centres strewn across an aquatic tapestry of variegated blues. Those “dots” mean that nearly all the shorelines are convex, ie. outer curves. These shapes protrude the beach comber out toward the ocean with limited shoreline in view as it wraps behind him. But Reethi’s shorelines are terraformed into a collection of cosy coves. These convex harbours provide a completely different ambience which amplifies the sheltered sensation of the shallow lagoons surrounding the island.