Best of the Maldives: Exercise Course – JA Manafaru

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JA Manafaru - exercise course 1

 

Even the nicest floor-to-ceiling glassed, over-water fitness centres in the Maldives mean that you have to go inside for some exercise. You have to extract yourself from the sunshine, fresh air, squawking tropical birds, and fragrant blossoms to get your heart rate up a bit. You typically have to put on your shoes for the only time in your no-shoes get-away. But JA Manafuru sets a high bar for activity-on-offer in the Maldives…quite literally.  As their adventure exercise course actually includes a number of “bar” exercises (see photos here). The whole circuit is spread out around the island so you can jog from one set of exercises to another. All of the exercises included illustrated instructional signs. The areas are even lit at night so people can use them during the cooler evening if they prefer (as does the front office manager Jourden who told me that he does the course nearly every day himself).

 

JA Manafaru - exercise course 2

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Best of the Maldives: Indian Teppanyaki – Hideaway Beach

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Fusion is blends one culinary tradition’s recipes with another locale’s ingredients. The Maldives is no stranger to a range of fusions incorporating fresh reef fish, tropical fruit and Indian spices into familiar concoctions from around the world. Hideaway Beach’s “Samasara” restaurant goes a step further infusing the cultural show and drama of Teppanyaki with indigenous flavours. Their chef, Rahul, performs twice weekly at their over-water prime location. He yields the knives with characteristic dexterity, but the climax comes with the flaming grand finale not just in pyrotechnic drama, but dazzling flavours – the flambé fruit (watermelon, fruit, banana, vodka, anise star).

 

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Best of the Maldives: Budget Water Villas – J Resort Alidhoo

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J Resort Alidhoo - water villa back

One of the most popular Bucket List items in the world is “Staying in a Maldives over water villa”. And the nearly as popular obstacle is “But I never will be able to afford it…”

For some, just seeing the iconic plot-of-sand-and-a-palm-tree destination is a financial stretch. But there are still modest resorts on lovely islands (eg. Bathala) that we definitely within many people’s reach (as long as they are willing to be happy with modest accommodation and simple, if not tired, décor). And with the advent of Guest Houses, even more budget options become feasible.

However, for some, the fantasy is more than the Bounty Bar island (one of my favourite terms picked up this trip from Hideaway Beach’s Kat Anthony). For some, the dream includes immersion in the over-worldly turquoise lagoons in a nearly as iconic water villa.

For this reasons, water villas always command a premium (over their more pedestrian Beach Villa counterparts). A quick calculation through the Room Type database shows that on average Water Villas are 25% more expensive per square metre than Beach Villas. Furthermore, the lower end islands tend not to have them so they tend to reside in the high rent corner of the market putting them that little further beyond reach.

But J Resort Alidhoo is offering their water villas at exceptionally affordable prices. The resort has been waiting for some investment in their infrastructure and cosmetics and so it knows it doesn’t have the flashiest product and most comprehensive services. But it is making up for it by being extra competitive on rates. In some deals, you can get a night in a water villa for $300…full board! You struggle to get modest, tiny hotel room in London, McDonalds Breakfast, Subway lunch and Harvester dinner for that price in the UK.

And the rooms are quite impressive. Yes, they could do with a fresher paint job for 5-star aesthetics, but they don’t look bad. The thatch roofs are in dire need of a refurb, but that looks worse that it is (the thatch is only decoration and just because some palm fronds have been blown off, doesn’t mean the roof is any less weather-proof). Still, if you do secure a J Resort Alidhoo, I would make sure you have travel insurance and be prepared for things go a bit awry (as anything could happen if they do secure investment and they might shut down for renovations). But if all goes well, it could very well be the bargain of a lifetime for the dream vacation of a lifetime.

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Maldives Tour 2015 – Review

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Male Aminath Hudha

Another tour comes to a close. I took advantage of Kurumba’s proximity to Male to pop-in there. I got to see all of the semicentennial decorations that they had put up – flags lining the streets, lights for a night time extravaganza (see below), and some jetty enhancements including the Sydney-esque Jetty 1 (though meant to be modelled on a dhoni’s sails not the opera house – see white canvas in the background of the above picture).

Also in the picture with me is with the very first Maldivian to help with Maldives Complete, Aminath Hudha. She was working with the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (part of the Ministry of Tourism to promote the Maldives) and provided lots of material and guidance since its outset. We caught up and chatted about the Maldives resorts and all my visits (Hudha is a complete authority on all resorts now working for the booking company Hotelbeds).

Over the next week or so, I will be posting my initial “Best of the Maldives” pieces on each of the resorts I visited in order of the visits. Meanwhile, here are a few overall reflections that apply to many if not all the resorts on the itinerary.

  • Summer Weather – For some reason, the summer months is classified as low season in the Maldives. The perception is that the weather is not quite as reliably pristine as earlier months in the year. The key thing you don’t get this time of year are the horizon-to-horizon azure blue skies. We used to get them all the time in our February visits, but really never get them in our July visits. You get something from couple of scattered clouds to a hazy sunshine or big, occasionally stormy clouds passing through. Most of the time, the scattered and high level clouds tone down the intense sunshine. The air is a bit more pleasant and mild. More breeze has the downside of stirring up the lagoon hurting visibility, but also the benefit of feeling lovely (especially sipping a pina colada). And there are occasional, pretty much very short-lived (and hour or two) storms, but in February (winter) they are virtually non-existent.
  • IPad Menus–  At first, I was blown away by Hideaway Beach’s iPad menus…only to find them at Sun Siyam Irufushi a few days later. These are so perfect for the Maldives that I can’t believe that I haven’t featured them in “Haven’t Seen” yet. I haven’t even come across these in London eateries yet. They are perfect for the romantically dim lighting instead of fiddling with mini-flashlights in the dark. Not to mention the more mature diner like myself who doesn’t want to bring his reading glasses to dinner. It won’t be long before these become standard equipment for 5-stars the way rainshowers have infiltrated villas in recent years.
  • Accommodating Children – Resorts are growing more and more accommodating for children of all ages. Many are letting 2 or even 3 in stay in a villa with the parents (of course, current day villas are on average twice as big as the original ones). Also, most resorts now allow any age children in water villas with signed disclaimers.
  • 5 Star Segment – The luxury segment of resorts just gets more and more crowded every year. Every refurb typically takes a charming 4-star property into the 5-tar league. The jostling always makes me muse on the subtle differentiators in this Premier League of tropical paradise. 5-Star rating system continues to be stressed as it is not granular enough to cover resorts from $500 a night to $5,000 night. The TripAdvisor “Stars” are no better. They don’t measure absolute nor authoritative standards. They are emotional expressions of whether a property met, exceeded or underwhelmed expectations. So on TA, a cheap hostel that is surprisingly clean can get 5-stars on and a luxury hotel that skimps on lime with their papaya could get 4. The 5-star Championships are a bit like a Gymnastics competition. First, you simply can’t make any mistakes in your routine and you have to execute a number of fundamental skills. Secondly, you need to execute with personality (the “Olga Korbut” factor). Finally, you need to add a bit of sizzle in with a high difficulty-factor 3 triple-reverse-summersault or the like.
  • Signage – One of the things that I noticed walking around Kurumba this time was their elegant signage (stone posts with stylish typography). It drove home for me an observation I made at a number of the other 5-stars that seemed “faded”. First impressions (ie. arrival jetties and reception areas) and cosmetics (eg. signage) are the best investments a resort can make. Elegant signage and common area décor overcomes a few bits of chipped paint in the villas.

Finally, forget putting the “lime with the coconut”, but will resorts please serve lime with papaya (I’m still astounded by how many top flight resorts make this basic oversight as fundamental as not serving sugar with coffee or butter with bread).

Tour 6 At-a-Glance…

  • 8 islands
  • 4 atolls (brief foray to South Male atoll for dive off Velassaru)
  • 4 new Resort Profile pix (at 97% completion, not many missing to get)
  • 37 new Room Type Profile pix
  • 11 Snorkel Spottings
  • 26 pages of notes
  • 5 dives
  • 3 spa treatments
  • 15 pina coladas
  • 55 Dive Sites added
  • 74 Dive Charts added
  • 68 candidate “Best of the Maldives” pieces

Male independence day lighting

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Maldives Tour 2015 – Day 9: Kurumba

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Kurumba tour 2015

Kurumba is the Hotel Cipriani of the Maldives. Nestled on its equivalent of Guidecca Island, the view (on one side of the island) of Male is like gazing out on the Venice of the tropics. A bit of bustle in the distance with you ensconced on your secluded patch of opulence. It may not be the “plot of sand and palm tree in the middle of the ocean” experience, but it is just as enchanting in its own way.

Kurumba is possibly the most unsung resort in the Maldives. Overshadowed by its proximity to Male and the airport, it is one of the truly distinctive properties. The level of luxury puts it in the upper ranks of the 5-star (not 5+ star) league table, but the price is one of the least expensive.

Kurumba is an island that doesn’t coast. No matter how many times I have visited (it is the one exception to my personal rule not to visit a resort more than once…and I have now visited Kurumba 7 times), I still uncover new treats and treasures that they have introduced. Their new New “Thila” restaurant is the best of both worlds – wide open to breeze with a firm floor and fans to cool you, or on the beach tables under a graceful canopy. It may be the oldest resorts in the Maldves, but it is always one of the freshest.

Kurumba continues to build on its coconut motif. Lori enjoyed the “Kurumba Cappuchino” which was cappuccino flavoured with essence of coconut. And they have taken the “Pina Colada Test” to a whole ‘nother level (details to follow in Best Of post).

Aye Kurumba.

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Maldives Tour 2015 – Day 8: Centara Ras Fushi

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Centara Ras Fushi - tour

The “sweet spot” resort. Centara Ras Fushi sits right where so many Maldives aficionados are crying out for – affordable price, good house reef, convenient to Male, fine diverse food, AI available, well maintained, intimate island, and superb service. Is that too much to ask for?

Centara Ras Fushi delivers all the treats a Maldives lover craves – brand new beach bar (with swim-up pool bar), overwater bar (with loungers and net hammocks, sand floors in reception and restaurants, stylish loungers (in subtle earth colours), comfortable large beds.

The resort has also made an extra effort to cater to the ample snorkelling around the property. They do swim tests before handing out snorkelling gear. Most impressively, they have strung a submerged but floating rope at the reef edge so any snorkelers facing difficulty can grab it for assistance (or just those for whom manoeuvring the water is more difficult). They have also added 4 ladders to their long water villa jetty (second longest in the Maldives) so snorkeler could enter and exit at different points easily (why doesn’t every water villa resort do this??)

So what’s the catch? The only real thing anyone gets concerned about with Ras Fushi is the feared “Rubbish Island” (known more euphemistically as the “Industrial Island”). All sorts of bogey-man tales abound about resorts near this processing facility – that it looks bad, that it smells bad, that trash drifts in. The fact is that if someone didn’t tell you that they processed the Maldives’ trash there, it would just look like a built-up local island save for the thin plume of white smoke constantly rising from it. I’ve stayed in resorts near it several times and I have never smelled it. And Centara Ras Fushi patrols the resort waters every morning to nab and bits of trash that might have drifted over by accident. The resort has actually done a smart job of absolutely minimising the presence of this neighbour on the horizon. They have designed everything on the resort to face north which has a vista as seemingly remote as anywhere.

Ironically, the dreaded back side of the island provided Lori and I with one of the best views of our trip. We had just arrived when a large pod of spinner dolphins decided to stroll past while putting on a non-stop aerial display like some aquatic Cirque de Soleil. We were so mesmerised, we never noticed the Industrial Island in their background.

Even with a bit of distant trash, Centara Ras Fushi is in one of the sweetest spots of the Maldives.

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Maldives Tour 2015 – Day 7: Sun Siyam Iru Fushi

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Sun Siyam Irufushi - tour

Your waterworld adventure starts from the very arrival at Sun Siyam Irufushi’s extensive welcome jetty. The overwater boardwalks fork, one heading to the over-water dive center and the other to the bustling arrival jetty with its dual seaplane docks, and snake across the azur lagoon Its jetty reception room is in the form of giant dhoni floating on the water. Their tropical coconut mint iced tea was one of the more memorable arrival drinks of the tour (note to self – on future tours, post the different arrival drinks of each resort which vary so widely).

Still Sun Siyam Iru Fushi is not the flashy head-turning Carmen-type, but rather more of the quietly winsome Micaela. The entrance to the island itself is a bit understated. You arrive at the hub of activity from the watersports center on your immediate left to the games areas sprinkled across the grounds. Irufushi hasn’t invested in chic design fashions to catch the eye, but everything is high quality and high standard.

Its spa is one of the biggest in the Maldives and its beach expanse rivals Kudafunafaru and Velaa (what is it about Noonu beaches?). Its huge lagoon is also one of biggest I have seen, but the long jetty to the dive centre makes the house reef relatively accessible. The resort is big without a big feel meaning that no part of it is neither crowded nor overwhelming. Being bigger, Sun Siyam has something for everyone (including adrenalin-packed jet-boarding only found at a couple of resorts). I came away with a warm appreciation for the resort which seemed to grow the longer I stayed and the more I explored.

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