Best of the Maldives: Glass Bar – Soneva Jani

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Soneva Jani - glass bar

Best place in the Maldives for a glass of something. Soneva Jani’s “The Gathering Bar” features a captivating vitreous sculpture for its bar and seating:

  • “Drinks and tapas can be enjoyed at any time at this day-into-evening overwater bar. As the sun begins to set, ease into an organic aperitif. Our main bar has one of the best selections of freshly made cocktails, spirits and liqueurs in the Maldives.”

Glass has long been a very fitting material for the Maldives with its aqua-green hues and light refracting properties evoking the glassy lagoons themselves.

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What To Do with a Male Layover?

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Maldives lay over

One of the most frequently asked questions that I get is not about “visiting” the Maldives, but “passing through”. There are two major groups of these stopovers

  • Flight layovers
  • Cruise stops

What you can do is very dependent on how much time you have. The more time, the further down the list of alternatives below you can go…

  • MALE AIRPORT (more than 1 hour) – Velana airport has a number of things to do itself including eateries, lounges and spa treatments:
    • Moonima Spa (domestic terminal): Really fine little facility and all things considered a reasonable value for a range of packages it offered.
    • Hulhule Island Hotel (5 minute walk): Pool use fee and restaurant with elevated ocean view.
  • MALE VISITS (more than 2 hours) – With the opening of the new bridge, getting over to the capital city of Male is easier than ever (no more ferries needed), but you still require a shuttle or taxi ride over and the extra logistics will require having a bit of time on hand. Here’s my report when I made a day visit there.
  • HULHUMALE VISITS (more than 3 hours) – Adjacent to the Male airport island of Humale is the newly created and developed island of Hulhumale. It also takes either a taxi or bus ride of about 15 minutes so requires a bit more time available to get over there, but it includes lots of new restaurants, public beaches, shopping and provides a taste of modern Maldivian city life not quite so bustling as Male itself.
  • MALE EXCURSIONS (more than 4 hours) – A number of companies offer trips and excursions around the Male area based out of Male, but again, the duration and logistics required would mean having even more time on hand). The best place to start looking into excursions from the Male area is the TripAdvisor “Things To Do” list which includes comprehensive details and often useful reviews.
  • DAY VISIT RESORT (more than 5 hours) – A number of properties in the Male area do allow day visitors which enable you to see one of the legendary “drops of sand in the middle of the ocean” resorts in person and sample some of their trademark activities like snorkelling their house reef or enjoying their manicured beaches. However, these day passes typically entail a not cheap fee. Hulhumale Tours and Excursions features specific packages for visiting local resort islands (they also offer their other excursions for visits to local islands, diving and waters sports) which is a pretty comprehensive list of near-to-Male resorts that offer this service:
    • Adaaran Club Rannalhi
    • Adaaran Hudhuranfushi
    • Adaaran Prestige Vadoo
    • Centara Ras Fushi
    • Cinnamon Dhonveli
    • Club Med Kani
    • Fihalhohi
    • Malahini Kuda Bandos
    • Summer Island

Other islands which have featured day passes in the past or are reported to offer such visits (always best to contact the resort to confirm their current policy and protocol) include:

    • Bandos
    • Crossroads
    • Embudu
    • Paradise Island

Secret Paradise also offers a range of excursions including snorkel trips which I have featured previously.

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Best of the Maldives: Cuban Vibe – Raffles Meradhoo

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Raffles Meradhoo - Cuban night

Havana ho-ho-ho na-na…

The Christmas and New Years holidays have a distinctive Latin vibe a Raffles Meradhoo with their “Raffles Revolution 2000”:

  • “Inspired by our colonial design, a revolution of love and the coming of a new decade, join us for a one of a kind New Year celebration in the Maldives as the color and clamour of Cuba takes center stage. Legendary Cuban sounds of Chino Pons & band fuses magical rumba and salsa rhythms along with the bliss of movement dance rituals of Yesenia Selier as guests are lured in by the enticing beats of Rob & Flo by Aqua Monaco to the countdown.”

Dance workshops by Yesenia Selier (photo above), and music by Chino putting the sizzle into the salsa and the ay ‘kurumba’ into the rumba.

   

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