TA Revisited

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Ta Mentions chart Maldives

15 years ago, I posted a piece “Best of Maldives Online – TA Resort Popularity: Vilamendhoo – Maldives Complete Blog”. TripAdvisor Maldives Forum had been emerging as the pre-eminent travel community in general and specifically about the Maldives (compared to other TA Forums, it is especially active and authoritative). Back then I was just starting to get involved as a regular contributor and reader and I sensed that there are some resorts which seemed to be quite favoured in the online group as signified by the number of mentions. I wanted to test this perception with a highly unscientific but at least objective survey of the posts. I chose to count the mentions of resorts in the Subject line of the posts over a 6-month period.

3,700+ contributions later, the Forum has palpably changed. For starters, there are now lots of enquiries about local islands which people visit with the many new guest houses on the scene. Debates about children on properties, the weather and resort aesthetics have died down, but the terraforming debate is as intense as ever.

The graph above shows the distribution of mentions across resorts which more or less follows the same shape as 2011. There is a slight flattening, but not as much as I thought there might be with the number of active resorts doubling from 99 then to 186 now. The top two mentioned resorts – Hurawalhi and Vilamendhoo – got a combined total of 10% of the mentions compared to 8% for the top 2 back then.

The big surprise was simply the number of overall mentions which was less than half. I think this is reflecting simply fewer posts in TripAdvisor. I would put this down to a general maturity of the web with resort website providing much more comprehensive and easy to query information about their properties. Not to mention the emergence of Social Media providing another whole category of online community to consult for information and advice. I belong to a few Facebook Groups focused on Maldives travel. Curiously, the engagement is a much high quantity than TA Forum (ie. each post gets lots more replies), but actually the quality is much lower (ie. lots of people responding with inane information based on very limited knowledge of the destination).

TripAdvisor comparison of Maldives resort mentions

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Best of the Maldives: Bonfire – Oaga

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Oaga - bonfire]

One of my favourite tropical memories was when I lived in Togo, West Africa and a bunch of the local Peace Corps Volunteers invited me for a nighttime cookout on the beach. With the warm air and the always enchanting dance of flames in the fire pit dug out of the sand, the evening was quite magical. Oaga has introduced this experience for its all-inclusive guests called “O Fire”:

  • “An evening of music, fire, and relaxation… Gather around a large bonfire on the beach to enjoy live music, dance, and socialise with one another. The bonfire is lit as the sun sets, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere that is perfect for enjoying music and each other’s company. Our resort’s talented musicians will entertain you with a mix of traditional and contemporary songs, and everyone is welcome to join in the singing, dancing, and storytelling.”
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Best of the Maldives: IV Infusions – Sirru Fen Fushi

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Sirru Fen Fushi - IV infusions

As the Maldives destination matures all the offerings just get more and more sophisticated. When we first started visiting the Maldives, one was luck to find a massage in a make-shift room by a contract therapist. Now resorts have luxury overwater spas with treatments so sophisticated they require trained medical staff. One of the most extreme is Sirru Fen Fushi offering IV infusions:

  • “Under the expertise of trained medical professionals, guests can choose between 12 specialised tailor-made infusions and enjoy drips designed to energise, hydrate, boost immunity, and promote overall wellness.”
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Best of the Maldives: Plastic Upcycling – Siyam World

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Siyam World - plastic upcycling

Siyam World is floating a different kind of “cycling” with their Pllastic Upcycling Center…

  • “Siyam World Maldives has unveiled the nation’s first dedicated Plastic Upcycling Center in collaboration with local environmental NGO CLEAN Maldives…Designed to turn discarded plastic items, such as oil containers, cleaning product drums, and shampoo bottles, into functional products like sunbeds, planters, and outdoor seating, the upcycling center is the first of its kind to operate at this scale in the Maldives at a resort. While other small-scale efforts have existed previously, including one formerly active in Malé and limited facilities elsewhere, this represents a nation-first in terms of scale, circular process, and community integration on a resort island. Beyond resort-generated waste, the facility also accepts plastic from the nearby inhabited island of Kudafari, reinforcing Siyam World’s role in supporting surrounding communities. In a shared value model, 60% of the upcycled items will remain at the resort, while 40% will be distributed by CLEAN Maldives, with both partners committing to donating select products for use in public spaces like island parks, beaches, and communal areas.”
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Best of the Maldives: Water Bike – Grand Park Kodhipparu

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  Grand Park Kodhipparu - pedal water bikes

Another Finally Seen (cf. Even More What I Haven’t Seen – Maldives Complete Blog) with water bikes at Grand Park Kodhipparu. Most of the landscape in the Maldives aren’t big enough for much of a bike ride, but the seascape…that’s a different story.  They are available for 30 and 60 min sessions, it’s available daily between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Pre-booking is not required, comes first – served first.  No minimum age, but children must be accompanied by an adult.  A great way to explore the mill calm lagoons of the Maldivian waters, look through the crystal waters to the marine life below, and use pedal power rather than arms for paddling.

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Best of the Maldives: Private Car – Sun Siyam Olhuveli

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Siyam World - private car

The resorts feature quite a collection of vehicles to transport you around the property (especially the bigger ones). Reethi Rah allowed its guests to self-drive one of their standard buggies, but Sun Siyam Olhuveli’s is stylish Jeep design with plush seats and flashy red colour. It is available to residents of their multi-bedroom Beach Residence and a driving license is required.

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Maldives Vintage Map

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Maldives vintage map

I love me a good map, and after featuring so many here, I felt that I had to have one of my own to grace the walls of our home. There are lots of vintage maps of the Indian Ocean and a number that just feature the Maldives. The one above is the one I ended up purchasing a print of as it seemed to have the most aesthetic charm. If you want one for your own memento (not recommended for modern navigation), and Google Image search can find several for sale pretty readily.

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Best of the Maldives: Cereal Treats – Sun Siyam Olhuveli

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Olhuveli - corn flakes pudding

I was delighted to come across this “Corn Flakes Pudding” at lunch not only because I am an all-day breakfast kind of guy, but also because it evoked a wonderful culinary story told in Netflix’ “Chef’s Table” episode with Christina Tosi. One of Tosi’s famed innovations was “cereal milk” pastries after which her iconic restaurant “Milk Bar” is dubbed (they even have “Cereal Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream”). So I had to ask Sun Siyam Olhuveli’s Executive Chef Didi Hassan when I spoke to him about this concoction to which he recounted the following:

  • “We need to have a kind of crunchy dessert. Kind of like cookies. I didn’t have any options. I created this granola mix with the chocolate. And then the guests were asking for it for three days in a row. “Can I have this one? Can I have this one?” I asked the executive pastry chef to come up with a new pudding. I told him to go for something no regular. Something people can remember us by.”
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