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7 |
Choice, Experienced, Diversity, Handicap Access, Room Types, Loyalty Programme, Dining Choice |
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6 |
Golf, Wreck Dive, Turtles, Online Forum, Water Sports Centre, Longest Beach |
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6 |
Voluntouring, Cinematic, Geek Activity, 2010 Calendar, Eco-Friendly, History |
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6 |
Hip Entertainment, 2010 Eclipse, Spa, Wine, Buoyant, Service |
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5 |
Biking, Dining Experience, Elevation, Running, Lacustrine |
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4 |
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4 |
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4 |
Seating, Reefscaping, Library, Hot Drinks |
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4 |
Celebrity Watching, Li-Lo, Shoe Boutique |
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3 |
This piece is the 100th Maldives Complete post. When the site was inaugurated, I added a blog to the web site to provide a way to dynamically update and cover the more qualitative aspects of the resorts that could not be accommodated in the core database profiles. I included some special pieces that covered a few interesting stories, factoids and useful info, but quickly the blog gravitated to the vehicle to regularly recognize the resorts’ uniques and superlatives in a very broad and even quirky range of categories featured in the ‘Best of the Maldives’.
I’ve decided to celebrate the 100th post milestone with a bit of a retrospective review of the Best of the Best. The recognitions themselves are highly unscientific in the first place (though most of the feedback is that they are pretty spot on) so the aggregate tally will be even more so.
Another caveat is that while a number of ‘Best Ofs’ have been published, nearly as many remain unpublished. I continue researching them and posting them on a regular schedule, but have decided not to rush things or overwhelm the growing readership with too many too often.
This wealth of material has led to my next project which is to adapt all of it into a ‘Best of the Maldives’ guide book which has been spurred by interest and support from a number of corners.
Soneva Fushi tops the list with 5 published superlatives in total (including 1 I haven’t published yet), but Kurumba tops the overall list with 7 overall (including 5 not yet published). There is huge bias in this stat not because I have any particular affinity for Kurumba, but because I recently stayed there and was able to uncover all sorts of gems and special aspects that even Kurumba hadn’t appreciated that it had (eg. exceptional handicap access).
As a result, to help balance the score and to similarly ferret out all sorts of other unsung gems, I am currently planning my next trip to the Maldives in July to cover as many resorts as I can to get more research for both the site and the book.
All those with 3 or more awards so far are listed above.