Siyam World busts all sorts of myths not just about the Maldives, but even about itself. With all of the eye-catching innovations like its extensive water activity park, it’s Bond-like Seabreacher, and completely unique horseback riding, one might be mistaken (and many are I observe) that Siyam World is just a playground on some island sacrificing iconic the natural charms and allure of the destination.
First the litany of Maldives myths that Siyam World destroys:
- Nothing to do – The classic Maldives misconception which Siyam World completely lays to rest. At Siyam World, there is EVERYTHING to do. Entire focus of the group is Experiences and Siyam World leads the way with its vibrantly active options.
- Nothing new – With so much development and an ever-present arms race to provide distinctive offerings and features to lure guests, the stream of innovations has definitely seemed to slow down in the Maldives over recent years. But I came away from my visit with 23 (!) Best Of the Maldives features of new and creative offerings to feature in future posts.
- “Wow” limited to super-premium properties – I have often said that a super-luxury property HAD to have a “Wow” factor as table stakes (eg. underwater restaurant, observatory, marine centre), but Siyam World makes “Wow” the centrepiece of their proposition at their value-priced 5-star property. In fact, their AI package is named the “Wow All-Inclusive”.
- Big islands weak house reefs – Most of the bigger properties in the Maldives sit atop outer reef plateaus which tend not to have dramatic or accessible reefs. But Siyam World is situated on an inner atoll island with a classic house reef drop-off easily accessible from its arrival and other jetties. We snorkeled it finding it alive with block corals (yellows and burnt oranges which touches of mauve and bright violet).
- Not affordable – Recently, the Maldives dropped in its global ranking as a top destination due to the concern by guests that it was just not affordable. And while many billionaire havens have set up properties here, the destination has dozens of other resorts that are still wallet-friendly, and Siyam is definitely one of those. Siyam has mastered the art of scale economies and passes those economies onto its guests. It is situated in the Noonu Atoll near on of its early properties, Iru Fushi, so it can share logistics and resources across the two operations.
All of these features are offered on an island which still maintains the expansive azure vistas and lush greenery for which the Maldives has rightfully become famous. Lush vegetation pervades the property so you don’t see any villas or buildings on the land as you go around. It feels like you are navigating an extensive tropical jungle. And on the aquatic side, you are situated in the northern atoll of Noonu where the sites are less dived, less crowded (we were the only divers at all our dive sites) and perhaps a bit healthier with cooler water.
All the mystique of the Maldives with none of the myth.