Best of the Maldives: Dining Experience – Shangri-La Villingili

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Shangri-La's Villingili Resort and Spa Dining

One resort that has embraced our dining on the beach top tip is the newly inaugurated Shangri-La's Villingili Resort and Spa. They are proactively offering to serve meals on the beach in a variety of idyllic and romantic places…

“The resort will also feature Dine By Design, Shangri-La is moving the dining experience outside restaurant walls to a variety of private locations around the resort. From a torch-lit dinner in the middle of a jungle to a quiet picnic on a beach, guests will enjoy meals prepared by the resort's expert culinary team.”

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Best of the Maldives: Golf – Kuredu

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Kuredu Golf Course

In a part of the world where there is not enough space in one place to land a commercial airplane, you wouldn’t expect to find an activity known for vast expanses – golf. While The Beach House has a golf simulator, Kuredu has a full fledged executive 6-hole golf course.

The website describes…

“Kuredu Golf Club is the first of its kind in the Maldives. The Golf course is located on the eastern portion of the Island, surrounded by natural forest and the noise of the ocean. There could be no where more peaceful for the game of golf.

The Golf Club boasts a full size driving range with the option of a shaded area and also hitting from the grass. A large putting green is also available to perfect the short game.

The golf course is a 6-hole Par 3 course with the average length of a hole being 55 yards. With some great characteristics on the golf course it proves to be a fun and ”sometimes” a challenging experience.

Our Head Pro, PGA qualified golf professional is available for tuition on all aspects of the game. All equipment is provided for rental free of charge from the Pro´s Shop, where all bookings can be made. Any teaching course can be set up to suit the individual or group.”

Kuredu Golf Course 2

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Best of the Maldives: Most Manly – The Beach House at Manafaru

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The Beach House at Manafaru Golf Simulator

Quien es Mas Macho of the Maldive resorts? The Beach House at Manafaru seems to think that the Maldives has a greater inherent appeal to women (go figure) and so it has decided to beef up the appeal to the macho side of the travelling party with its own ‘Gentlemen Retreat’…

“Gentlemen’s Retreat is a club house/retreat designed primarily with men in mind. Inside, you will find a 50 LCD TV, relaxing chairs, games consoles (Wii game and PS 3), a virtual golf simulator which allows you sample some of the world’s best eighteen-hole golf courses from the comfort of your Maldivian haven.”

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Best of the Maldives: Wreck Dive – Kuredu

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Skipjack II

Given the omnipresent reefs that literally define the Maldives and the shallows around them, it is no surprise that the Maldives are littered with ship wrecks for divers to explore. But the best locale has to be ‘The Shipyard’ off Kuredu in the Faadhippolhu Atoll. It has not one, but two wrecks at the site including the ‘Skipjack II’ which has sunk vertically so that its bow is sticking out about the top of the water (see above). It is located on the east side of Felivaru Kandu with a depth from 1 to 30 metres.

From Tim Godfrey’s book on diving in the Maldives ‘Dive Maldives’…

“This ship was the mother ship for the Felivaru fish factory and spent some years permanently moored to the jetty at Felivaru. In 1985, it was decided that old Japanese ship was of no further use so it was stripped of anything of value and towed out to sea where it was to be scuttled. Kuredu Island Resort tried to purchase the ship for a new dive site, but the authorities decided against it. In the end, they got their shipwreck for no charge. While it was being towed out to sea, workers began cutting holes in the ship’s hull in preparation for sinking. However, the ship caught fire and because of the danger from chemicals and the fear of an explosion, it was cut loose…The second wreck was also in use at the fish factory and was scuttled at the same location. It too was in a vertical position until 1992 when a storm caused it to settle on the sea floor.”

The Shipyard

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Best of the Maldives: Mini-Bar – W Retreat

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W Resort

What amenities do you need at a Maldivian resort…and then what are those things that really take a bit of creative consideration on behalf of the management to deliver an amazing stay. W Retreat is renowned for its attention to detail and special amenities. Its W Resort in the Maldives snared the #2 spot for Askmen.com’s survey of the Best Hotel Minibars in the world.

“As a haven for super-skinny fashionistas looking to cram their size-zero bodies into something suitably small for the beach, it’s hardly surprising that the W Retreat & Spa has stocked its minibars with an unusual item — a bikini by luxury beachwear label Heidi Klein. In most hotels, guests are expected to bring their own beachwear, but apparently not here. Crafted in W’s signature purple, the bikini is a limited edition sold only on-site and comes with stunning silver hammered-chrome detailing. Oh yeah, and there’s booze and food stocked alongside it.  Best part: If the bikini provided doesn’t fit, then a “Bikini Butler” is on-hand to measure your girl up for something more her size.”

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Best of the Maldives: Surfing – Chaaya Island Dhonveli

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Sri Lankan Airline Pro Maldives

 

 

The Maldives are more renowned for their swimming pool like tranquillity with ocean waters stilled by the reef enclosed lagoons. However, once you go to the right places on the edge of the atoll reefs where the currents hit just right, you can find some quite ideal conditions for surfing. So ideal that Chaaya Island Dhonveli is hosting the world surfing circuit Sri Lankan Airlines Pro Maldives event this week.

“Widely regarded as the most striking event on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS), the SriLankan Airlines Pro – Maldives has again drawn a brilliant field of 128 international surfers from 20 nations around the surfing world.”

More specifically, the event was held at Pasta Point off the island famous for superb 3m wave surf conditions.

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Best of the Maldives: Whale Sharks – LUX Maldives

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Whales Sharks are a majestic and stirring sight on any diving privilege to see them, and in the Maldives they have a special folklore about them. The best place to see them in the Maldives, if not the world, is at the Dhidhdhoo Beryru Faru dive site (also one of the best wall dives in the Maldives) near Diva resort.

Tim Godfrey reports in his ‘Dive: Maldives’ book:

  • “The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is the largest of all fish reaching 15 metres in length. It is a plankton eater and harmless to humans. Divers fortunate enough to see one will find them curious and fearless, sometimes allowing divers to get close enough to feel their rough skin…In early times, whale sharks were caught by brave Maldivian fisherman who would swim with a rope into the mouth of the shark and out through the gills…The practice of swimming into the mouth of a whale shark was outlawed long ago. In one case, a fisherman from Addoo Atoll was sentenced to 80 strokes of the cane and banished to an island for risking his life by capturing whale sharks in this way.”

The Euro-Divers dive centre at Diva adds, “We are also 1 of the 2 locations world wide with all year round whale sharks. This is our other main attraction. These gentle giants can be found on our outside reefs. Juvenile whale sharks what we have here are between the 3 and 8 meters long.”

The resort Sun Island and Holiday Island are also relatively nearby to these sites.

Kudadhoo Etheru Faru Dive Site

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Best of the Maldives: Wine – Huvafen Fushi

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Huvafenfushi Wine Celllar

While alcohol is forbidden in the non-resort parts of the Maldives in line with its Muslim traditions (do not attempt to bring duty free with you into the country), the resorts are granted exemption to serve alcohol to visitors. The resort with purportedly the most extensive array in the archipelago is Huvafen Fushi with its massive underground wine cellar (the only one in the Maldives). The collection is managed by what one report described as ‘its flamboyant sommelier Sonny.’ Cheers!

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Best of the Maldives: Hammerheads – Kuramathi and Veligandu

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Hammerhead Point     Rasdhoo Divers

My wife, our son Chase and I dove ‘Hammerhead Point’ when we visited Kuramathi Village a few years ago. You get up extremely early around 6:00 am and you go off the dive boat in the middle of the deep channel. You descend to 30 metres where you are still quite a ways off the bottom pretty much suspended in the middle of vast blueness. And you wait for the hammerheads.

Now no dive is a sure thing and Rasdhoo Divers are very open that the hammerheads can be hit or miss. So the three of us were just suspended there for the full 40 minutes of our dive trying not to be too bored. It was a bit reminiscent of that Family Guy bit where they go on vacation to Purgatory (minute 6:57). But my colleague Philippa went on the same dive and said that it was amazing seeing lots of these eerie, prehistoric looking creatures.

Kuramathi Cottage Club Dive Chart

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Best of the Maldives: Turtles – Kuredu

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Kuredu Turtles

Snorkelling and diving in the Maldives spoils you for colourful scenery and sealife and one of the popular favourites are the sea turtle. Several resorts, like Filitheyo and Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru, operate turtle hatcheries and nurseries.

We have always readily seen turtles while diving and snorkelling in the Maldives, so choosing a top spot for them would be difficult. But Microsoft colleague and fellow Maldives enthusiast Keith Miller reckons it has to be Kuredu. In particular, a dive site known as ‘Turtle Cave’ or ‘Turle Wall’ Keith estimates that on a bad day you see a dozen turtles and on a good day you can see as many as 40!

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