Best of the Maldives: Most Relaxing – Irufushi

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Iru Fushi Sweet Dreams

Having a ‘Most Relaxing’ award for a Maldive resort is a bit like having a most gaudy award in Vegas. The islands are the very epitome of chilling out. The ocean is placid, the people gentle. In fact, the one thing that sometimes puts people off coming is that it is so laid back and some prefer a bit more activity and buzz.

So how does a resort distinguish itself as the most reposed in the land of indolence? Well, Iru Fushi has established the first ‘Sleep Spa’ called ‘Sweet Dreams’ which designed to take dozing to refreshing depths.

For Adults, the Sweet Dreams programme includes:

  • Special afternoon and evening spa treatments to encourage a siesta or good night’s sleep
  • A yoga specialist who will offer private classes teaching special breathing techniques and stretching exercises designed to encourage relaxation
  • Special teas designed to aid sleep
  • Massages and baths with essential sleep-inducing oils
  • A sleep concierge who is on-call so if guests can’t sleep they can ring for encouragement
  • CD’s of poetry, music or a talking book which can be delivered to the room so Sweet Dreams guests can listen to their very own bedtime story
  • A Sleep-All-Night-Cap, a special cocktail created using ingredients to aid sleep

They even have a children’s programme that includes slumber parties, bedtime stories and hot cocoa.

It might seem like a bit of a strange thing go to a spa for a nap, but actually my wife and I went to a nearby spa in the UK, Pennyhill Park, which featured a ‘nap room’ with special gel beds to simply lie down and doze. For all of the fancy pampering treatments we enjoyed that day, the memorable highlight was the decadent luxury of a midday snooze in the prime environment. So Iru Fushi might be on to something. It certainly would take a bit of special effort to make the Maldives more relaxing than they already are.

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Best of the Maldives: Biggest Suite – Island Hideaway

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Island Hideaway Suite

At 1420 square metres, the largest suite in the diminutive Maldivian isles is the “Hideaway Palace” at the Island Hideaway resort at Dhonakhuli: “The Hideaway Palace comprises of five exclusive individual Villas which sit on top of a beautiful timber deck and are surrounded by a number of private Infinity Swimming Pools.”

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Best of the Maldives: Most Nautical – Dhoni Mighili

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Dhoni Mighili boat    Dhoni Mighili bedroom

The Maldives are all about being close to the ocean. In the tiny islands, the waterside is never more than a few yards away. The water bungalows put you right over the water. But the ultimate water bungalow, if you will, are Dhoni Mighili’s floating ‘villas’. Luxurious accommodation fashioned into the a traditionally styled Maldivian dhoni boat.

Dhoni Mighili is also highlighted in Time magazines ‘Best of Asia’ feature winning the ‘Best Place to Blow Serious Cash’ badge.

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Best of the Maldives: Geek Activity – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi Ever Soneva So Celestial Observatory

If the stars you are seeking are not the movie and celebrity type, but more of the celestial sort, then Soneva Fushi resort is the place for you.

When we visit the Maldives, we like to take a night sky star-map so after dinner we can lie on the beach and do some stirring star gazing. With clear skies and no light pollution to speak of, the stars shine out brilliantly. Also, being at the equator, one can see both northern and southern hemisphere constellations.

But if you really want to take this activity to a serious level, Soneva Fushi resort offers its very own “Ever Soneva So Celestial” Observatory.

“Equipped with a striking Meade RCX400 telescope, the observatory in the organic garden is the latest addition to Soneva Fushi’s unique guest experiences and offers magnificent views into the starry sky.”

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Top Site – Wikipedia Maldives

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A new category of posts I am starting in this blog is ‘Top Sites’ on the Maldives.  There are an enormous number of websites and blogs on the subject of the Maldives, and yet I started Maldives Complete out of frustration with the quality of them all.  I found too many of them either too commercial (they provide a little bit of useful information and lots of material on how to book a holiday), or too repetitive (too many peons to how idyllic this beautiful place is with the same pictures of sea life, turquoise waters and tropical flowers).

All that said, a number of websites do stand out for their usefulness.  The first one to highlight is the Maldives entry into Wikipedia.  The entry maintains the high degree of characteristic objectivity and review covering areas of history, economy, civics and culture.

A particular point of pride for Maldives Complete is that the site is featured in Wikipedia’s ‘External Links’ section which is reserved for only a select few highly useful, non-commercial reference sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Best of the Maldives: Celebrity Watching – Reethi Rah

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Tom and Katie Cruise with baby Suri arriving a Male airport

As such an exquisite destination, the Maldives have proven to be quite popular with the jet setting celebrity crowd.

For a bit of fun in the Maldives Complete resort Profiles, we have now added a section called ‘Celebrity Guestbook’ which tracks celebrity reports and spottings on the various islands if you are curious to know who visited where. If you have visited the Maldives and spotted a celebrity or uncovered a celebrity visitor, then add it to the Comments below and we will make sure to add it to the database.

While it seems that most islands have had one celebrity or another resident at one time, the resort that seems to have drawn the most over time is the resplendent Reethi Rah. Reports to date include presenter Davina McCall, Josh Duhamel and Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, Natascha McElhone, Sienna Miller, Jodie Kidd, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Ashley and Cheryl Cole, Philip Treacy, Sienna Guillory and Gail Porter.

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Top Tip – Dine on the Beach

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Many of the resorts hold special ‘beach dinners’ which sometimes are just part of the normal agenda and sometimes incur a supplement charge. Do not miss these. Not only is there usually a distinctive buffet of locally caught seafood and local dishes (or whatever the theme is), but also the pleasure of eating by candle-light with your bare feet in the warm sand and the ocean gently lapping the shore a few feet away is one of the most idyllic dining experiences.

But you don’t have to wait until ‘beach buffet’ night. Most of the restaurants are right beside the beach, but often their tables are under an enclosure. Often the enclosure is not much more than a thatched roof. We always ask if we can have our table moved from the electric light lit enclosed area onto the beach itself closer to the water and under the countless stars. Sometimes the wait staff get a little thrown off balance by the request, but in general the people there are so service oriented, so relaxed and friendly, they are willing to accommodate. It is a small adjustment that transforms each evening’s dinner from delightful to divine.

(The picture above is our family at the Coco Palm beach restaurant nestled in the palm trees during the day to protect against the sun, but where we moved our tables out to the water’s edge in the background at night).

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Atoll Terms

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Tim Godfrey’s ‘Dive Maldives’ is focused on diving, but also has excellent general history, geography and background. The islands may look like plots of sand with a few palm trees, but they actually have a fair amount of diversity. In the picture above from his book, Godfrey outlines some of the key parts of a Maldive atoll island along with its Dhivehi name which are words you will come across often especially in the names of different places (ie. thila, giri, fary, finolhu, fushi).

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Best of the Maldives: Water Villas – Sonva Gili

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If being just a few feet away from the edge of the Maldives’ glorious waterside appeals, then one of the special treats of a visit to the Maldives is to be in one of the ‘water villas’ or ‘water bungalows’ where you can stay right on top of the water.  These days most resorts feature water villas (you can search on this characteristic with ‘Resort Finder’), but by far the most spectacular of all of these is the 7 “Crusoe Residences” at Soneva Gili (not to mention the special ‘Private Reserve’ residence). These villas are not just off the land, but they are actually detached from the land. Guests access them by their own personal motor transport.

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Atoll Formation

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Coral_atoll_formation_animation

The defining element and the very essence of the Maldives are the coral atolls. Aesthetically and aquatically stunning geological formations that captivate from the first moments where the long haul jet is coming into the area on arrival. One of the first questions visitors have is ‘what are these things and how did they get here.’

Wikipedia has good article on Atolls and their formation including animation of atoll formation shown above. Britannica also has a similar illustration, but annotated with terms here.

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