When visiting the Maldives, I always a appreciate when the F&B has injected a bit of tropical twist to their often conventional offerings on the buffet spread. I was particularly fond of the Mango Chou at Joy Island featuring my fav tropical fruit.
Best of the Maldives: Michelin Star Quality – Soneva
In the rise of the super-luxury offerings in the Maldives, I’ve often mused when the gourmet outlets might someday reach Michelin star quality. Certainly, a few I’ve sampled seem to have reached that exalted bar, but the Guide simply didn’t cover the Maldives geography. A number of resorts have touted their guest chefs who bring with them Michelin-starred credentials.
Perhaps no one has had more Michelin-star chefs in their kitchens than Soneva. In fact, in partnership with the guide itself, they are hosting an unprecedented series of 10 starred chefs at their properties. Soneva not only has both of its Maldives properties featured in the guide, but they Soneva Jani receives an elite 2 stars and Soneva Fushi receives the coveted highest accolade of 3 stars (well “keys” for hotels) which translates to “worth a special journey”. Indeed, a very special journey!
Best of the Maldives: Sushi Making Class – Sun Siyam Olhuveli
Sun Siyam Olhuveli not only serves up amazing sushi, but also will teach you how to make it yourself at their sushi class. Taught by sushi chef (not to be confused with “sous chef”) Namal, he takes you through the process of making sushi, maki rolls and sashimi. Our son, Chase, once gave me a gift of such a class in London and it was as much fun as it was insightful. So, Lori did the classwork and I concentrated on quality control (to which I can attest she passed with flavourful flying colours). If you want a more pampered way to enjoy sushi, Olhuveli’s “Theo’s Coffee Shop” offers 100 varieties in total including a range of dessert sushi made with fruit.
Best of the Maldives: Lobster Sushi – Sun Siyam Olhuveli
This is not a “Haven’t Seen”, but it should have been. Lobster is the most iconic luxury seafood, and sushi is a delightful, light delicacy for the warm weather. The dish Sun Siyam Olhuveli’s Executive Chef Didi Hassan’s signature specialty. Specifically, it is lobster maki with lobster mousse and cream, topped with tobiko and salmon roe. TripAdvisor Forum Destination Expert Moirad tells me that Raffles also features lobster sushi, but they ae going to have to show me what they have to convince me that it could be more spectacular than this presentation).
Best of the Maldives: Raised Beach Dining Cabana – Sun Siyam Olhuveli
Two of the most distinctive aspects to the Maldives is the intimacy of the islands with the surrounding ocean, and the mesmerizing vistas of dappled blues. One of the most memorable ways to enjoy both is the iconic beach dining. Many resorts now set tables on the sand by the water or construct special cabanas for dining to provide a bit of shelter from the ocean breeze and occasional shower. Sun Siyam Olhuveli has taken the latter to literally the next level with an elevated cabana so you sea view is all the more dramatic.
Best of the Maldives: Island Futsal – Emerald Faarufushi
Any resort over 100k square meters will have a “football” pitch of sorts for their footie-mad staff (and a few footie fan guests as well). Typically, they are sequestered in the middle of the resort island amongst the staff facilities, but Emerald Faarufushi has graced its “futsal” pitch with a position right out in the middle of the lagoon.
Best of the Maldives: Sheltered Snorkeling Lagoon – Olhuveli
Lots of tropical destinations have islands with dappled blue water surrounding them, but one of the qualities that distinguish the Maldives is the mill pond tranquillity of these waters. The ringed atolls encircle a semi-protected region in the middle of the Indian Ocean which dampens the larger sea currents and swells of the open ocean. Especially, the shallow lagoons whose limited depth further mutes the volatility of the water.
This calmness not only contributes to the destination’s renown for languid relaxation, but also makes for some distinctively easier water enjoyment, especially snorkelling. The problem with snorkelling is that the lagoons are so sheltered that they don’t get the nutrient flow that current normally deliver and in recent years, they have gotten particularly warm both conditions of which impede the growth of coral.
But sometimes coral croppings do emerge which make for excellent beginner snorkeling. Sun Siyam Olhuveli has a sweet spot combination of no just one bur 2 sheltered lagoons with low-depth snorkeling. They are both on par with Kuda Huraa and Canareef that similarly impressed us years ago with their lagoon coral gardens, but Olhuveli has two, they are more sheltered and the one by the arrival jetty does have a drop-off at the end. We had one of our most memorable snorkels ever here on our previous visit with an octopus playing hide-and-seek with us.
Best of the Maldives: Sandy Water Villa Jetty – Joy Island, sand
Two of the distinctive joys of the Maldives are (1) “no shoes, no news” barefoot walking in soft sand everywhere, and (b) getting intimately close to the tranquil seas surrounding you made closest by their iconic water villas. But one first world problem is combining the two when tender bare feet step on the water villa jetties that have been baking in the tropical sun (ouch!). Joy Island has directly combined these two joys in a way that eliminates the first world problem – sand on the jetties!
Best of the Maldives: Swim Up Jacuzzi – Olhuveli
Swim-up bars and jacuzzis both give pools an extra boost of relaxing in the water. But how about a swim-up bar in a jacuzzi? Well that is just another pool innovation introduced by Sun Siyam Oluveli. So they are not just the proud home of the largest pool in the Maldives, but also (from what I have seen), the largest (and most extravagant) jacuzzi there!
Best of the Maldives: Largest Overwater Spa – Ayada
When we first started visiting the Maldives, not only were there few spas, but there were few spa services. I remember that Nakatchafushi had an Australian massage therapist on a 6-month contract giving massages on the beach and that seemed like a big step. Now, spas with wide ranging offerings are table stakes for even the value priced properties and they have gotten bigger and bigger over time with more services and amenities. The luxury resorts have distinguished themselves not only with over-water villas, but over-water spas. This move brings the soothing energies of the ocean, often highlighted with glass portals in the treatment room floors, to the treatment facilities themselves. And Ayada boasts the highwater mark over the water with a 3500 square foot complex (which we enjoyed during our stay).