Best of the Maldives: Sheltered Snorkeling Lagoon – Olhuveli

Olhuveli - islands

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

Joy Island - sandy jetty

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

Olhuveli - jacuzzi bar

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

Ayada - overwater spa

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).

Best of the Maldives: Transfer Relaxation – Siyam World / Irufushi

Siyam - transfer relaxation

One of the dividends of the new sea plane terminal is a huge amount of space allocated to resort transfer lounges. Siyam’s lounge for its Siyam World and Sun Siyam Irufushi properties was distinctive for its relaxation optimisation. Just the ticket after a long-haul, often red-eye flight. It wasn’t the only massage-on-arrival we had come across, but it was certainly the best (Lori didn’t want to leave the lounge when our seaplane departure was called). And while I sipped my coffee latte, I had a prime corner window seat with an expansive view of the seaport. The lounge also had an exterior terrace if you wanted to getting started on soaking up the tropical sun.

Siyam - transfer relaxation 2

Best of the Maldives: Silent Beach – Joy Island

Joy Island - silent beach

Many guests come to the Maldives for its isolated tranquility from the noisy hustle-bustle of their daily life. A number of resorts either limit themselves to adult guests or offer adult-only areas in an effort to further preserve the quietude from the disturbance by over-ebullient youngsters. Joy Island has gone a step further in providing a silent beach where all noise is prohibited. Much like the popular “quiet cars” on British Rail. In a world of blaring mobile devices and tourists getting louder with ever pina colada they consume, the beach is a treasured sanctuary for the quintessential quiet which drew them to this idyllic paradise in the first place.

Best of the Maldives: Horse Facilities – Siyam World

Siyam - horse fam 3

Romantic pictures of Siyam World’s white horses ambling on the equally brilliant white sands of the resort beaches have filled social media. But equally impressive is the operation behind the scenes that cares for these horses with a service and comfort rivalling the resort guests themselves.

For starters, each of the 11 horses (including 3 ponies) has its own personal caretaker. I toured their farm which included state of the art sables as well as an extensive set of paddocks and exercise areas. Kanbula, who Lori had the pleasure to ride, had a baby herself a few weeks ago who was being trained in one. The horse farm has its own veterinary clinic with its own dedicated veterinarian, Dr. Nora.

The horses are a mix of Arabian and Indian (working horses) bloodlines so they are well suited to heat of the tropics. This breed is used to competing in 20-60km races across the desert. The horses have access to the paddock early in the morning and later in the day when it is cooler as well.

The horse riding is not a touristy gimmick, but rather a true passion project of the owner. The state of the art facility is typical of many such features in the Maldives where the owner has shared their enthusiasm not just for this amazing destination, but for particular interests they have and which gives the property a touch of the distinction and personality.

Siyam World - horse facilities 2

Siyam World - horse facilities 1

Siyam - horse farm 2

Siyam World - horse facility

Best of the Maldives: (Latest) Longest Pool – Sun Siyam Olhuveli

Olhuveli - longest pool 4

Pools are one of the top features of a tropical resort. The very roots of the Maldives Complete website was me researching which Maldives resorts had pools in the 1990s. Back then, I had to go through countless paper brochures and catalogues from travel agents and collate the information into a spreadsheet (which formed the foundation to what become the resort database). Yes, I know the Maldives is surrounded by water in very swimmable lagoons. But we found that our kids could only take so much seawater before salt, salt and coral shards started to aggravate them. While we started every day of our holiday there with a morning snorkel, we also tended to hang out at the pool all afternoon so the youngsters could continue their aquatic cavorting while Lori and I rested on the loungers.

Sun Siyam Oluveli has eclipsed the previously title holder of “Longest Pool in the Maldives” by 10 metres with its 210m behemoth. Provide not just a pool, but a pool adventure. It is 1 metre deep except at either end there are segregated sections for small children that are just 0.45 metres.

One of my favourite parts of this feature is its proximity to the entry level duplex rooms, Beach Pavillions. Usually, having a pool right outside your door is a luxury feature for the high-end villas, but this the closest-to-villa economy villa pools in the Maldives. And a big one at that…

Olhuveli - longest pool 3

Olhuveli - longest pool 1

Best of the Maldives: International Personal Chef – Soneva Secret

Soneva Secret - personal chef

Soneva Secret is Soneva’s completely private island which not only provides its own personal chef for your party, but actually offers 14 (!):

  • “Guests can expect bespoke menus courtesy of their own private chef (there are 14—one for each villa).. We have 14 Chefs de Partie assigned to each of the 14 villas. They each are of a different nationality and come from a different type of cuisine. We will swap the Chefs de Cuisine to offer our guests variety. This level of personalization and destination dining is unique.”

Like having 14 different restaurants on your own islands.