The latest addition to the gallery of local artists adorning villas will innovative creations is Cora Cora who features an expansive collection of dynamic piece from their very own artist-couple-in-residence, Shameen and Sheenez.
Best of the Maldives: Drift Wood – Baglioni
Driftwood is alluring in its own right. The original tree shaped and coloured by months at sea. So Baglioni’s reception centerpiece – an expansive piece of driftwood is as captivating as it is apropos. The behemoth was washed up on the shores of the island with the 2004 Tsunami.
The tsunami had a transformative impact on the Maldives. Not just their geography and so the losses suffered in human life and property, but also in the very politics of the nation. So many resources were required for the reconstruction effort that the Maldives had to turn to global funders who put as a requirement for their aid and loans and number of radical reforms in the government and economy. Many resorts feature memorials to this dramatic part of their history several of this I’ve featured here, so I have added a “Tsunami” tag to assemble them all
Best of the Maldives: Jellyfish Sculpture – Soneva Jani
Happy Halloween! While resorts are adorning their properties with spooky décor for the occasion, Soneva Jani’s main restaurant is permanently bedecked with a hauntingly alluring mobile of ghostly jellyfish. This post is the latest instalment in its catalogue of suspended sea life sculptures so I’ve added the handy “Mobile” tag for them.
Best of the Maldives: Soundtrack – Patina
Whenever we want to provide a great experience for an event or party, one of the cornerstone ingredients is a playlist to suit the guests and vibe. For example, being Halloween weekend, we are playing our Bruce’s Halloween Playlist for at our social gatherings. Patina teamed up with musicology experts MAV for an eclectic soundtrack at each communal venue of the resort. In addition, they produced a collection of curated Spotify playlists on the resort’s dedicated app to evoke to languid and refreshing vibe of the Maldives.
Best of the Maldives: Villa Wine Chiller – Soneva Jani
It’s great to have a selection of wines in your villa, but enjoying them at their finest can be a challenge. Getting the wines chilled can be too cold if you put them in the fridge and even too cold for some reds if you set them out at “room temperature” depending on the temperature you keep your villa at. But it Soneva Jani features your very own Wine Art wine chiller and preserver. It not only allows you to chill up to two bottles at precisely the temperature you prefer, but also it has an advanced preservation system to “cork” opened bottles. It will preserve the effervescence of the your sparklings as well as keep your wines in fine drinking shape for up to 10 days.
Best of the Maldives: Wine Shop – Ailafushi
Want more wine to enjoy than fits in a mini-bar or under your arm on the way home from dining? Want to simply pay some store prices instead of restaurant prices for a bottle? Well, Ailafushi features an extensive wine store in its small shopping area. It includes an area where they hold resort wine tastings and includes a range of liquors and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Best of the Maldives: Welcome Box – Cora Cora
Presentation is everything, and Cora Cora’s welcome treats came in an artistic little box as exquisite as its tasty contents. Many resorts provide a little snack in the room for the guests, but Cora Cora’s hinged box seemed like a presentation itself as each little compartment of goodies was revealed.
Best of the Maldives: Dried Fruit – Sun Siyam Vilu Reef
A major acid test for me indicating the luxury level of a resort are the nibbles they serve with drinks. A little bit of savory snacks make the cocktails all the most delectable and allow us to linger longer without getting too pecking for dinner. The most basic resorts don’t offer anything, the 4-stars offer the staples of crisps and peanuts, but a luxury 5-star really needs a distinctive goodies. And Sun Siyam Vilu Reef offered us one of our favourite snacks – dried fruits. We have received various dried fruits at other resorts, but Vilu Reef and an unprecedented assortment. It turns out that they have their own food drier on premises (see photo below) so that can create dried versions of just about anything. We enjoyed the dried apples, oranges, pears, coconut with out very welcome ‘welcome drink’.
Best of the Maldives: Sand Bank Breakfast – Sun Siyam Iru Veli
World Food Day today. And the best place in in the world to eat any food was an experience we finally enjoyed at Sun Siyam Iru Veli this summer. We’ve fantasized about dining on a plot of sand ever since we first started visiting the Maldives two and a half decades ago. It epitomised the “plot of sand with a palm tree” isolation caricature. We’ve seen many of (exorbitant) dinners and even lunches such remote venues, but never a breakfast.
A breakfast is actually a great way to enjoy this sandbank location. Unlike a dinner which tends to have courses, the breakfast is more casual with more finger food (eg. pastries, fruit, pots of yogurt) that you can take in hand for a stroll around or wade into the sea to enjoy the sea-life nearby or the dappled azure vista beyond. And the morning has a particularly peaceful vibe to it which suits this indolent sliver of interruption to the gently surrounding waters.
Best of the Maldives: Garudhiya – Milaidhoo
One of the local Maldivian delicacies which delighted Tom Chesshyre in his book Tom Chesshyre “Misadventures in the Real Maldives” was “garudhiva”. It turns out that Milaidhoo features the dish in its “five must-try dishes at ‘Ba’theli by the Reef’ Restaurant” on Milaidhoo island
- “Garudhiya is a famous soup of the Maldives. It is a clear broth of poached fresh skipjack tuna, perfumed with pandanus (screwpine) heart and curry leaves. For a memorable blend of tropical island flavours, Kiru Garudhiya is one of the best foods in the Maldives. It consists of fresh island coconut milk, poached fish and shellfish in a soup flavoured with island spices and curry leaves.”